I love fall

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love this time of year. It's my favorite time and that seems to hold true no matter where I am. 

A heron on one of the canals around the Citadel.

I hadn't seen this one before, but my phone IDed it as some kind of cormorant. 

He was sitting on a log just casually flapping his wings.

The mud has tried up some, so we took the woodland trails today which Bailey prefers.

At the rate the leaves are falling now, the trees will soon be bare. 

I can't garden where we are currently and I obviously miss that, so I decided to try my hand at houseplants. We hit a pop-up plant sale about a week ago and I found some decent pots and potting soil. Things like this are less convenient living is a city, but I'm not in a rush and collected things in a few trips over a few days. We still have a lot of cardboard so I did the potting in our spare room and just vacuumed up the mess afterwards. It will be a lot of trial and error until I get some plants established that will grow under the light conditions we have available. I've already killed a cyclamen, but at least some of these should be pretty easy to grow.

Fall brings shorter days, cooler temps, and some things just close down altogether until next spring. One of those things is the local city zoo at the Citadel. Clay read that it was closing soon and we hadn't been although I've seen parts of it from the outside. This morning we went and it was a nice small zoo. I know that some folks don't like zoos, but I don't have a problem with them if they are well run. The best ones don't try to take on more than they can handle well and by that standard I think this one is pretty good. The good thing that zoos do is to introduce people to animals they would never encounter. I feel that for me, and probably many people, being introduced to animals was a big part of what made me care about them. It may not be the ideal life in the wild, but zoo animals also don't suffer the downsides of life in the wild, i.e., hunger, disease, and often violent deaths. 

A recently restored monument at one of the entrances to the park.

I love this pathway in the park when the lights come on in the evening.

Three months

We sailed past the three month mark this past weekend. Here's a few thoughts.

On insurance:  We have private health insurance that would cover hospitalization and anything catastrophic. We've been paying out of pocket for ordinary doctors' visits, meds, bloodwork, and even seeing specialists and it's been very inexpensive compared to the charges we are accustomed to paying in the U.S. Since we passed the 90 day mark we are now eligible to apply for the national health insurance program and Clay is submitting those applications and a lot of associated paperwork today. It will likely take several months and we may not be accepted on the initial application, but we still have nine months on our private insurance contract anyway.

Parcel shipment and delivery:  At least in the part of the city where we are located, the post is delivered by bicycle and only things that will fit through a mail slot will be delivered to our actual address. For larger items coming by mail, they leave a notice and you pick it up from the post office on another day. That's not so bad. More difficult is buying anything online. Everyone uses a different delivery system but in most cases you still have to pick up your package at a drop point. And of course every shipping system has a different drop point. I recently order a pair of winter hiking boots from Amazon France that came from Italy via UPS. They didn't even make an attempt to deliver it to our address, they just posted something online saying it was delivered to a drop point about 4 km away. No problem, Clay and I made the journey out there by tram and then walking one day last week. The drop point was a gas station, but it wasn't there. It finally showed up at the drop point several days later.

Bailey: She's still not a fan of city traffic, but we don't have much of it to deal with before we get to the park, which she loves. Today we took a subway to the end of the line and then an Uber to visit a boarding facility. It was very nice and we've booked a short stay for her starting Saturday evening. She will have a private cabin with outdoor space surrounded by a high fence, which gave me a great feeling of security. The owner/operator is a woman and is obviously a dog person. 

French class: My A1 level class ended with October and I'm relieved. I wasn't fond of the daily schedule. I'm going to pursue some other learning methods on my own (with Clay's help). The end of the class also makes it possible for us to begin traveling, which was a major retirement goal. 

Travel: With class over and boarding secured, we are making our first out of town trip this Sunday, just for a few days. Not sure yet where we're headed; Clay is researching options. If the boarding works out for Bailey we'll be doing much more travel in the coming months. 

Health goals: I've been walking at least 10 miles per day on average since we arrived here in August. My A1c was recently tested at 6.0, which is in pre-diabetic range and down from my prior test. I haven't lost all the weight I put back on after stopping Ozempic, but it's coming down slowly and hopefully will be sustainable. I'm still undergoing therapy for my right shoulder after rotator cuff surgery, and recently suffered a setback, but I think things are moving in the right direction again now. All things considered, I'm feeling pretty good about it all. 

Congrats to Virginia, New York, and California on yesterday's election results. 

Pelicans in the zoo, viewed from outside.

From a cemetery tour we took last weekend. 

Great blue heron from one of the canals surrounding the Citadel. 

Bailey's new home away from home.

Autumn comes to Lille

After just a few really uncomfortably hot days in August, the temps here became, well, temperate. Summer ended and autumn began but there was no real demarcation, just a gradual cooling off. I'm still getting used to the Celsius scale, so the difference between 12 and 18 doesn't really mean anything to me. Last week, however, we had a storm come in from the Atlantic and it has been noticeably cooler, and wetter, ever since. 

The locals seem to have moved directly to winter clothing, coats, hats, and the ever present scarves. Even many of the runners that I encounter on the trails around the Citadelle seem to be overdressed for the weather, particularly given their activity. I don't mind starting off being a little chilly on our walks because I know that I'll soon work up enough body heat even on a cool day. I have bought a  lightweight rain coat since we arrived, however, and I expect it will be getting a lot of wear because rain seems to be common around here this time of year. We went to a shopping mall last weekend and I bought a cheap, lightweight vest to wear under it. I think those two garments will get me through most of the fall and winter. I downsized my coat closet considerably when we moved, but so far all I've worn on the two new things I bought since we arrived. 

I didn't check with weather before walking to class this morning and found it raining when I left. I had my new vest but not the raincoat and not the hat. I got pretty wet on the way home but at least it wasn't too cold. IT stopped about the time I got home and now the sun is out so I'm heading out again soon with Bailey for our long walk of the day. 

I don't mind the cooler weather, but it remains to be seen how I'll handle the cloudy, rainy days that are said to be typical here through the fall and winter. It's dark now on our early morning walks and evening walks as well, but Bailey and I are now both equipped with lights. I'm wondering if I'll need to get her a rain coat. She's not fond of getting wet. 

Lille lit up for October Rose.

Dog park fun.

Walking and enjoying the falling leaves.

I continue to be fascinated by the canal, canal boats, and the lock on the Deule. Bailey isn't, but she humors me.

Some pictures of our apartment, with furniture and rugs. 

Bailey on an early morning walk.