Nearing the End of Autumn

Even by December, there were still colorful leaves on the trees.

Above, guys are blowing the thick bed of leaves off a school lawn. Below, the same lawn the next morning. The leaves weren't done falling.

3rd and Final Wave of Pics from Mom/Josh Visit

The Top of the Hub is a restaurant at the top of the Prudential Tower. We went up for an afternoon drink, and to drink up the lovely views. Below is the street Greg and I live on. Near the middle of the photo, you can see a vertical tree-lined street; that's ours!

Above, Boston Common. Below, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.





Even though it's been unseasonably warm, the squirrels are fattening up for winter. They're all over the place, and they're getting plump.


Still great sailing weather on the Charles River.

I'm not sure my mom or brother had seen a snow blower before!
My mom came with me on my run one morning.



I think this was the best Mom/Josh Boston visit yet! We had a wonderful time, and Greg and I really enjoyed having them here.

My Mom Arrives!

These photos are out of order, again, but here's the story. My mom arrived a day after Josh did. We went to the Friendly Toast for an awesome brunch, then decided to walk home, rather than take the subway. It was sprinkling, but we chose to brave the elements. It ended up fully raining on us, so the photo above is Josh and Greg playing games in the afternoon after we'd come home and changed out of our soaking wet clothes. Notice the bright gold leaves outside the window. Below is the view from our apartment. I love the different colors.

One of my favorite parts of my mom and brother's annual trip is just lounging around, playing games, and eating interesting food.

Boston's skyline with colorful trees along the river esplanade, seen from across the river.

My Brother Comes to Visit, a Day Before My Mom

My mom and brother come to visit each November. Josh arrived a day before my mom and we had a fun day hanging out just the two of us. Usually when they come out, the autumn colors are past peak. But this has been a funny year, weather-wise, and peak this year was just about that very week. The day Josh arrived was sunny and warm, and the colors were fantastic. Here, the ivy on this building is a rainbow.

Hiking the Frankenstein Trail

Greg and I went to New Hampshire for one of our regular hiking weekends with friends. This time we hiked the Frankenstein Trail! Waterfall, above.
We ended our hike along the train tracks, with a nice view of Mt. Washington (in snow).
We had lunch on the ridge up there.

Summer/Autumn

I loved the big reflection in this puddle. Below, the moon rises over the Prudential Tower and the Mass Pike.
Butterflies in our neighborhood garden park.
These photos were taken on October 9, Sunday of Columbus Day weekend. I'd wanted to take a trip somewhere, make use of the three-day weekend, but the weather ended up being so incredible, I'm glad we didn't miss it. We had a very long-lasting summer this year, and this weekend was in the 80s. The weather was absolutely perfect. Greg and I took camping chairs, bagels, and books to the park around the corner and read for a couple of hours. It was wonderful. The birds were chirping, the air was soft on our skin, and there were even butterflies and bumblebees flitting about.
Billy did very well at his annual exam.
The Fourth Annual Pumpkin Carving and Cider Sipping at work went great this year. (My kitty bat is on the far right.)