"October is the month for painted leaves.Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky, November the later twilight."
- Henry David Thoreau
October is, quite possibly, my favorite weather month. Generally speaking, it is the month when the summer heat finally boils away, and cooler temperatures prevail. There are almost always perfect, crisp, cool days, although there are almost always also still warm days as well, especially in early October. The nights tend to range from cool to chilly, and sometimes even cold. But relatively mild days followed by chilly nights are, at least in terms of the weather, my personal favorite.
Yet, this October felt a bit different. It has been so warm, that it almost feels like an extension of the summer, now already officially more than a month in the past. Also, it has been a strange time for me, personally. Busy and hectic.
Yesterday was a busy and, frankly, a tiresome day. In fact, it has been a tiring few weeks, truth be told.
How so?
Well, last week was very strange. I have been having some problems with some coworkers at my job, and it began to really get to me last week. Then, I met a friend for the first time in over a decade for what I had assumed – wrongly – would be a peaceful and pleasant walk on a beautiful autumn afternoon. We wound up getting in a heated argument over politics, which actually really shocked me, because he and I had always seemed to have at least somewhat similar viewpoints prior to this conversation. Finally, on Wednesday, I had a couple of procedures done on my teeth. There was a tooth extracted from my left side, and then there was plaque removed from inside of my gums on the right side, as well as the normal cavity getting drilled and filled. That last one wound up being like a relative picnic compared to the other two procedures. And frankly, each of those procedures cost me well over $400 out of pocket, which hurt in quite another way. Yet, the original price tag for all of the dental work that they originally wanted to do was around $5,500, which was simply too high for me. After discussing it with one of the dentists, we agreed to split some of the word – specifically, the plaque being removed from the inside of my gums – between now and April 1st, when my insurance for the next year would go back up to $2,000. I had only $1,000 left for the remainder of this year, which is from now until April 1st, which is why I had to pay that $440 or so out of pocket. That after spending well over $1,000 on something for my car just a couple of weeks earlier.
Ouch.
The pain from the dental procedures lasted a bit. In fact, to some extent, I still feel it, and have to chew my food carefully, particularly on my left side, and especially towards the back of my mouth on that side, which is where the tooth was removed. It is not so bad, but just still a bit raw and tender.
Then this week, my back went out.
It was my own fault that my back went out, admittedly. I was doing some heavy lifting during the cleaning of my parent’s old house, and at one point, it seems that I lifted one of the bags at a weird angle. Instantly, I knew that I had tweaked my back. But as the hours went on, it became obvious that it was more than just a little tweak. By Tuesday, it was really hurting, and I was having a difficult time getting up and straightening out my back. It was getting to the point where I was beginning to wonder if this ranked among the worst of my seemingly growing list of episodes with back pain.
However, my girlfriend urged me to do stretches and take Advil, and I took her advice in both ways. Sure enough, the next day was much better. I took a walk, and it was a beautiful day. There were some concerns that my back pain might flare up again, but it actually felt better, and significantly so. The pain came back here and there, but more stretches and Advil, as well as a hot shower applied to the part that was hurting, all helped to make it feel significantly better.
As I write this, I have had one full day without it even hurting, and without taking Advil or any pills. That might not sound like much, but trust me, it is a big leap forward. It feels like a step towards greater normality.
Still, yesterday was a busy day. There were a ton of things that I had to do, and not all that much time to do it. This weekend is going to be busy as well, and so I approach it with a bit of wariness. Again, it just feels like that is what these recent weeks have been like. On some level, the winter season might be a break, when things finally quiet down a little.
There was one thing, however. When I was driving from my parent’s place to the apartment of my son and my ex, I turned to notice some beautiful fall scenery. The leaves were turning, and perhaps it was past peak, or perhaps it was even still approaching peak. But it seemed to my eyes that it was still close to peak, one way or the other.
So I decided to take a few minutes, and to take a few pictures.
The autumn is a beautiful time of year, and this is a nice part of North America to be able to enjoy it. Why not take five minute just to breathe the relatively crisp autumn air, even though it has admittedly been unseasonably warm, and this is probably the warmest month of October on record in the greater New York/New Jersey area. It has felt like an extension of the summertime, and saying that now that we are in late October is kind of wild and, dare I say, unnatural. Funny how cynics of climate change seem to stay quiet during times like these, even though they are quick to point out how it is all a farce as soon as there is an unusually cool or cold day.
But I digress…
Yes, I took a few pictures, and thought that maybe it would be good to share those pictures here. They are scenes from the border between Bloomingdale and West Milford.
Enjoy!
