Fall in Carroll Gardens

The tree across the street from me decided last week to finally admit it was fall, and changed from green to this brilliant yellow nearly overnight.


I came back after Thanksgiving to find it bare and Christmas tree stands around the corner.

Happy almost December!

Where I've Been: Breakneck Ridge

It's hard to get my hiking fix in New York, but luckily it's not impossible. Like most things in this city, you just have to dig a little to find hidden gems. And that's what Breakneck Ridge is—a little gem that no one tells you about. (Of course, that might because most New Yorkers couldn't care less about hiking ...)

Two up-for-anything friends and I traveled on the Hudson line on MetroNorth for about an hour and 20 minutes to the Breakneck Ridge stop. It wasn't a traditional "stop" though; we were dumped out on the side of the tracks ... literally. But we found the trail and started the hike. Or more accurately, the climb. We bouldered straight up for the first, oh, 45 minutes.

Six hours, two peaks and a 3-hour jaunt through the dense forest later, we made it back to the train tracks, just in time for one of the last trains to leave and take us back to the city.

I've done plenty of hikes, but this one trumps some of my Oregon favorites. High praise!

Here's Breakneck Ridge:

Where I've Been: Maine

I was at the airport for a lot of October. It was busy busy. Instead of talking your ear off (typing your, uh, eyes off??), I'll let the photos tell the story.

First: I headed to Maine for my birthday. Oh, it was lovely. I visited Annemarie at Salt Water Farm and she cooked me a tasty lobster dinner for my 26th. (She cooked it, but I killed it! What? You, Ms. Vegetarian? Yeah, more on that later.)








Go, go, go to Camden, Maine, and visit Annemarie. She'll cook you something amazing and teach you how she did it. Plus, it's simply beautiful up there.

Fall To-Do List

I'm going to go ahead and say it: This summer was a bit of a disappointment. Don't you agree? It rained all of June; July came and went; and I'm not sure what happened to August. And now September has come and gone. How has this happened?

That said, I made it through about half my summer to-do list. Now, onto fall, which I enjoy even more than summer. In fact, this morning, I woke up with the windows open and the cool air breezing in and I felt happier than I have in a long time. So, here goes ... this fall, I will:

* Hike Breakneck Ridge
* Go to Maine and visit Salt Water Farm -- DONE! I went last weekend for my birthday. More on that soon, when I get my pictures developed. (Yes, developed. I shot with film if you can believe it ...)
* Sit on the edge of Lake Metacomet
* Volunteer at the New York Marathon again
* Go to two weddings in the midwest -- one in Chicago this weekend, the other in Minnesota
* Volunteer at 826 Brooklyn
* Apple pick
* Meet baby Elsa, the daughter of my friend from my Country Home days, in Virginia
* Spend the rest of my 5 vacation days, which means I just might go back to Oregon and spend it on the coast. Maybe!

Anything else? What are you doing this fall?

This was Fall

Although winter's upon us (Christmas? What?) I sadly neglected much of fall. Here was life:

Food

Running along the Brooklyn Promenade

Apple picking upstate (last picture by Sarah)

Pumpkin carving and cupcake making (cupcake photo by Jes)

NYC Marathon-ing (er, volunteering)

Celebrating

Reuniting in Boston

Ani