Well, we got two days of autumn-weather walking last week before the snow hit. We bundled up and hit the sidewalks, or, more often, the streets, since they seemed a bit safer.

“I hate this time of year,” Bethany said, craning her neck, as we set out. “I can never see you.”

When we’re bundled up, we kind of look like those kids whose parents dress them so warm to play outside that they can barely walk. (We had a working walk today; Bethany does not usually bundle up this much to do her normal indoor reporter duties!)

I may not like winter much, but it does produce some pretty photos.

And then there are the ones that make us laugh:

I doubt this boat will see much use, and I think these fall decorations are fighting a losing battle:

We were wondering what this plow job (below) was for. A skating/hockey rink? Refusal to accept that winter is here?

We didn’t see many people outside. I think this guy was the only one, and I don’t think he’s doing this for fun:

The new homeless shelter is looking really good!

The last ditch-efforts of autumn:

Here’s someone who has the right idea. Just stay indoors.

We talked today about how nice it would be to work from home in the winter and not have to scrape windows or trudge through snow on the way to work.

I’m actually writing this column from home, but in a few minutes I’ll be pulling on my boots and trudging through snow to go to work to write something else.

I tried twice to get a photo of the airplane that passed over our heads. I was 1-for-2, as the first one was just of blue sky. I couldn’t see through the LCD screen, so I just guessed.

We are crossing our fingers that the holiday weather will not be too bad. Hopefully people can do their holiday travels safely or will stay put if they can’t. Better safe and not with family than in trouble and not with family!

Fall colors at Lake Bemidji State Park

I think Bethany and I are of the understanding that if we walk, we’re going to blog about it — even if all we have time to do is throw on a few pictures of our fair city and a few words to go with them.

But if we *don’t* walk, we end up not blogging. I’d like it to be otherwise, but we’ve gotten into such a routine of walking and alternating bloggers, and those days we don’t walk turn out to be a day off the whole thing.

That’s fine when it’s a day. It feels a little funny when it’s a week. But when we’re working on two months (shorthanded at work, election season and various busy-ness), I feel neglectful — like we should have *something* to say beyond “look what we saw today.”

Things like sharing that I’ve put a few pounds (literally only a few!),  that I made a visit to Schoolcraft State Park last month, and that I’ve been taking a belly dance class (I’m forgetting more than I’m learning, but it’s coming, gradually). Those are all relevant to this blog.

So Let me tell you about my trip to Schoolcraft.

A month ago, I decided I wanted to see some fall colors and take some photos.

Rather than drive for hours to southern Minnesota, where the colors were still vibrant, I checked to see where the closest place was that still had some fall color. Schoolcraft State Park was the only place anywhere near Bemidji that was not listed as “past peak.” It was, however, listed as 75-100 percent.

But what the heck, it was a half-hour drive on a beautiful October day.  If I didn’t see the fall colors, I’d at least have a nice drive and a walk in the park (which should have been a reason for a blog post).

As it turned out, there wasn’t much for colors, at least not large expanses of color — certainly not the swathes of reds and oranges and yellows I’d seen weeks earlier. But there were definitely prizes of nature peering out from the forest — red maple leaves on a tiny tree tucked amidst barrenness; orange leaves barely hanging on high up in a tree; the occasional berry still clinging for survival before the frost.

It was a good visit. I walked down several trails, read some signs, saw some birds, heard some other animals. I was literally the only person in the park (that I knew of) for a couple of hours. I’ve never had that experience before. I’m always a little freaked out about bears in the woods (even though people tell me the bears are more scared of the humans than vice versa), so there was one point when I heard rustling on a trail that I decided another direction would be better.

The park is small, rustic and beautiful. I’ve love to come back for a picnic or camping (oops, I meant to look around to see if tents would be on clearance, but I suppose I must have missed those sales by now) sometime. I had a lovely time, saw some lovely sights and got some lovely photos.

On the way home, I saw a lovely sunset:

And three pretty horses, including this one:

A couple of weeks earlier, again late for fall colors, I happened to be at Lake Bemidji State Park and found some bits of autumn beauty.

In years past when I took photos of fall colors, it was in the height of their vibrancy. I have awesome photos of huge expanses of color at my parents’ home on Union Lake. But before this year, I never had to look for it. There’s something about the shrouded colors and bursts of vibrancy still clinging to life that I find awe-inspiring.

A lovely day had to come to an end sometime:

On the way home, I was struck by the beautiful yellow leaves on these birch trees:

And back in town, there was this gorgeous tree along Irvine Avenue:

A month later, we may not have any more fall colors, but we have had some of the best weather I can remember. I’ve been hearing that we’re in for a long, cold, snowy winter, but October and November have sure been nice to feel. It’s too bad we had to spend so much of the time indoors working.

Enjoy the outdoors!