Yesterday, we walked in Forest Park again, but first I did some droning. As you can see the Red Maples around Pagoda Circle are at peak color, but the one in our front yard has barely begun to turn. We can’t figure out why? They are only a few miles apart. Maybe it is an age thing? The maples in the park are older than ours. Ours is also likely a different genetic variant. It’s a mystery.

We went on to hike trails around Deer Lake and then onward along the restored river that runs through the park. The highlight of this walk was sighting dueling City of Saint Louis street sweepers, one in Cardinal red colors and the other sporting Saint Louis Blues colors. This week has been one of gorgeous Indian Summer weather, with highs pushing into the sixties and lows hovering around the freezing mark. Anne and I are still on track for her 30 for 30 exercise challenge for this month. It this weather holds; it should be easy to complete.

Dave and Maren reached out to us and plan to visit with us over Christmas. They had planned on flying, but couldn’t get any good flights, so now they are going to drive to Saint Louis. Dan and possibly Brit should also be here over the holidays, so we should have a full house and only one bathroom. We’ve invited Joanie for Thanksgiving dinner, so it won’t just be Anne and I for that holiday either. Because of all of the talk in the news about supply chain issues affecting holiday shopping, we’ve got a jump on our Christmas shopping already. Our freezer is already full of Christmas goodies and I’m keeping my eyes open for other prospective gifts, for all of the good little boys and girls on our X-mas list.