Blue Skies

Whenever I am away from Pittsburgh, I remember it for its gray skies. When talking with Pittsburgh ex-pats out west, they invariably mention the weather, and how much better it is in San Diego, or Phoenix, or Sacramento or whatever. There are many great things about this city, but weather is generally not on that list.

However, we've been home about three weeks, and the weather has been absolutely gorgeous the entire time. Blue skies almost every day, and plenty of sunshine. I've been stretching my hiker legs by jogging on the neighborhood country roads that criss-cross cow pastures and dip into wooded ravines. The trees are just beginning to change, tipped with scarlet and gold. Even though it's October, and autumn is officially here, that deep-summer, buzzing of crickets fills the night, drifting in through our open windows. I'm enjoying the sounds of the country, because we just found an apartment in the city, and will be moving to Bloomfield in a couple of weeks.

"Settling in" has happened much more quickly than I expected. M is working already. Rosie the Cat has forgiven us for abandoning her, although she grew bold in our absence, and now freely prowls the entire house, instead of holing up in our room.

I miss the simultaneous passage of time and space, the way you can see your progress not just by another sunset, but by the view of a ridge line, stretching out behind you. The beat of the non-hiking world is terribly circular sometimes.