October Afternoon

Day dawned wet and gray. After church my parents took us out for lunch. As we sat at our table overlooking the ocean, patches of blue sky appeared until, after not much time, the lovely azure of autumn covered the sky.

We drove out to the fish hatchery and watched hordes of salmon, driven by instinct flinging themselves repeatedly at the fish ladders until they succeeded in making progress upstream. Other salmon had spawned and then, their life cycle finished, lay in the water, providing nutrients for the future.

Screaming gulls fought over fish while two bald eagles watched from high perches. Fish skeletons littered the ground here and there, a testament to the eagles' appetite. 

Sunlight filtered through the trees, some still hanging onto green leaves, others almost bare. Shadows fell long on the ground, even at 3 pm, giving heed to the quickly shortening days. A lovely day to savour October joys.