october wanderings

Photo sent to me via e-mail (no, I didn't take this).

There are few things I find funnier than a pumpkin throwing up. I don't know why that is.

Anyway, I'm off on yet another adventure. This is the last leg of my crazy three months of travel, and then I'm home for the rest of the year. I am out of both vacation time and cold hard cash! I leave Tuesday for a business trip to Washington, D.C., then I hop on the Amtrak and zoom up to see Laura in New Jersey until this weekend.

Then it's back home to put up my Halloween decorations, move some perennials around in my garden, clean out the garage, and get my house and yard ready for winter. I absolutely love October - it's my favorite month of the year. I love the colors and the air, raking leaves, the golden light, squash, pumpkins, campfires, and hundreds of kids running around in costumes on my street on the 31st.

If I owe anyone a phone call, an e-mail, or a personal visit . . . just hang in there. The overtime at work and the travel will soon be done, and I'll be back to normal. Or as normal as I can be.

Oh, and today also happens to be the 3-year anniversary of my Big Breakup. Can you believe it's been 3 years already? Sitting under the walnut tree and breaking up . . . the candlelight, the rain, a fleece jacket, beer. I'll never forget that night. As many of you know, discovering Charlotte Martin's music was a huge part of healing from it; her On Your Shore album got me through some icky times. So it's ironic that I get to see her in concert tonight. She's always amazing live!

Charlotte Martin, February 2005, in Detroit, photo taken by me.