"When autumn leaves...start to fall..." (mi mi mi mi) Anyway, as we in the Northeast bid a sad farewell to Blazing Saddles...no, blazing streets, we look forward to cooler temps and Fall's fascinating fondue of flavorful facets...cool, cold, warm, wet, dry, FUCKIN' ACORNS, and tempest-toss'd talons as we wend barefoot into the fall season (sneezin', swearin'...). Going barefoot is AWESOME!
Yeah man I just started goin' barefoot on a regular outside basis again. It feels pretty damn good just gotta toughen up my feet for gravel
Temperatures are still between 75 and 80F (24 to 26°C) here, too (central western Germany)... the only hint at autumn is the slight change of color in the leaves plus lots of acorns, chestnuts and beech-nut shells on the ground. Wonderful barefooting conditions, indeed... and since also the nights are mild enough, currently around 60F (15°C), I can also enjoy barefooting in the dark without getting cold feet or having to bundle up in warmer clothing. In fact, having woken up early and now enjoying breakfast, I will leave for a sunrise barefoot walk in the nearby park in less than an hour, greeting the day barefoot and skyclad. Wiggling bare toes in joyful anticipation, ~*Ganesha*~
we are still hitting 34 C° in coastal tuscany but sadly, scorching pavements are over . i'd really love to hit the shore while it lasts.:sunny:
Autumn is a nice time for barefoot strolls at sunrise, too... I did one this morning, and here's my little report: First of all, it might be a surprise that I did not post any barefoot weekend reports, even though the weather was fine enough with sunny skies and temperatures well above 20°C – perfect barefooting conditions. And since I have a two-week leave at the moment, I should be using every minute I can get to get out and let my bare soles feel Mother Earth's bare skin. However, I preferred to stay indoors, in bed a lot of the time, to sweat out the cold that had developed towards the end of last week, and which was, once again, just in time to hit me at the beginning of a vacation. Such has happened before and so I knew what to do. Weather forecasts were telling me of the warm conditions to stay for about another week, with temperatures presumably dropping lower (to around 15°C – still OK for barefooting according to my taste...) towards the end of my two weeks of barefoot freedom. So, with the effects of the cold decreased to a minimum, I went out to do some necessary grocery shopping on Monday, trying out my new orange sarong – a wonderful color, bright and cheerful, matching bare feet just perfectly. On Tuesday morning, my inner clock, still adjusted to the times of the working week, woke me up in the dark – and since I wanted to spend as much barefoot quality time as possible, I got up at around 5 am, fixed myself some coffee, did my usual morning ritual of sipping on that mug of coffee in the nude on my balcony and felt the mild morning air (15°C) on my skin with delight. To make this morning special, I decided to get to the park before sunrise, capturing the special mood of that time and watching the sun lighten up the eastern sky. There were some clouds in the sky, which meant that there were going to be some nice colorful views to be watched and marveled at. Arriving in the park, the air felt so humid, that I cold almost grasp the dew from the air with my bare hands. I caught a lot of dew on my bare feet, to be sure, together with grass clippings, since the lawns had been mowed recently. Unlike people mowing their lawn who then sweep the clippings together (a barefoot gardening delight, by the way – lawnmowing and then sweeping up the clippings... I've done that in our garden as a kid barefoot, too), the municipal gardeners just left the clippings lying there, turning my feet into grass feet, since they clung to my dew-wet skin. Thus, walking barefoot over the dewy grass was a double delight this morning. After crossing the lawns and arriving at the western corner of the park, I sat down on a bench, made myself comfortable and watched the sky beginning to light up in the east. A few people walking their dogs in the early morning gave me odd looks – partly because of my bare feet, partly because of the colorful outfit (orange sarong and a red t-shirt with a meditating yogini print on it). I just sat there, having a frugal snack for a second breakfast (a few slices of watermelon) and took pictures of the fiery sky unfolding as the sun rose. After catching a lot of the mood in pictures, I went to one of my favourite spiritual places in the park – the three alders, my beloved threefold Goddess trees. On one of them, I placed a feather which I had found at the park entrance, a little Ganesha figurine, which I carry with me for good luck and lit two incense sticks, placing them next to the feather... not quite a true pagan altar, but enough for my taste to start a little invocation and meditation. Standing in the middle between the three trees, I planted my bare feet firmly onto the soft and warm soil (the soil always feels a little warmer there – that's why I call it a spiritual hotspot), spread my arms and began the first round of my breathing meditation exercise. Inhaling the sweet perfume of the Nag Champa incense burning while doing so, increased the feeling of taking in positive energy in the process. After finishing this first round of meditating and energizing, I decided to get a second helping, so to speak, and slowly walked over the cool and wet grass to a little copse of trees, that formed a natural dome between them. This is another of my favourite spiritual places, where I can be really in touch with Mother Earth, since the soil in that dome feels like soft forest floor, replenished with fallen leaves every autumn, adding a new layer of good Earth to feel underfoot. As I entered that place, with the morning sun filtering through the low-hanging branches, I felt elated. But that feeling of joy was cut short abruptly, when I saw that one corner of that beautiful place had been littered with trash – mostly chocolate bar wrappings, an old supermarket plastic bag (ironically with the message "Der Umwelt zuliebe" - for the sakes of the environment – printed on it... an advice to use plastic bags more than once and not to litter), and even some used condoms... So, people were also having sex in this secluded spot... nothing bad about that, since it is a wonderful place for lovemaking in the dusky hours around sunset. But at least the people enjoying this place and making merry should have taken their rubbish out of there. The sad thing is, that no more than thirty feet away there is a trashcan... it would have been very easy to pick up that stuff, carry it there and deposit of it the proper way. I sighed, took off my t-shirt, and barefoot and bare-bellied performed my second series of meditation exercises in that place, this time not only drawing up positive energy from the Earth for my sakes only, but also to send it out and enlighten the poor souls that did not see the beauty of this place and littered there without giving a thought. After feeling energized a bit more, I then decided to make amends by picking up that trash, using the plastic bag to stuff all those chocolate bar wrappings in them, the used rubbers, too, and finally lighting incense sticks to cleanse the place. One might call this a little extra karma service, an act of agape (unconditional love) for our Great Mother, or even doing some voluntary service to keep a nature monument clean. As I saw while cleaning the place, the trees forming this little copse are indeed tagged by the state as a natural monument - „Naturdenkmal“ in German. So, by performing this spiritual and good karma service, I was also, incidentally, doing service to the state. Sometimes, doing so can be a good thing in many ways... Wiggling bare toes, ~*Ganesha*~ (More pictures of this morning in my barefoot diary)
It's been a really great autumn of barefooting up in beautiful Muskoka Canada. This is the best time of year to be out barefoot in nature here and I've been making the most of it hiking and canoeing/portaging over the last few weeks. The heat of summer (yes it does get hot from time to time here!) and bugs have gone and the forest trails are a sensory feast for the soles - soft mud, unyielding granite, carpets of pine needles and, now, fallen leaves. These were dry last week but are now sodden with rain. The only downside is that this season is quickly fading and temperatures are falling. Hopefully though I'll have a few more expeditions before the hard frost and snow set in some, time in November. Those shoddies have no idea what they're missing!!
True, that! Even a frisky barefoot jaunt around the 'hood, steppin' in leaves and puddle and grass clippings---you RE-realize WHY the body IS as it is.
Autumn leaves can be crispy crunchy when walking along - such a tune makes strange melody still, sounds good
I dunno. As it gets cooler during the day (and worse during the night) I really can't say I am happy with autumn. For those of you who like to shuffle through dead leaves....have at it.
