Yellow, Orange, and Red---Oh My!

Whether due to the early fall rains or whatever, the fall colors here are more beautiful than I've ever seen in person--ever. Sure, Fort Worth had a patch or two of color, but here, it's so much more. My crepe myrtles alone were so much more fabulous than I'd ever seen in North Texas. And the dogwoods---Wow! Such deep reds. Every day that I drive down any road, I'm amazed at the beauty of the colors.

I'm used to, if we were lucky enough to get fall color, seeing some yellow and maybe a couple of trees with a hint of more. But here---oh my! The brilliant oranges catch my breath each day. And the brightness of the yellows is unlike any I've ever seen. Add to that the incredible depth of the reds, and well, what a palette.

Of course, with the beauty, comes work. I've filled a couple of bags each of the last two weeks with leaves--and that's even with me using the mower to mulch those leaves on the yard. My neighbors say we've got another eight rakes' worth in store for us. At least it's a chance to get outside and enjoy. (But I did take down the phone number of the boys who stopped by today asking to rake my yard; these kids know how to make money. What is, by the way, the going rate on yard raking?)

I have taken a few photos, which I'll post soon. But the true beauty is hard to capture; I don't have a spot where I can snap a shot from up above. I only wish I could see Overton Park right now from high up. How gorgeous it must be.


Still no word on Africa. (I'm supposed to leave on the 30th, but in the last ten days, we've gotten no response on our inquiry as to confirmation on our tickets. I fear their justice dept did not get funding to cover the trip.) It's hard; I am completely ovewhelmed with what's got to be done otherwise in the next couple of months, but it's hard to tend to thinking I'm leaving the country for so long in less than two weeks. I know: the biggest challenge I have is just to breathe. Somehow everything else will work itself out.

With everything, I am trying to keep up a workout schedule at the gym. Lately, though, my hip has been much worse. How did, after all, those many pieces of broken glass get into my joint? ;-) And I cannot remember a day in the last few months that my back didn't send pains down my side or leg. On the up side, I've lived with chronic pain for ten years now, so it's just another day, right? It just hampers the gym motivation (even when I know that proper exercise actually helps me feel better---which more often than not, is what gets me there, after all.)