We started hiking for the season on September 24th and have only missed a couple days. Since we started, we have hiked 35.1 miles in 14.5 hours. Not breaking any speed records but considering the terrain we are covering some days; I am happy with it.

The trees are really starting to turn! There are beautiful colors everywhere we go. I was not happy with our lack of rain when I had to water plants everyday but now that we are out in the woods, I am glad that it is dry. We are exploring trails that we previously hadn’t spent a lot of time on because they were too wet. We are also seeing many beautiful asters along the trails and one day we saw a flock of five turkeys wandering through the woods.

Above, we stopped by the stream at one of my favorite local parks, Shaw Woods. I like this park because we seem to be the only ones who know about it. The two times we went, there were no other cars in the parking lot! It’s not that I don’t want anyone else to use it, but when you’re walking a reactive dog, it’s nice to have the place to yourself. There was one couple starting out on the trail with their dog when we were leaving yesterday. This park allows horse riding. We see evidence that horses have been there (read, road apples!), but I haven’t seen a horse there since last year.

And lest you think Shelby always has to stay home, I include this photo with my three walking companions ready to get started on the hike. My husband walks Cassius and Baxter. Shelby stays home once in a while if her limp is flaring up. The limp appears to be from arthritis. As grandma once told me, ” Getting old is hell.” Most days Shelby does go with us and is fine. One day I took her along and let her stay in the car while the rest of us went on the hike. No reason for her to miss out on the car ride. She was perfectly content to stay in the car while we were gone. The weather is cool enough that we can leave her without concern.

And I couldn’t close this post without sharing a picture of a couple of my dahlias. They are growing amazingly large. Especially the red and white ones. The smaller, yellow dahlias are six inches in diameter and the plant is covered with blooms. Probably a dozen of them. The red and white flowers are larger than my hand and there are several blooms on the plant. All of my dahlias are staked upright because the weight of the blooms pulls the plants over, and I don’t want the stalks to snap. I will definitely be digging up these tubers and planting them again next year!