Autumn in the valley.

Isn't that lovely? We'd been having heavy weather all day, but shortly before I reached the crest of the hill it had begun to move off. You can tell that I was in the shadow, but the sun was bathing the valley and drifting our way.

The dog was not impressed.

This is Warwick Valley in New York's Orange County. I didn't go there to impress the dog. He just happened to be in the backseat. I can tell you exactly where the spot is: right next to the ice cream store for Bellevale Farms Creamery in Warwick, which sells ice cream that is rich and delicious. And as a bonus, they get leaf-peeking lunatics who want to see the view while they eat their Black Dirt Blast. Or, people just come for the view and skip the ice cream.

I came for the ice cream. The dog was not impressed by that, either. Why would he be? He didn't get any.

Still, we'd been in the car for over an hour, and I thought that he'd be happy to come out and stretch his legs. Nope. Tralfaz gets spooked sometimes and will not get out of the car. Actually, sometimes he gets spooked going into the car. I know he'd get spooked being strapped to the roof. The fact is, this dog is scared of weird and incomprehensible things. However, at times he is extremely brave, and that doesn't work out so well either. I will have a story to tell in future.

Anyway, as I noted earlier in the month, fall is here and it is lovely. The creamery is open until the end of the month, and God knows how long the leaves will hang on, so hurry on over to the Warwick Valley and enjoy them both. We still know how to do a few things right in New York.