Fall spectacular

While there is plenty to recommend living here, one of the great negatives is the short riding season. If you’re a wimp like I am (hey, I earned my stripes; I’m just older and smarter now) who doesn’t care to ride in the snow, on frost-coated roads, or in freezing rain or sleet, the riding season is about 6 months long, with rides on both ends of that spectrum being few and far between.
However that doesn’t keep us from hoping for that one last ride of the year when Indian Summer is in full swing, the sun is shining brightly on the yellow and red and orange of the forest in its full fall livery, and the temperature is somewhere above absolute zero. But this year, with near-record rain for much of August and all of September, I was almost ready to give up, thinking perhaps it was time for the fall oil change and then beddy-bye for the next 5 months.
Then came this past weekend.
The (Canadian) Thanksgiving long weekend is usually marked by extremes here. It’s either absolutely miserable with leaden skies and any combination of rain/snow/sleet, or it’s spectacular with clear deep-blue skies and mild temperatures. This year we lucked in to the latter with a fantastic 3 days of sun and mid-40’s temps. And though other commitments kept me occupied for a lot of that time I did get out for a short 2 1/2 hour ride.
Here’s some of what Mother Nature had to share.
 

Saw these mushrooms beside the driveway as I was heading to the garage.

Sugar maple at the end of the lane.

Snye Road.

Coming home to our lane in full colour…

complete with doe and fawn as welcoming committee.

And barring an amazing turn in the weather over the next couple of weeks, that’s going to be just about it for this year, so I might as well give her some fresh oil and cover her up with her winter blankie. Perhaps that’s a job for tomorrow as the cold and rain is expected to continue for a few more days at least.