The Days Draw In

The countdown is on for my final morning walks of 2015.
That sounds so dramatic! Yet it is true. As the sun comes up later and goes down earlier, as we head towards the shortest day of the year just a couple of months from now, my morning walks are later in the morning. I no longer get to wave at Debbie the Bus Driver at the start of her shift, and not returning home until 8:30 really pushes back the hour at which my work day finally begins.
So the walks on these crisp fall mornings, in the pale early morning sun that does nothing to warm my hands or nose, are bittersweet. Every footstep is one step closer to darkness, to winter, to mornings on the yoga mat instead of on the pavement.
That's the one drawback to living in the country: no sidewalks, no street lights. My walks follow the sun's cycle and soon that cycle is going to change, and for a couple of weeks, the morning will be lighter again, allowing me to squeeze in a few more walks, with the cold wind at my back or in my face, until I simply have to accept that it's time to shift the schedule to incorporate the late afternoon walk.
Just in time to wave at Debbie the Bus Driver at the end of her shift.