Over the last week, I’ve taken what will be my prettiest Durham walks of the year. I have a few normal routes, different loops through the neighborhood and another on a paved trail along a repurposed railbed. My trips to the American Tobacco Trail are less frequent, but I made more than just my weekly trip this week. It was lots of yellow tinged with orange; there isn’t as much red on the trees here as there is further north. It’s a little over two miles one way on the section of the trail I walk normally, which makes for a decent stroll. It is well-forested once you get past the power line right-of-way close to the park where I start. The wildlife is mostly squirrels, but I’ve seen a few deer and a few hawks. I often don’t listen to music or podcasts while on these walks, but I will sometimes have phone calls. I often prefer to be in nature with my own thoughts during my walks since I spend so much time in front of a computer screen. That was especially the case this week given how lovely the afternoon light was through the leaves. I’ve even been jogging some the past few weeks, but my feet and ankles are still getting used to that so I’m not at risk of signing up for a marathon any time soon.

The trail is busy at this time of year, but there is still plenty of room and parking available. The main consequence of the increased use is the minor annoyance of bicyclists ringing their little bells before they pass. No, I’m not about to suddenly jolt left and cause you to crash. You can just go around me. There is no need for such pomposity.

Now the leaves are dropping quicker, which means I need to remove some from my car windshield every time I leave the house so that they don’t rattle as I drive. Another couple of days and that will no longer be necessary. Color is also in the past-peak phase, but there is still color and we’ve had more unseasonably warm temperatures. Yesterday I took a quick afternoon walk between calls and changed into shorts and t-shirt beforehand. That felt weird, I feel compelled to note, but it was the correct decision.