Here it comes...

One day your basking in the midnight sun... the next you wake up to find yellow leaves drifting past your windowsill and termination dusting cloaking the tops of mountains.

Summer is over. Terminated. Kaput.

The air is crisp. Especially when it's not raining. Fall is upon us. And any minute now, we'll be donning the snowshoes to walk the dog.

Today was my day off... every other Monday. The fact that I woke up feeling flu-like only put a slight damper on my day. I figure I've caught whatever has been ailing Alicia these past couple of days. Despite her runny nose and slight cough, she seemed pretty perky, so I carted her off to her "new school" by 10am and ran some errands in Eagle River.

Later I met Stephen and his hunting buddy at the river to deliver some additional supplies (read: FOOD). They're having a good time. They've yet to get (or even see) a legal moose. They have seen lots of grouse, a beaver, and a lynx. And they've smelled a bear (which apparently reek).

After I left them at the river to return to their camp, I stopped by the house to change into jeans and hiking shoes and headed for the berry hill in Eagle River. I spent more time climbing to the top of the hill than I did picking blueberries. But I did end up with enough to make either some muffins or syrup.

The trail goes up past the blueberry bushes and the treeline. Once you top the ridge, all sound disappears and it's as if you're the only person on the planet.

If I weren't in such horrible shape, I'd hoof it up there every chance I got. It's such a peaceful, beautiful, inspiring place.

While I was up there, I found some bright red leafed low bushes loaded up with blueberries. But it had taken me so long to get up there, that I didn't have a lot of time left to pick berries before retreating back down the hill to pick up Tess from football practice and Alicia May from her "new school".