The Perfect Fall Day

Today is Veterans Day in the United States.
As a teacher, I have the day off from work, 

so I decided to explore an area with trees with fall leaves

that I had not been to before.

There is a preserve area near the Rio Grande (river)

that is a wetland. I chose a location near the Rio Grande

because this is where we have a forest of trees without going

into the mountains. I was surprised to find out that this area is a wetland

preserve and not just a parking lot area to access a trail along on the Rio Grande.

I fussed a bit in the morning because it was colder and windier

than usual. However, I decided to put on my jacket and stay

at least a short while in this area with nature experiencing the season.

They have a wetland pond with a trail on the east side of it

and a small forest area also on the east of the trails.

I walked down the main trail,

and stopped to view the wetland pond with migrating geese.

Ella was interested in seeing the geese, but her hair

kept blowing in the wind.

The fall trees along the Rio Grande were visible to the west.

We next walked over to the forested area.
A sign stated that this grove of trees was originally a part of a local
tree nursery that specialized in indigenous trees. It is now a habitat
for birds like the roadrunner and owls and other small animals. 

I grew up in coastal San Diego.
It was a beautiful place, but it was not a place that
had most of the trees in the town or region turning
the colors of fall. I did not grow up walking in forests
of trees with leaves turning color and falling to the ground.

I was absolutely amazed, touched, and in wonder

with this experience of having even a small forest of fall

to walk through and enjoy.

Today's ADAD theme is "movement"

so Ella wanted to show her walk through the woods, too.

Between the wind, her boot heels pushing her off center,

and standing in the dirt, Ella explored another meaning

for the word "fall".

She said she was looking at the trees up above.

ADAD Movement

Okay, once..er...twice is enough of that experience.

So, I held onto her as we enjoyed the fall colors in the trees.

We continued to wander down the paths.

 We loved the natural looking log benches!

Ella pointed out a bench that had colorful trees

behind it. It also was near two women who were laughing.
One was a photographer photographing the young woman

among the fall trees and leaves just as I was doing with Ella!

After we had fully enjoyed the fall trees,

we walked past the wetland area and looked

through the lookout windows on the west side of the pond.
A friendly woman was feeding the geese, and we chatted

for a few minutes while I photographed the pond with

the mountains behind it.

For one more exploration, I decided to see

if we could see the Rio Grande.

It was a little more of a walk, but I found a building

that had a deck on it that was accessible for viewing the river.

 The wall was several feet wide, but I was still

nervous about setting Ella on the edge of it in the wind!

She seemed to be okay with the experience.

See! We are brave!
We came out to play today in a new place!

The skies were blue, and the trees were losing

their yellows and turning into a brown

that will soon drop to the ground.

There were still plenty of fall colors to see and enjoy!

As we walked back toward the parking lot,

we saw a roadrunner eating a bug.

It also watched us for a moment, and then continued

into the bushes.

I was hesitant about going out in the cold and the wind,

but it ended up being a perfect day to enjoy, experience,

and explore fall. It was a fabulous new experience!