I walked yesterday through a late-fall forest. The yellows a little more subtle. Still a riot of color, not yet a monochromatic woodland, but enough bare branches to see the direction we are heading. A feel of rain but not yet rain in reality.

I snapped this photo right before the little hill on my route. I was ready for the ascent, not thinking much about how the warmth is ending. I was generating my own heat at that point.

I knew that a deluge was in the forecast, much needed, though not drought-ending. It will take far more than a day’s worth of moisture to do that. But still, I knew I might not walk outside today. So I memorized the passing scenery. The bridge before the rise. The fat fox who scampered across the path. The walker who saw the animal and mouthed the word “fox” to me as she passed.

All these impressions are here today for me to savor. Even if wet weather keeps me home, I have yesterday’s walk to imagine and relive.