Friday, November 8, 2019

November Walk


It should come as no surprise that I am no athlete.  I've never had a sport to rely on for exercise.  The one thing that has kept me active and healthy is a daily walk.  Grayden and I both enjoy this activity and for that I am so thankful to join my sweetheart in a walk.  It's so lovely to step out our door and walk for a couple of miles each morning. 

 


When we were in Myrtle Beach last month, we increased the distance of our walks.  Returning home, we decided to increase our walks here as well.  Our daughter came for a visit to celebrate her Daddy's birthday and to visit her son that lives with us.  Her sport is swimming, but she also is a walker so she joined us each day for our morning walk.  Our city has a lovely circuit trail that is 3.5 miles.  That is a respectable walk in our opinion!  Every day when we take this walk we have been hoping that our leaves will be changing.  It's been so dry, many of the leaves have just turned brown and fallen to the ground. 

 



Come along with us as we take our morning walk and see how our leaves have begun to change after getting some much needed rain!  The Heritage River Trail trail follows the Rappahannock River for a ways and then connects to the Canal Path Trail.





Fredericksburg is full of history and there are markers here and there to remind us.


Walking along this morning it was quite chilly.  We're both bundled in our warmest clothing complete with hats and gloves.  The wind chill is quite noticeable, but the view is worth it. 


If you look across the way, that is where we continue our walk.


Despite the cold day the river is a beautiful blue this morning.


Rich golden hues of Autumn dot the banks of the river.


As we cross the footbridge over the old canal we continue our walk.  


The old canal through Fredericksburg is not in use now. 



The two paths link together to make a circuit, the Heritage River Trail and the Canal Path Trail. 


The city has gone to great expense to continue the path under Fall Hill Avenue.  Pedestrians, joggers, and folks on bicycles can safely use this path without danger of local traffic.


Late Autumn seeds dot the landscape as we continue down the Canal Path Trail.


The birdsong and the rustling of the leaves in the wind are the only sounds as we take one step after the other.  I must say this is a most contemplative walk.  


The colorful tapestry of fallen leaves frame the edge of the pathway.


The still canal water mirrors the trees that surround its edges.


"Nature never did betray the heart that loved her."
William Wordsworth


We are thrilled to see color on this windy morning.  Though it's brief, it's lovely.






The bright green leaves of this morning will probably be gone this evening as a we are expecting our temperatures to drop to 25 degrees, a killing frost.




As we walk the last segment, headed to our car, we see many lovely shades of orange, red, brown and gold.  Oh Autumn how I love your show!








26 comments:

  1. Wow.. what a beautiful area you have at your doorstep! You captured some beautiful leaf color, my friend. And the river is beautiful! Thank you for sharing it all with us. And thank you for your sweet comment on my blog post today. I can always count on some kind words from you. I'm glad we've become blog friends.
    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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    1. Teresa, one of the wonderful blessings of blogging is meeting new friends. I so enjoy learning about your area and your life. I hope I do the same here. I'm so glad we've become blog friends, too!

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  2. Beautiful photos from your walk. Now, some boring information! They say that walking a mile burns the same calories as running it! Well, I know which I prefer. Also, they say walking is the best form of exercise. I wonder if that's got anything to do with you have time to stop and appreciate nature all around? I never appreciated anything when I was running, I just pounded along focusing on my pace and breathing. Three and a half miles is good. How long does it take you?

    ~~~Waving~~~From Across the Pond~~~Deb in Wales xoxo

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    1. Deb, let me check my smartwatch for exactly how long it takes. It takes us 1 hour and 12 minutes to walk 3.5 miles. When we stopped to take photos it took one hour and a half yesterday. I have never liked running, even when I was younger. I'm so glad walking is good exercise. All you need are good shoes. xoxo

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  3. What a beautiful walk and how wonderful that you have this safe place to walk. Our only safe place is the cemetery and it will soon be closed until spring. Oh my yes! A three plus mile walk is very respectable! How long does it take you? It would take me over an hour, I think. The fall foliage was just wonderful. I loved seeing the crimsons and golds.

