18 'Izzat 166 B.E.  (Baha'i Calendar)
Drumbeat in my head:  Dif Juz, "No Motion"

This morning I woke up to find that relatively thick fog had enshrouded my neighborhood.  I decided to forgo making breakfast in favor of buying it at work,  and spend my early morning time going for a walk around the neighborhood to take in the newly eerie scenery.  

There was something peaceful about this scenery as I walked through the neighborhood.  There was something very clean and soothing about it.  There are a number of Victorian and century-old houses in my neighborhood, and they seemed to feel right at home in the fog-blurred air.  (I should have taken pictures!)

Two blocks from me is a tiny little park with a lakefront view.  This time I couldn't see out more than about ten or twenty feet--I felt like I was staring into a cloud.  What little water I could see, however, had a beautiful reflection.

The fog stuck around well into the late morning.  I was conversing with someone who said she sensed that the fog was bringing people's moods down.  I told her that my mood was actually lifted by this. 

I lived in Los Angeles for the better part of a year and I must say, I got tired of sunny days every day and having to put on sunglasses every time I walked outside.  I missed the the seasons when I was out there.  I like variety in my weather.   A sunny day can lift my mood, but a cloudy day relaxes me and makes me more reflective and meditative.  Too much of either can become draining for me

The fog lifted by the afternoon but it remained cloudy and humid.  It has stayed warm into the evening, almost summer-like.  I ran an errand just a little while ago, and the neighborhood still feels quite alive as it usually does during the summer.  But the summer noises are joined by the crackle and rustle of leaves on the ground, even though the trees are still mostly green. 

Autumn has been my favorite season for a very long time.  But I always forget why until autumn actually arrives.  It's like I'm discovering autumn for the first time again each September and October.