Dry dock

Encouraged by the radiant cheerfulness of foliage in the village, we felt the need to add a little sightseeing to the routine shopping we’d planned.

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Days like this are to be appreciated.

Fall trees are glorious when fully adorned in gold or scarlet, yet I am very partial to the above off-the-shoulders look and for all the stages that follow.

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A bright sky dotted with a few happy clouds cheer up almost any scene.

Even our much travelled route to Greenwich.

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It was the sort of day that makes everything seem to shine, like these gold and copper leaves.

Or is that an opinion conjured by a good mood?

In the days when I was depressed, I saw no spark of light anywhere, even on the brightest day.

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Overshooting Greenwich, we continued to Schuylerville where I attempted to capture the beauty of a Japanese maple. They are purple through the summer, lightening a little in the Fall. I had a wonderful specimen in my Washington garden, one of my few regrets when I left.

Photographs do not really do the leaves justice.

Such trees are spectacular when back lit.

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We went to check on goose assembly at the locks.

Not many had flown in but some early arrivals were snoozing on the carcass of a fallen tree.

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As if they were in dry dock.

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It’s much more usual to see them drifting about in the river, even when it is iced over. Indeed they sometimes get stuck. How do geese decide whether or not to over-winter? Many do.

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So there weren’t many geese about, but what we did run into, shock horror, was a kindergarten outing, lots of dear little children with various adoring parents and anxious teachers in tow. We kept our eyes down and walked swiftly in the opposite direction.

Children terrify me.

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They make noise. They injure themselves. They get into trouble.

They can get you into trouble.

Not to mention a raft of other inconveniences.

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Children are a very great responsibility and unless you are prepared to take that seriously, you shouldn’t have one. Which is why I never planned to.

In no way did I consider myself remotely qualified!

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The preferred companion, in my book, has four feet or a pair of wings.

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