Today is October 4 and we are now in the midst of the fall season. The nights have cooled off, the days are getting shorter, and the leaves are beginning to fall off the trees. However, our days have been rather summerlike. Today, in fact, we reached a record high of 76 degrees. Usually we are in the low 60's. Absolutely gorgeous fall weather and a day one must not spend cooped up inside. Despite the fact of last night being the first midnight shift of this stretch for me; I got an adequate amount of sleep today and journeyed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. Because this time of year, you just don't know how long it is going to last.
The area where I live is not really condusive to walking. Yes, it is possible and I have seen many others trot along the street, but it is not that comfortable of an atmosphere for me to go walking in. There are no sidewalks and there's plenty of traffic; so usually when I go for a walk, I take a quick drive near the lakeshore and park the car and take a stroll around nearest the areas of the shore. That is exactly what I did and I was able to experience the many sights and sounds of a city that felt like it was in the midst of a late-spring/summer kind of day and not early fall. The university's sporting complex is rather close to Lake Superior and I noticed a couple of different soccer teams practicing on the soccer fields. Meanwhile, the marching band was busy practicing inside the dome, preparing themselves for this Saturday's football game. I heard children screaming in delight, the sounds of loud thuds from the skateboarding park, and the crashing of water against the shoreline thanks to a brisk wind coming inland. I was definitely not alone as people were out and about enjoying the day just like me.
Even though summer is over, various construction projects are still in full force. Although many of the roads that were ripped up over the summer are completed, a few are sill in the construction phase which meant those lovely detours. A few of the building projects are still ongoing, including the construction of a new bank building just a few blocks away from me. That building has been under construction since early spring and they just do not seem to be in a big hurry to get in completed; not that it really matters to me. And people are still busy mowing their lawns as the rains from last month have really greened things up. I'd say the grass is the greenest its been all season! One condominium complex I walked by had the perfectly manicured lawn and you could even smell all the fertilizers that were used to make this lawn look so beautiful. The smell of that grass was incredible and it felt just like mid-summer.
But as we know all too well around these parts, the weather can change in a hurry. In about a week's time, temperatures are predicted to fall back into the 50's during the days (more typical of October) and the cooler weather is expected to bring us more rain. By then, I'm sure most of the leaves will be off the trees and we'll be busy raking them up. It's not uncommon for the month of October to yield snow, either. I remember a few storms that have dumped as much as a foot of snow during the tenth month of the year, although usually it tends to melt pretty quickly this time of year. One such year I remember having a deep snowcover on Halloween! I sure hope the snow holds off until the end of the year.
So no matter what, there's no excuse not to head outside during such a fantastic stretch of weather. Even if only spend just one hour outside; at least you're enjoying it in some way. As long as it doesn't rain, I know I will be spending time outside all this week. Because one thing is for sure, things will be a lot different a month from now.
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