autumn

The Rif Mountains, across the sea in Morocco. I know that it has been fall for six weeks or so. But here the season does not pay much attention to a date on the calendar or the phase of the moon. Rather, it is a shift in the winds that announces autumn's arrival. And you wake up one morning and suddenly it is COLD. You scurry about to dig out the packed-away sweaters and do a quick count of the gas bottles. Last Wednesday morning in Spanish class, Miguel threw open the window and declared, "Que calor!" But by Friday evening, as Big Jim and I headed out for dinner, we were wrapped up against the cold as the mountain Maroma had responded, "Que calor?! Well, take that!", and the winds howled and whipped through the narrow streets.
Mr. Beebs, seeking shelter from the cold, inside Big Jim's denim shirt. ************************************** I just want to thank the bunch of other bloggers who have linked my Pakistan pictures to their web sites (as well as their readers who have stopped by here to have a read). Your support is much appreciated! I still have more photos from our trip to post, nonearthquake related, but last week I could not bring myself to look through them. Sometimes I need to look at pictures, to prove the experience real, but other times I cannot face them. Reports from Pakistan are still not very good, and there was yet another aftershock, 6.0, this past Sunday. Someone asked me last week whether Big Jim and I were "over it yet." The initial shock and horror, yes I suppose so. But do any of us ever completely "get over" traumatic experiences like this? We get on with life, sure. We have dinner with friends; we hug the dogs; we gather in front of the tv to watch a DVD. And we let the wind carry us along into a new season. For now, that is the best we can do. Hasta pronto, mylifeinspain