I was just telling my neighbor about that hike we did last Saturday. The trail up to the ridge was absolutely stunning this time of year — all the maples were just starting to turn and the light filtering through the canopy made everything look golden. We stopped for about twenty minutes near the creek crossing just to listen to the water and watch a pair of kingfishers working the bank. I'd forgotten how good it feels to be out that early, before the day heats up and the crowds arrive. My legs were a little sore the next morning but it was totally worth it. I'm already thinking about going back in a few weeks when the foliage should be at peak. Let me know if you'd be free for that — we could make a proper day of it and pack a lunch this time instead of just grabbing protein bars like we did last weekend. The dogs absolutely loved it too, by the way. They slept the whole ride home and barely moved for the rest of the afternoon.

I finally got around to organizing the garage last weekend and honestly I don't know why I put it off for so long. It only took about four hours once I really got into it and now I can actually park both cars in there again. I found a box of old photos from college that I'd completely forgotten about and ended up sitting on the floor for an hour just flipping through them. There was one from a camping trip where we all looked so young and ridiculous. I sent it to the group chat and everyone started reminiscing about that trip for the rest of the evening. We're talking about trying to plan another one soon although logistically it's a lot harder now with everyone's schedules and kids and all that. Still it would be really nice to get everyone together again even if it's just for a long weekend somewhere not too far. I'll keep you posted if we actually manage to make it happen.