With all the leaves and rain we have been having the roads have gotten rather hazardous. I have managed to keep upright so far, but I am acutely aware that my traction is not what it was on those dry warm summer morning. I have also managed to keep my feet dry by not stepping into any puddles hidden beneath a layer of leaves. Portlanders are up in arms about having to pay to have their leaves hauled away by the city. The cry of “Why can’t I just rake them into the road?” rings out as they use leaf blowers to remove the offending leaves from their yards by moving them to the street. It is apparently going to cost taxpayers a whopping $30 apiece to pay for the city service of removing the leaves. They bellow “We never had to pay before!” Yeah, you didn’t before you refused to vote for the taxes it took to cover city improvements. Dumb asses. And yet the practice of blowing (and sometimes manually raking) leaves into the streets continues. Makes my running troublesome, but do I cry and moan? No, I just run through them.

In addition to the wet leaves causing me grief I now have to deal with daylight savings time. Growing up in Arizona had its advantages one of which was no DST. I can'[t believe they got that right! So now my evenings get dark an hour earlier and I have more time to get up early. Gee thanks.