City Views, Country Dreams

Good evening from New York.

In a couple of hours I will be watching tonight's televised final Presidential debate.  These debates provide the ultimate in Live television and no one (not even the participants) can actually predict how the 90 minutes will play.

Meanwhile, let me show you all some pictures I took on Sunday afternoon.  Halloween is not far off now, and autumn has begun changing the color scheme in Central Park.

In past Octobers, I've posted photos of a brownstone filled block near my own street that has  a special way of celebrating Halloween.  On my Sunday afternoon walk I saw only this inflatable decoration already in place.  Jolly yes, but perhaps only a tiny preview of what will be in place in another week.

And so, I continued walking towards Central Park, and in the next block came across a brownstone house that had gone decoration mad.  My photos truly do not do justice to the over the top efforts.

I was not the only afternoon passerby with a camera.  Several family groups were taking photos of various bits of the ghoulish displays.  Not one child seemed at all scared in the sunny mid afternoon.

Jeepers!

If you looked above, a giant spider bobbed in the breeze.

Back down at street level, if you looked behind you, a strange scarecrow stood tall.

The braver folks might have taken a closer look at the actual entrance way to the house.  I saw no one who walked up those stairs to ring the door bell.

And above the doorway...yet more spiders!

On the other side of the stairway leading up to the front door, I saw more scary spirits giving us their own seasonal greetings.

It was a bit of a relief to keep on walking towards Central Park, and to find some other houses had somewhat more subdued decorations in place.

These little ghosties are kind of cute.

On to the Park, so that I could see how the leaf colors might have changed since my last walk.  The brilliant sunshine dazzled my eyes and emphasized nature's beauty.

Those buildings on the other side of the Lake are on Fifth Avenue.

Somehow, the golden tones of these leaves with the blue of the Lake behind them remind me of some of the Japanese screens and kimonos on display at the Met.

How wonderful to look up and not see giant spiders!  

As my walk continued, I could not resist taking this photo of two youngsters' bikes leaning against the rustic fence.  You can also see some of the beauty of the autumn leaves in the background

I hope that you all will enjoy these glimpses of the scenic variety I viewed on a relatively short walk on a Sunday afternoon.  I was quite tired on Sunday after a very busy Saturday workday, but felt completely refreshed after my stroll.

Isn't it interesting how a change of scene, some exercise and interesting sights can help banish achy muscles or weary minds?