Walk With Blue #5
On the lookout for wildlife
I thought it would be too cold to hike today, but a pair of gloves, a scarf, and a warm hoodie were enough to keep me comfortable. Blue is loving this chill air.
Up the trail we go
Isn’t it amazing how much difference a week makes in autumn? Everything went from orange, to yellow, and now to brown. In the woods the layer of leaves is about as thick as it can get. That rich dead leaf smell vanished now that the air temperature has plummeted.
At the trail end/entrance
The trees somehow look larger without all of their leaves. Those oak tree trunks are massive and impressive.
Walk With Blue #4
Blue and I spent a chunk of the afternoon on an epic, meandering 5-6 miles through the woods. At 70F and sunny it was almost too hot for her, but in the trees it was a bit more bearable. Even for me it was warm. I can’t wait until it snows and cools off a bit!
Blue says exam time is BORING
When your dog develops a daily habit of pointedly laying in front of your books and looking horribly depressed, you know it’s exam time at the university.
Wanna go walk?
All I have to do is stand up and give her that look. Then she knows… it’s time to go!
Some benches near the trail entrance
Hurray for poking around the woods all afternoon!
Such a nice day 
Wow, pavement!
Now back to my research papers and then class.
Walk With Blue #3
I finally remembered to bring my camera when I took Blue out for her hike. Today was beautiful, but I wasn’t going to go at first because I had so much to do. Yesterday from roughly 4AM to 7PM I rarely sat down and was constantly cleaning up, working, getting things done… Then today I saw this face in front of my books:
Blue's "patiently-waiting" look
What I told myself would be a short walk turned into a 4-mile hike. Once I got out onto the trails I wanted to wander along them the rest of the afternoon. It was so warm I could smell all of those freshly fallen leaves, and the sun was at that perfect sideways angle through the trees. The beauty of it was astounding. We even discovered a new trail–it’s now my favorite.
Blue looking after a chipmunk
The sun was at the perfect angle.
So many leaves!
I hope it’s like this tomorrow too! There was all sorts of smaller trails branching off the new one that we still have to look into. I’m excited to see what they lead to.
Walk With Blue #2
After an early work shift (and a short one at that), I had an entire afternoon to fill. So Blue and I went on a five-mile walk in the park:
Ready to go?
It was in the 50′s, overcast, and nearly at 100% humidity, but we defied the weather and went anyway. I can report that we didn’t get rained on as I expected. In Pittsburgh, anyone who loves the outdoors just has to get used to the possibility. A clear sunshiny day is usually the exception in late autumn and throughout wintertime.
Looking around in the woods...
I think the cloudy weather actually made for some pretty autumn scenery. I liked the stark darkness of the tree trunks contrasted against and in between the colors of the forest floor and canopy. If you look off into the trees, all you see are these twisting black trunks between two giant layers of orange.
The squirrels kept exciting Blue.
The squirrels are still frantically working to stash their food for the winter. Everytime we go out we’re nearly stepping on them. Blue thinks this is fantastic and is determined to bring one home; so far I’m more determined that she doesn’t, so she hasn’t.
I think the rest of the day is going to be one long coffee break and study session.
Walk With Blue #1
After a long day yesterday where I just had enough time between work and classes to take care of everyone, Blue wasn’t too happy with me. Today I made it up to her with a fun 4-mile hike through the park:
At first we stayed walking along the street, but I got bored and so we chose a random spot and walked into the woods.
We ventured down a hill and crunched through a bunch of fallen oak leaves. The season has already passed the “pretty colors” phase and moved into the “brown”.
These run-down shelters are scattered all throughout the woods in North Park along old trails. We saw one, made for it, and decided to see where the trail went…
…and it led back to the main trail. Eventually. After about a mile. So we followed it back up the hill, back onto the pavement loop, and headed for the car.
It was around 50 degrees F outside, cloudless, and slightly breezy. Gorgeous weather for a hike. I celebrated afterward with a big mug of chai tea and a pomegranate, while Blue got a new bone with a bit of peanutbutter. And now it’s off to commute to class again!
