Fall Walk

Property taxes due. We arrange trips to City Hall as walks for me--so that the sacrifice in money will translate into a gain in health. While Brigitte prepared to take off for her swimming exercies, I went off in my usually direction, which is past this cluster of trees on Ridge avenue. I visit this scene obsessively now because I've taken pictures of it in Spring, Summer, and Fall.

Once done with the taxing chore, which takes me to Kirby Avenue, the temptation is then always great to walk the three block east to see Lake St. Claire. Here is the approach.

And here a panorama of the lake on a lovely October afternoon.

Walking on Jefferson, I saw the sign above. It marks the spot where Brigitte swims--but in the summer, not these days. These days she swims at a local high school. The weather's too cold for outdoors swimnastics, and Pier Park is here shown decorated for Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, I passed this driveway on Jefferson on my way back, one of the most elaborate  I've ever seen.

Here is another angle on it. These are wealthy residences, and displays of this sort are actually arranged by contractors who arrive with four or five people and a kind of "director" who supervises the erection of displays. The same crews arrive in mid-November to stage the Christmas decos too.

Then, leaving busy Jefferson and the smooth waters behind, I like to go up this deep cul de sac--except that it isn't actually closed to the knowing pedestrian.

One Stop on Our Sweetest Day Excursion

That, of course, was yesterday. We try to come here every year, this time of year, to this roadside vendor out on M 53, north of Romeo, where pumpkins await the carvers laid out as far as the eye can see.

Fresh vegetables galore under the awnings, too, and...

...this year, the biggest califlowers we've ever seen.

A Spider of Distinction

This was a season of spiders, from eency-whincey on up to big and bulky. Brigitte spotted this rather large Spider of Distinction. She has good eyes because this formidable harridan had disguised herself magnificently hanging in the air very near to a brick wall. Indeed, the spider is still there today, as patient as the ages.

It seems to us, looking at the creature first in Nature and now in Pixel Land, that this portrait is taken from under the harridan, featuring mostly her belly, and legs, but there was not space enough to squeeze between her web and the wall—and, moreover, we would have had to photograph into the sun.

Brigitte Is Still Harvesting

Despite my protests that this picture really does belong to another season, Spring, Brigitte insisted that I consider this splendid specimen “The Last Dandelion of 2010.” Well, all right. The picture indirectly reveals the crowding of our basement. It was taken with the camera held just above the monitor on which this post is being written. But it wasn't the only photo I snapped. I remembered that my trusty little Kodak has a “close up” feature:

Here is the same bloom up close and personal. You might call it the Portrait of a Weed. Everything is present except the eyes, nose, and mouth. But the hairdo is most delicate, don't you agree?

Last Harvest

Herewith a collage that Brigitte calls her “last harvest.” That isn't strictly true. Plenty of tomatoes and all kinds of fragrant herbs remain outside yet to be fetched, and they will be.

To go around clockwise, the green leaves are part of the pepper plant to show how they are wilting. Lying on top of them is the husk of an expired cone flower, an immigrant (but I hasten to add a legal immigrant) from Philipsburg, Mo., some flowers that came from Rex a couple of years ago and have flourished here ever since. Tomatoes (red). Tomatoes (yellow). A close look at the bigger one shows that somebody has taken a little bite out of it; that person was a squirrel. Around here we don't draw sharp distinctions between people with and without much conversation. Finally the hot pepper, whom (we also think of plants as people) visitors to this site have already met. In the center, in a kind of place of honor, is our pumpkin, actually an acorn squash, officially Cucurbita pepo. The great plant that brought it forth has also been featured before.

The two chestnuts managed to get on the paper towel on their own. They came from a walk I took the other day. Their pleasing shine was irresistible. They're here to to give an accent to our display...