Dreary, Buggy and Wet

Every morning I walk the trails - one loop with Blackie and a 2nd loop with Lucy.  The dogs and I love our walks - almost always a high point of our day. But today's walk was just a chore.  And this is too bad because as the first full day of fall we should be enjoying the best walks of the year.  I love fall but this one is not off to a good start.  Hurricane Irene tore a lot of leaves off the trees, and all of the rain since seems to be drowning the trees as well as everything else that should be peak right now.  

 These trees make it look like November.  I found a Weather Channel video that reported a fungus on Sugar Maples caused by the heavy Northeast rains.  The report said this is mostly restricted to Sugar Maples but I see the same symptoms on many more trees.  There is no color in the field - the last of the bright yellow goldenrod is now bedraggled & sad - the whole field is dismal.  Everything is soggy and because of that we have a major mosquito infestation - even covered with bug spray I'm attacked. Lucky dogs - Frontline seems to spare them from the bugs.  Blackie is always happy to be out; he loves running thru the field & he seems immune to crappy conditions.  Lucy who loves to swim but otherwise hates being wet, is less than thrilled.

 Lucy is ready to be back in the house so she can just nap on the couch.  Can'y say I blame her.

We walk every day - regardless of weather.  We go out when it's below zero, when it sleets, when there's 2 feet or more of new snow ...  We certainly walk many days when it would be much cozier to stay in the house.  Today definitely makes the top 10 list of nasty, miserable walks.  To top it off my Ipod battery died overnight - I guess I forgot to turn it off yesterday.  So all I heard was the buzzing of the mosquitoes.  We had one interesting encounter.  A Great Blue Heron flew over when I was with Blackie - it was not too far above him & he looked completely amazed - like a pterodactyl flying over him.  Of course I didn't have the camera for that shot - no surprise all things considered.