As Tisen and I stroll along Stringer’s ridge, my feet drag through a thick layer of leaves. As they crunch and swirl in front of my feet, I remember what fall meant to me as a child.
Halloween was, of course, central to the fall experience. Dressing up in some costume that never quite looked as glorious as I expected it to (except the year my mother cut and sewed her wedding dress into a Cinderella gown for my costume), parading through the yards of our neighbors to go door-to-door for halloween candy.
Even though it was a special occasion, we were only allowed to walk through the yards where adjacent neighbors had their porch lights on and were giving out candy. Some yards, we got to crunch our way through un-raked leaves while other yards were sparsely dotted only with leaves that had fallen in the past hour.
Stringer’s ridge has no gardener to obsessively clear the leaves away. They fall and create a weaving of color over the broken and dilapidated asphalt that marks the ridge’s recent history. As we leave the nearby urban residential area and enter into the preserve, the leaves become denser and the views become more colorful.
Tisen has taken his time getting here. Me with my camera stopping to shoot frequently had nothing to do with how long our walk has taken, I’m sure. Tisen needed to sniff and mark every mailbox on the way through the neighborhood. I tried to coax him on his way, but he insisted in at least making an attempt to leave his mark, even if it was only a gesture by the time we got to about the 10th mailbox.
As we crunch our way through the leaves now, I don’t hurry him, but I do occasionally try to get him to sniff a yard or two in one direction or another so I can shoot while he sniffs. I wonder how many photographers struggle to get the angle they want because they are walking a 70 pound dog who doesn’t always cooperate? Sometimes it makes me wonder if I’m the one on the leash.
Given the slowness of our progress and my need to be somewhere in the near future, we take the shortest route to the overlook. It’s not an overlook in the sense that anyone built a structure or anything. But, they did clear a few small trees so the view of downtown was unobstructed.
I love this view. You can see the best part of the riverfront as you look across a sea of colorful trees. It’s hard to believe there are so many trees between me and home as I look down the ridge and across the neighborhood Tisen and I have just walked through.
I say a silent thank you to the good people of Chattanooga who had the foresight to make this a preserve and then we turn to walk home.
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nomadicmainstream 
Downtown Chattanooga looks beautiful behind those colorful trees.There are no leaves left on the trees in Ohio. The grass has a blanket of leaves. CeeCee likes to sniff through them. When I take her for a walk the whole walk is a sniffing adventure. Thats more fun than walking. Renate
It’s been really pretty this year, although most of the leaves have fallen since this post. One of the dog trainers we worked with described sniffing for dogs as being like curling up with a good book for us. Explains why they think it’s so fun. 🙂
Making small memories and remembering older and bigger ones… Yes, you are on the leash 😀 . I bet you looked precious in your mom’s dress.
Cherishing time together… I wonder how Tisen remembers things. Take care.
I knew it! That explains so much! 😉 I have to admit I did look pretty cute in that dress. My mom felt like she’d put her dress to good use, too.
If the way he kicks in his dreams is any indication, I’d say in his mind, we’re always running. 🙂
Great photos. Hopefully one day I can visit Chattanooga.
Thanks! There are so many beautiful places to see, but it is a lovely part of the country if you’re out this way.