Brown November (Hiking Overland Trail North, Mayville)

7:10

Up later each day...I wonder if my sleep patterns are changing.  I did not get up till about 6:40 and there was already some light in our bedroom, the sky lightened as well when I went downstairs to make my Peets Coffee, compliments of Vickie Armontrout.  It looks like another day of clear, blue skies at least till late afternoon when things change, it gets colder, the sky darkens and rains are to come.  It's been a great week of amazing weather so who can complain.

The woods, almost everything in nature, has lost the colors of October and all is Brown, the trees against the sky, the leaves that cover the ground, the pine needles that cover the forest floor, the pine cones in the trees, and the sparrows that gather in our bushes, finishing the last food of summer.

Yesterday, I went for a bike ride on the Rails to Trails, also part of the Overland Trail, which starts just outside of Mayville, on the east side, and heads north all the way to Lake Erie.  It was originally hacked out by first, the Indians, then the French, and now is kept up, I assume, by Snow Mobile Associations.  It was really fun and easy and woodsy for the first 15 minutes, then it gave way to more open fields, less woods, and muddy, soggy ground.  I had to get off my bike a couple of times and carry it over puddled, soggy areas, and even got stuck in the mud once.  After about 25 minutes, I gave up, turned around, headed back, then, to get an extra ride, I rode around the Mayville cemetery, almost next to the trail, and spent a few minutes looking at the special grave sites for veterans, always the most beautiful area in the cemeteries.  It's amazing to see the number of young men who died in both WWI and WWII, a few in Korea and Vietnam, one or two in recent conflagrations.  They are special.

Overland Trail in Mayville

Soggy Bog on Trail

Wetlands Along the Overland Trail

My granddaughter Hayden has discovered email and writes me everyday now and if I forget, she begs me to writer her soon.  It has become a lot of fun and she is an articulate and funny 4th grader.  I love reading her emails.  Recently, she described the ceremony where he Dad was made a Lieutenant Colonel and it was detailed and thoughtful.  She even quoted her sister Halle and her reactions.  What a kid.

Yesterday Evie was not feeling up to snuff, so I ended up having to cut both Leonards and our lawn.  it was so warm that I really worked up a sweat.  She is feeling much  better today, fortunately, so she might just cut it again!  I also had Shane over to work on our wall, mortaring the cracks, so it does not collapse.

The  Work of a Beaver

I also think I saw the first bufflehead duck of the fall; they are much smaller than mallards, dive for two or three minutes, and are black and white, sure signs that winter is on the way.

Today we go off the talk with an expert on Healthcare, as we have to decide which carrier to go with as a Medicare supplement.  My insurance from Reserve is ruinously expensive and not really worth it, as far as I can see.  But I want someone who knows to see if I am correct.  My breakfast buddies all have much cheaper PPO's and they are all happy with them.  We will have to see.