Quiet Sunday

Today was pretty laid back.  Cooking breakfast, watching a movie, and taking a nap took up all of the morning.  Later in the afternoon there was a little bit of around the house clean up (with more that should have been done...by me), and then the daily walk.  This time, I bit it all off in one chunk doing two laps around the older parts of Annapolis.

Alumni Hall with the Last of the Autumn Foliage from Fitch Bridge

As autumn progresses, the fall colors on trees are becoming increasingly rare.  A week or ten days is probably all that remains before the deciduous trees revert to their naked state for the winter.  This row of trees bordering Worden Field are really that last real hold outs in the immediate area.

Fitch Bridge looking toward Hospital Point with the Severn River Bridge in the Background

The beginning of the walk started sunny, but a pretty thick, low overcast moved in about two miles into the distance.  The wind picked up, the chill got more pronounced, and the water started to look like rough cut slate.  Still, the architecture is fantastic, and the changing of the seasons, though waning, still adds a spot of color here and there.

Fitch Bridge looking up College Creek

This shot was taken on the second time around the loop with the sun nearing the horizon.  My hopes for a great set of sunset shots were pretty low at this point because of the cloud cover.

Sunset Reflected in the Window

As the walk progressed, the prospects for a sunset seemed to be looking up a bit, but it still wasn't clear that a truly spectacular one was going to materialize.

Sunset Developing over Annapolis with St Mary's in the Background

The pinks and oranges developed slowly at first, but the dividing line between the clouds and the sky started to shape up to potentially be interesting.

St Mary's Church and the Flag in the Center of the
Downtown Annapolis Roundabout at Sunset

This just goes to show that I'm not much of a fortune teller.  Given my earlier pessimism, the battery in my phone (and camera) were far to low to adequately capture the glory that was about to unfold.

Gate 1, Canoe U. at the Height of the Colors

The most stunning sunset in recent experience unfolded right as I was passing through downtown Annapolis. The colors were remarkable, and I remarked on them several times to Rory who was on the phone with me at the time.  The sky was truly breathtaking.

I never really know what I'm going to encounter out on the road, but I'm always surprised and rarely disappointed. In fact, I'd venture to say that any disappointment is all the fault of the observer. The universe always manages to deal something up that's fantastic as long as I can be present enough to appreciate it.