Scenes from a fall morning

I've been quiet around here. Late summer was a busy time for our family as we saw daughter #3 off to college and our son and daughter in law welcomed our first grandchild! We are almost empty nesters as we only have our youngest child still at home but she's nearly 17 so our time with her under our roof is limited. I'll take all the days I can, though; it sure will be quiet when it's just my husband and me.

A week or so ago I took a very early morning walk in our neighborhood. It was foggy and cool...my favorite kind of morning. I ambled down our street and through our little playground to  a protected creek/wetland area that abuts our development. It's home to coyotes, turkeys, hawks, skunks, raccoons, opossums, countless squirrels and many species of birds. We don't often see the animals themselves (and this walk was no exception) but they leave evidence of their having been around: muddy paw prints, scat, upturned grass and disrupted landscaping, etc. I like living close to nature so the "damage" done to my lawn is hardly worth mentioning...we live in their environment and they were here first. 

This particular morning it was quiet and the fog was just thick enough to make it seem almost as if I were walking in forest, not in my very suburban gated community.