... in the middle of a rather wet nor'easter, with far too much rain falling to do door-to-door campaigning, robert cancelled our scheduled outing and invited me to lunch at the villager ... on the walk back to the bookstore i snapped these pictures with my little olympus ...
... it was fascinating how this unseasonal deluge seemed to encourage the green to burst forth, as if for only a few more days it had decided to hold back the first touch of winter's icy fingers ...
... a good reason for purchasing your impala in black ...
... only a few days ago it seemed these leaves had lost their vibrance ...
... returning home after many a summer wanderabout i welcomed their shade from the hot sun as i doffed my protective gear and covered my motorcycle ...
... alone, holding still the sum of autumn's glory ...
"My sorrow, when she's here with me,
thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be;
she loves the bare, the withered tree;
she walks the sodden pasture lane."
ROBERT FROST
... this afternoon eric and i met up at the a1 diner in gardiner ... we enjoyed a nice lunch, during which he devoted a considerable amount of charming salespersonship encouraging me to consider a "new" motorcycle ... common in europe, relatively rare on this side of the pond, a honda nt700v ... a bit lower horsepower/weight ratio than my trusty bmws, result of being about 80 pounds heavier, but much better suited for long distance wandering ... built-in luggage, shaft drive, extendable windscreen, and a bit more wind fairing ... [sigh] ... yea, for sure a nice highway machine, but i know it wouldn't be as good on twisty back roads ... something to think about, especially since maine-oregon-maine is on for next summer ... !!! ... [any patrons can drop me a note ... anyone interested in purchasing a bmw f650c, too] ...
... after visiting the motorcycle shop we wandered back roads to mt. vernon, where we visited with carl and jane ... i snapped a "GQ" picture of eric with his two-wheeled rocket ...
... he reciprocated by taking a photograph of me and my german/italian pal ... [no, i've not chunked out ... is just my much appreciated electrically heated jacket beneath my topcoat, and the trousers're flannel lined] ...
... most likely i'm going to stick with this motorcycle until i wear it out ... its weight/horsepower ratio makes it very responsive, yet it's light enough for me to throw around on squirrelly back roads ... only one giant coffee-can cylinder, it's not as smooth as a twin, but i've grown to appreciate that with all it's foibles and idiosyncrasies it always seems willing to "take a lickin' and keep on tickin'" ... next spring, if the honda's still in the storehouse, we'll see how willing they are to deal ...
... [another sigh, a big one ... i wonder if it's permissible to attend an AA meeting, standing up to say, "i am a motorcycle rider ... it's been several hours since i've ridden a motorcycle"] ...
... after coffee and a nice visit with carl and jane we headed home, but not before i allowed a moment to enjoy autumn ...
"Within the trees in the lake,
I thought I saw my own image.
Mistaken about the reflection,
still they embraced me."
A.BRADY
still they embraced me."
A.BRADY