I changed up the routine a bit this morning by getting up a little later and running a different route. When I got back, instead of swimming right away, I spent about an hour planting bushes along the side of the house. Our neighbor across the street is widening his driveway and was forced to remove some plants that he made available to us. It added a little variety to our landscaping and probably saved several hundred dollars. My wife is still dealing with her rib injury, so I was elected to do the dirty work of digging holes. The same neighbor a few days ago also gave us a blue agave start, so we’ve been able to eliminate all the cedar trees that were originally part of our plant beds. The HOA will take care of the maintenance, so my work is now done until another neighbor decides to do the same thing. 

It’s “Football Sunday!” IU plays Maryland for the BIG soccer championship, and the Braves have a chance to wrap-up a World Series title. TV sports will be my Halloween focus, hoping my teams don’t get tricked but rather treated to victory. We will go over to my son’s house later today to check out my granddaughters’ costumes before they go in search of candy. Another thing I need to change about my daily routine is better control of my sweet tooth. I need to lose 5-10 pounds, a “winter fat” issue I seem to face every Fall. I should not be fighting to stay under 200 after running every day. However, unlike Portland there are no steps to climb and dog walks are much shorter since we no longer have to go to a park to find grass. Overall, my step count must be lower but I’m no longer using an app to track it or calories burned. Old age gravity is taking it’s toll on my figure. 

It just doesn’t necessarily feel like Fall here in Florida, but the heat and humidity is now at least tolerable. Trees are not turning color and there are no threats of snow. We did have some tornado warnings last week that were unusual. It also hasn’t been as rainy with no recent hurricane threats. This is my first time dealing with all the seasons here in the Deep South ya’ll, so I’m not yet sure what to expect. With the upcoming time change, it will once again be light at 7 a.m. when I get up and sunsets will be earlier. They reminded us of this when we went to set up a 7:30 p.m. sunset dinner reservation in two weeks. It will be dark by then. Many of our neighbors are headed to their second homes for the holidays, so it will be quiet and dark for the next few months. I’m glad we have just one home to worry about, while Mother Marriott gives us some variety. Happy Halloween, ya’ll.