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Pedestrian path from my neighborhood to the next one.
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Along the bike path -- just a touch of autumn colors.
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More definite color near the White Horn Brook.
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Ducks on the White Horn Brook.
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The Chipuxet River (looking north from the bike path).
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| The corn is as high as an Elephant's eye -- but this is in Rhode Island,
not Oklahoma. |
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| This morning -- our cars were covered with frost. |
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Okay, no bait & switch today, no photographs of political lawn signs. Today I'm showing seasonal pictures.
All of these pictures -- except the very last one -- were taken this past
weekend. The first one shows the pedestrian path that leads from our neighborhood
to the next one, part of the route from my house to the bike path.
I think that the predominant tree in this part of Rhode Island is the oak.
We don't have that many of the maples that turn northern New England (and
upstate New York) into rich wonderlands of color. Autumn can be beautiful
here, but usually with quieter colors.
As I rode along the bike path this weekend I could see autumn colors appearing
-- a touch of red here, some yellow there. The season always seems most
advanced around the White Horn Brook where there is a lot of marshy ground
(as we are on the edge of The Great Swamp Management Area) and here there's
a lot of sumac plus some oak and cedar and red maple. (And lots of other
kinds of trees as well but I fear I never acquired my father's encyclopedic
knowledge of plants and trees.)
I was distracted for a while watching ducks in the marshy wetlands along
the White Horn Brook. There were seven or eight of them scattered about,
paddling around clumps of reeds, frequently plunging their heads beneath
the water, feeding.
Shortly after the bike path crosses RI state route 110, it crosses the
Chipuxet River. Please note that this is not exactly a major waterway,
picture a meandering stream. The White Horn, I believe, flows (slowly)
into the Chipuxet which, in turn, flows into Worden's Pond at the other
side of the Great Swamp Management Area. (Rhode Island seems quite fond
of the word "pond" -- at around a thousand acres in size, one
would think Worden's Pond would be entitled to the appelation "lake"
-- especially since minor streams claim the title of "river"
-- but most bodies of water around here seem to be considered ponds.)
As it nears its end (or its beginning -- it's all in how you look at it)
at the Kingston Amtrak station, the bike path crosses a small back road.
This road leads down into the Management Area and curiousity and my camera
drew me down it. I rode perhaps half a mile or so, until I came to some
Department of Environmental Management buildings where (in season) hunters
were supposed to check in and register. I turned around at that point and
headed back. There was a field of corn just off that road. My thought at
the time was that this was a fairly out-of-the-way place for a farmer to
raise a corn crop -- however, I have since learned that the rangers plant
a few acres of land to feed wildlife, so perhaps that explains the corn.
So... anyway... I gave blood today... and, y'know how they say to avoid
strenuous activity and not to drink... uh, I usually follow that but tonight
I had a glass of wine (oh, okay, so I refilled the glass... but it was
the same glass) with dinner and even though I'm only down a pint of blood,
it does feel as if I had at least another glass or two... ah well... but
at least I haven't done anything strenuous.
I realized as I was setting up this entry that I passed the 8th anniversary
for my journal and never noted it. I mean, I knew it was coming, thought
about it in July & August & maybe even the beginning of September...
and then didn't think about it again until today. So... the 8th anniversary
of jimsjournal was Sept. 26th -- which was my entry for
Mrs. Hanan's Village
Ball -- and it never even occured to me that it was the anniversary. [Once,
about twenty or so years ago, Nancy & I both forgot about our wedding
anniversary -- I was working in our back yard when Nancy came out to say
she had just been talking with her mother on the phone -- she had called
to wish us a happy anniversary -- Nancy was startled because she had completely
forgotten -- and so had I. Hmmm, I suppose if you are going to do something
like that, it is best if the date has also slipped past your partner's
notice as well. Yes, much safer that way.] |
