Autumn is here.

Autumn in this part of the SF Bay area is not so dramatically different from the rest of the dry season. The days are shorter, and some of the deciduous trees are just beginning to think about losing leaves. This morning it cool and grey and quiet, and there is enough moisture in the air that the edges of Albany Hill appear monochrome, and just slightly flattened and blurred, as they might in a charcoal drawing. Even here, though, there are autumn days when the clouds roll out, the sky is a bright, clear blue, and the air smells of cool days and turning leaves.

Patxi received bike tires by UPS this week, and both Esther and I were here Friday afternoon to ensure that Patxi wouldn't have to go to Richmond to pick up his package in person. We were both working in the living room when Esther asked, Bindel, are you feeling homesick? I thought for a second, and replied A little. I wasn't really sure why, then, but it sounded right. I think, perhaps, I miss fall in the woods most of all right now.

On Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon, I took a break and had a cup of coffee with Christof at Brewed Awakening. There was a breeze, and bits of fallen leaves kept showering onto the heads of passers by. Christof commented that it was like rain, and I replied that perhaps this is why the season is called fall. Then we went back to the office to work.

Yesterday morning, I finished Children of God (the sequel to The Sparrow) by Mary Doria Russell. I highly recommend both books. Yesterday in the early afternoon, I finished my PDE homework for the week, and in the late afternon and evening I spent time with Winnie.

Today, I think, is reserved for polynomial computations, fluid mechanics, talking to Patxi about numerical solutions of ODEs, and perhaps taking a walk in the sun.