"Who did you meet, my darling young one?" A chicken, a rooster, a dove...

Black berries shiny with rain at the edge of the woods.

Oh, what did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
....
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall

~Bob Dylan, from A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall*

Zee (our maybe nickname for Zelda - we'll see) and I headed to the park in a steady drizzle this morning. I sang Dylan's little song to myself as we headed off. It's been raining for a few days now and I am definitely tired of it...chilled to the bone.

It's as if she turned and said, "What do you want?"

All in all, we had a good walk. We were late enough that the traffic was sparse. We saw only a few doves, a rooster, and a chicken. There is probably a message in that, but we didn't stop to mull it over. We continued with our walk.

I know it's a bad photo, but proof of the rooster claim.

It is definitely fall now. We have just enough "color" to claim it. I love the yellows, golds, and reds - late as they are this year. If the red oak ever loses its leaves we will do a "last mow" and shred them as we do a final trim on the grass.

Some of the fall color in the neighborhood.

The pecans are fairly naked save the empty nut cases.

A few different types of leaves on the sidewalk.

Zelda seems to be coming into her own. She knows where the barkers will be.** And, now that this is HER neighborhood, she has become alert to the scents - tracking some for a block or more. And there must be some indicator for our house because she realized we were home and dragged me through the yard to the steps. No, it wasn't a "let's get out of the rain, crazy old woman" drag. It was a joy-filled, bouncy, "I am more thrilled than I can express!" kind of drag.

I suppose that is how most of us are after an adventure - happy to be home.

Notes:

*Hey, I needed to honor the Nobel Prize winner with something. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hard_Rain's_a-Gonna_Fall

**She has barked 3 times now in a month. She has a nice bark, but I suppose we are just as glad she doesn't overly use it. We think she is becoming more comfortable and, as she feels safe, she is able to bark. I only wish she didn't feel safe enough to chew my things (clothing, one pair of shoes, some door frames...oh, and a magazine).

Our neighbor's "yard art" has changed once again - to holiday festive.