Saturday, October 13, 2007

Autumn in Boulder

One of the most beautiful times of year in Boulder is fall. It is mid-October—we took a walk along Mapleton and nearby streets this morning. Even with a cloudy sky there was a certain mysterious, luminous quality to the leaves, especially the orange and red ones. For some reason, despite a couple of freezing nights, many flowers are still going strong and this is heartening. New buds are even forming. Winter is not here yet – it is a beautiful autumn. We ended up circling around to a Pearl Street coffee shop for a little journal writing, or “noodling” as M calls it. A couple of gray- bearded homeless guys sat out front on the low brick walls surrounding the flowerbeds, talking, smoking and reading the newspaper. One of the regulars, the skinny guy with the pirate hat, eye patch, and skull and crossbones flag who often sits with a small entourage at this spot, was not in evidence although his cart and flag were there. It is still reasonably good weather for these guys and they are probably managing okay for now – later in the fall and winter it will be a lot harder to see them outside in all kinds of weather.