Weekly Walk 52
Well, we did it.
On a chilly, overcast morning a week after the autumnal equinox, we hit the trail with the tallest member of our family for our fifty-second walk.
autumn
Weekly Walk 51
On the autumnal equinox, in 85-degree, sunny weather, we took our fifty-first weekly walk. For the first time, we forgot hats.
Weekly Walk 12
We took our walk a day early this week to beat the rain (and the mud), which means we just missed hiking on the shortest day of the year. Really, though, the day before the Solstice is pretty darned close.
My spouse is off work this week, so he joined us on our hike. This apparently signaled to our son that it was time to be a daredevil. He was climbing on everything. And of course he chose this week to hike in his cowboy boots.
Weekly Walk 11
It’s the week before the winter solstice, and the weather is magnificent.
It totally made up for last week’s blah hike, and I had a lot of fun playing with light,
Weekly Walk 10
This morning’s hike wasn’t really one thing or another. It was cold, but not cold enough for ice. It was overcast, but not raining. It’s the twelfth week since the autumnal equinox, and it feels like autumn itself is in a holding pattern.
I can’t say I’m disappointed that winter is taking its time arriving, but I do feel a little disoriented. This does not feel like December. I mean, we spent an hour and a half at the playground the other day. Without winter coats on. It’s nice, but weird.
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Weekly Walk 9
The eleventh week since the autumnal equinox broke the trend of “chilliest hike yet” but won the title of “rainiest hike yet.”
We had planned to hike yesterday before the rain arrived, but my son spent the day exhausted and feverish, alternating between listening to audiobooks in his bed and falling asleep on the sofa while his sister and I did math.
When everyone woke up this morning energetic and normal body temperature, we agreed that it was a perfect morning to don our rain gear and go into the woods. Read More
Weekly Walk 8
This week is the tenth since the autumnal equinox and as predicted, it was once again our chilliest hike yet.
We went with our friend Linda again, and she’d heard it was the coldest day since March 29th of this year, back when we were still buried in snow. It was 20°F on our home thermometer when we left, and Linda said it read 26°F in her car when she arrived at the trailhead. So, chilly.
Luckily it was also sunny. We turned our faces into the sunlight and felt slightly warmer.
Weekly Walk 7
Again this week—the ninth since the autumnal equinox—we had our chilliest hike yet. I wonder if each week is going to be chillier than the last for a while.
When we reached the trailhead bundled into our winter coats and hats and scarves and mittens, the temperature was hovering around freezing.
Two new things happened this week. First, we found ice on the river and plenty of frost on the ground.
Second, we were joined by our friend Linda, who pointed out many of the invasive plant species along the trail. This knowledge has caused a shift in how I look at our hike. Read More
Wordless: Swoop
October 2015
Weekly Walk 6
My spouse needed a ride to work today, so we dropped him off and then headed out for our hike on the way home.
It was our earliest, chilliest hike yet. When we reached the trailhead, it was just below 40°F, and although we warmed up after some brisk walking, our noses and cheeks remained rosy, and we exhaled misty clouds of water vapor.
It’s the eighth week since the autumnal equinox, and autumn feels like it’s winding down around here. Read More
