Backyard Thoreau

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Week 3

"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioned ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor." - Henry D. Thoreau

October 13, 2000

Weather: 13C - Scattered Clouds - Windy

lakeshore.jpg

The colours have really begun to turn. Our tree in front is becoming more orange and yellow everyday. Walking along the street, quite a few of the gardens still have colour, but that can't last much longer. Still, it's nice and warm and it will probably be a week before the trees begin to lose their leaves.

There are still ducks in the neighbourhood, although not on the lake. You can hear them as they fly in - the ducks and the even louder geese are filling up the bays along the lakeshore. Just at the tip of the point, you can see some of the flock on the next bay over.

There are a lot of people out today since this may be one of the last warm days of the year. Mostly, people are sitting on the benches looking out at the water or reading. There are a couple of kids playing down on the shore, throwing rocks in the water.

At the far end of the park is a drainage ditch. As I look into it, I notice a large rat watching me. This is the first time I have seen a rat, or any rodent this large. It watches for just a few seconds, before disappearing behind a fallen log.

While I walk to the Community Centre park, the wind picks up. If it gets too strong all the leaves will fall early. Already, because they are on the shore and open to the elements, the trees in the arbouretum have lost more leaves than the ones along my street.

There is a noticeable change in the amount of fallen leaves as I walk further from the lakeshore towards Dawson. At the Dawson edge, there are hardly any leaves down, and once I am walking back home there are almost none (although I'm sure the homeowners are involved in their clean up).