Fall - Autumn, Fall - Down, Fall - Rain

The peace and serenity of a thousand gnomes with bubble-wrap

The weather for today's workout was overcast, but in the woods the rain fell from leaf to leaf. The forest has assumed the demeanor of fall, and with a temperature of 52 f, it felt like a fall morning . One lone soul had ventured out in his boat on the lake at around 8:30am. Fenwick is an "electric motor only" lake and from the other side, he was silent. I noticed as I started my workout that one of the maples had lost a large branch - a good 1 1/2' diameter branch came down in yesterday's gusty rains.

I thought the grass in the field would be slick, but my shoes kept me well in line. as I hit the first board walk I found that it was a bit slippery - but very manageable at a jog. Silence. Early mornings seem to be a wonderful time for a run. No one is out on the trail yet and I can be lost in a zen-like jog. I notice as I run down the trail that the indigenous creatures of the forest are scurrying about more - like they are trying to get their morning activities done and I am encroaching on their time. "Not to worry, I'll be quickly past and you can continue your morning activities".

The stairs are wet, the handrails wet and cold. The spiders know that I am the first one here. Pulling the morning's web production off my face and arms I head down the stairs. When cold, the air may be thicker, but it seems not to help too much during the climb of the stairs, although I am recovering from the exertion quickly. I start to run at the bottom, but check my speed as the trail is wet and I don't want to end up in a heap. Not to fear, the traction seems to be good, just wet earth, not slippery muck.

The boardwalk at the other end of the run is a completely different story, what is my fastest area, normally managing 8 mph. This is now a deliberate act of concentration and foot placement. No jogging will happen here, and so my speed is limited to 2 mph or under. The park entrance at Reith Road opens up and I notice the clouds starting to give way to blue sky - in the woods the rain still falls from tree to tree, but the day promises to become more summer like.