Equinoxed...

We're past the equinox, had our first frost, and the leaves are coming down. So I guess it's officially fall. Figured I'd better get some bike rides in before the snow fell, so rode a ways out towards Two Rivers. 

The colors were kind of disappointing, this area was partly burned by a forest fire, so maybe not the best spot for a photo op.

Took another shot in the driveway. The sun had come out by then  so the colors were a lot more vibrant.

Fall Colors...

 A little later than normal, the leaves are finally turning. The fall colors usually peak around Sept 10, more or less, so we're running about a week late. It's probably because we haven't had a frost, or even much cold weather,  yet. Here's a few photos from today;  probably be more colorful in a few days.

While the birch are getting yellow, the aspen are still green.

Temps this morning were in the low forties outside, not bad for mid-Sept. Inside, it was the sign of the beast.

Some more photos, looking up the driveway.

A day later and the colors have intensified...

And a few more days later, the colors on the birch have peaked, while the aspen remain slightly green...

Jak Se Mas...

 I grew up in a midwestern town that was mostly Bohemian Czech. When I was a kid, you seldom heard English in the stores, most everyone spoke Czech. You'd hear the phrase "jak se mas" (how are you) all the time. As I got older, the town began to change as people died or moved away and other ethnicities moved in. By the time I went off to college, you seldom heard Czech spoken anymore. So It was a big surprise when I heard about a Czech-Slovak reunion happening a few years ago in Fairbanks. Eva, a young woman from the Czech Republic had settled here and started a family. She wanted to meet with fellow countrymen and women. The first meeting was just before covid hit and had maybe 30 or so people show up. It was a treat to sample Czech cooking again, even if I didn't know what each dish was, and hearing the language, which I don't speak well,  that was interesting too. Covid put a stop to the reunions, but just last week they had another. So here's what Eva wrote in her followup email:

"Ahoj Cesi a Slovaci,

dekujeme moc za hojnou ucast!

Thank you everyone so much for coming to Czech-Slovak Gathering 2.0 :) And we are sorry if you couldn't make it, but hopefully we will see you next time! Around 54 people came to our gathering and we were very pleased to see how much good food and baked goods and drinks you all brought to share with others!"

They had a catered meal instead of potluck so it was good to know what I was eating this time. Apparently the meal was cooked by a local Moldovian restaurant (who'd think there'd be one up here), so not exactly Czech cooking, but still OK. Eva plans to have another in two years, so we're hoping it will happen again. Here's a group photo she sent with the email...