Ode to a glorious fall

I can't remember when we have had a more beautiful fall. Today the temperature was in the high 70's. Yesterday, Pueblo was warmer than any where in Florida as evidenced by the 81 degrees recorded on our back porch thermometer.



Jim and I have tried to take advantage of the wonderful warm weather by traveling on short day trips, walking in the neighborhood, and going to riverwalk to enjoy the scenery as often as possible. This has been a treat to us in our first year of retirement that we are sharing together.



We began the season with our return from Alaska. Having been bitten by the travel bug, we took a short day trip to Westcliff late in September. It seemed the landscape along the way was painted with wide sweeps of bright gold and red. I don't remember when I have seen such beautiful red aspen leaves mixed in the gold. This picture was taken at Lake San Isabel, one of my favorite spots in the world, on our way home.







We took Buster with us and decided it was time for his birthday portrait. He turn 9 in October. At his yearly checkup, the vet said he is in the geriatric stage. That just doesn't seem possible, but I guess one can only hope for about 12 to 14 years the life span on golden retrievers. He did say he was in excellent health and his weight is in an excellent range. If only we took care of ourselves the way we take care of our dear Buster.

Here he is: A golden on a golden day on the way to Ophir.



We also went to see my mother, now in her 92nd year in September. She was doing amazingly well when we were there. She is now in the second week of fighting a terrible cold that has kept her house bound. Today, she sounds a bit stronger, less congested, and she took a little walk around her yard. I hope she is nearly done with this setback. She seems to get these bugs around Thanksgiving.



Much of my time this fall has also been spent on teaching, preparing for classes and working on professional development courses. I spend a great deal of each day at my computer keeping up on my profession and working on classes that I teach. I am teaching a class in English methods for secondary teachers. This has been a lot of fun this year because I have a wonderful class. I have also enjoyed all that I have learned in the process.



I now have two professional development courses that I am also working on. One is being held out in Pueblo County School District #70. It is a practicum in teaching secondary content area subjects to English language learners. Starting in January, I will be offering the exact same course to a middle school that is actually located at the end of the street where I live. I am looking forward to working with the great staff at Heaton Middle School.



I couldn't do all that I do without the support of my wonderful husband. Here is an example of why I love him like I do!
He always does the vacuuming on Sunday mornings. Here he is making sure he gets his work done without missing Meet the Press.