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    1. Vee, we are so thankful to have this lovely place to walk. I really prefer walking out the door without driving to a walk, but this trail is beautiful. Like I mentioned to Deb, after checking my smartwatch we usually complete this 3.5 walk in 1 hour and 12 minutes. We also walk our Mall in really bad weather--not as pleasant, though.

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  4. Some beautiful photos, Martha Ellen! The lack of color is much the same up our way, so I really treasure our bright red burning bush trees here and there in our woods. Having such a lovely place to take long walks is truly a blessing in my opinion. I love the Wordsworth quote!

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    1. Thank you, Cathy. We pass a couple burning bush shrubs on this walk. They have been exquisite this year, though now they now have a lovely red carpet under them.

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  5. That was a lovely walk! Very pretty pictures and your story reads beautifully! Isn’t it nice that our communities have provided paths like that!

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    1. Thanks, Liz! It is great that communities are using old railroad trails and creating paths for pedestrians to enjoy. Our city is in the process of creating more and we're very happy about it.

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  6. I enjoyed taking this beautiful autumn walk along with you, Martha Ellen!

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  7. Martha Ellen, what a gorgeous walk! So much beauty! You and Grayden are really upping your game with this longer trail. More time to exercise . . . more time to enjoy the beauty of God's creation . . . more time to spend together! Lovely!

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    1. You are so right, Cheryl. We love the time we have now to enjoy most everything. The beauty of God's creation fills my heart with joy!

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  8. Oh what a lovely walk! You still have lots of beautiful color there! I think a 3.5 mile walk is just about perfect.

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    1. Our leaves were quite late changing, Mary. With a freeze last evening our lovely leaves are sailing to the ground.
      The longer walks are quite enjoyable! No need to be in such a hurry.

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  9. Martha Ellen, this is the loveliest walk ever. Thank you for taking me along with you. You have a lot of the same colors as we have here, but I have noticed in many of my blog friends' states that the trees are already turning bare. Here, we still have the Autumn leaves turning color on the trees, and my neighbor's big tree is just starting to change. So, no bare trees here yet. That happens around December. This bridge is so charming, and the picture of the orange leaves is pretty. It's nice to see the history of where you're walking also. I bet it was wonderful to have your daughter walk with you while she was there. The river is beautiful, and looks cold as ever. These are such nice photos, Martha Ellen, and the nature quote by William Woodsworth is so true. Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Thank you , Sheri. I'm really loving this walk. Grayden and I have been doing it every day now for a change of scenery! It was wonderful to have our daughter walk this trail with us. I do miss seeing her and cherish our times together.♥

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  10. I'm looking at these glorious images and then glancing outdoors into our world of white and wishing I was where you are!The color is great and I can see why you would walk and walk through this glorious area. That's the thing about winter. I stop the walking because it's so cold (and icy). Good for you. The photos are simply perfection!

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    1. Believe it or not we had a few flurries today here, Jeanie. We had to walk in the mall today instead of this glorious walk--boo hoo! Stay warm and cozy. ♥

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  11. Hi Martha Ellen! Good for you to extend your walks. It makes it a lot easier with so much beauty around. What a lovely time of the year and your photos show that. Thank you for taking us along :)

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    1. We enjoy this walk so much, Denise. It's a beautiful way to start our day, even if we have to bundle up like yesterday! Once we get going we warm up quickly. Thank you for coming along with us! ♥

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  12. Such a lovely show of Autumn. It's such a wonderful season of the year. How very nice that you head out for a walk in the morning. A great tradition and nice way to start the day...

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    1. Ellen, Autumn is my very favorite time of the year. It's great weather for a nice long walk. ♥

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  13. I so enjoyed my walk with you … the colours and views in your photographs are just lovely.
    We always enjoy walking, and it is good for the body and soul :)

    All the best Jan

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    1. The walk has changed a lot since I wrote about this, Jan. The leaves have mostly all fallen to the ground, but the walk is still pretty in its own way. Today we spotted a great blue heron in the canal. It's always something lovely to see and enjoy on this trail. Thanks for coming along, Jan!

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