Walking - it's really a "heady" experience sometimes.

It was a hold-onto-your-hat kind of day since those wicked winds continued to howl and send leaves scattering every which way. The gusts might have picked my hat from my head and blew it along the street if I hadn’t pulled it way down over my ears until it met the top of my glasses. Well, that wasn’t really a good look for me, but at least that hat wasn’t going anywhere – that’s for sure.

Despite the windy conditions, I still managed to eke out a trip to the Creek and barely stray into Wyandotte. Maybe I should clarify that phrase to say “eek” out a trip because when you take a gander at the cast of characters above, that seems to be the more appropriate description - besides, it is also Friday the 13th.

Actually, as I was still curled up in bed under the warm blanket listening to the wind, I wondered if I should just skip the walk ... should I even venture out on this Friday the 13th? After much consternation, the idea of topping that 600-mile mark indeed lured me outside. I knew I needed 4,000 steps, or two miles, to make it to 600 miles walked for 2015. Back when I first began my walking regimen in 2011, my daily trek was down Emmons Boulevard, then I’d pause at the footbridge over the Ecorse Creek to see if there were any ducks there to enjoy my bread tidbits I’d brought along and finally I’d turn around to head home. Back then I must confess I felt pretty smug about that daily 2¼ mile walk in the dead of Winter, though you may recall the Winter of 2011-2012 was one of the mildest on record.

There is a large house on the corner just before you get to the footbridge. Every year the homeowners adorn the tall wooden fence which runs along the property line with a series of seven different scarecrows. They make me smile when I walk past them. This motley crew has been “hanging out” since September and will remain there until the Christmas decorations go up.

Even though the early morning rain had dampened the pavement, it was starting to dry courtesy of the wind gusts, though it died down considerably by the time I left on my walk. I navigated around the wind and managed to steer clear of black cats and ladders and things that go bump in the … day. I am happy to report that thus far we remain unscathed by that wicked wind and I must tell you that I held my breath yesterday at 9:51 a.m. when suddenly the house went dark and it was instantly silent as the fridge, furnace and radio went off. I didn’t make a move to grab a flashlight, but just stood there in the dark in disbelief. There wasn’t even a peep from Buddy as I guess he took his cue from me. Within a few minutes the power returned, thankfully, and the only thing amiss was the stove clock which was a few minutes behind.

I made it home before any snowflakes flew, though I know other parts of Michigan got their first taste of snow today. As to me, well, I am eagerly awaiting another Indian Summer before the snow flies.

You can catch up on my blog posts before I started blogging at Patch in August 2013 by going here: http://lindaschaubblog.net/