Autumn Breeze
            We discovered a feral cat living in our backyard several years ago. She now lives a comfortable domesticated life a block away in the house of a neighbor who kindly took her in when we worried about her being in cold, wet weather. Everyone at my house has allergies, and we couldn’t keep her. I visit her at her indoor home every week.
            In her outdoor days in our yard, I admired her survival skills. She easily jumped onto the high fences that carried her between yards, running off to wherever the hunting for birds and rodents seemed promising. She was small but tough.
            A few years older now, she enjoys long naps indoors, and probably would not survive so easily on her own. She does, however, love to spend time in her current backyard. 
            Today I spent my usual hour with her and her “indoor cat mom,” sitting outside in their yard. Her sense of enjoyment at simply being in the fresh air was tangible. I sat watching her soak up the sun, the autumn breeze blowing across her whiskers, her ears perked in constant alert mode. She looked sublimely content.
            I felt a deep satisfaction watching autumn light cast shadows that flickered as the breeze moved the surrounding leaves. I could viscerally sense the cat’s pleasure, and similarly enjoyed the feeling of the autumn sun and breeze on my skin.
            If we could put that feeling of simple pleasure at being outdoors, sensing the warmth of the sun, the feel of a light breeze, the sound of birds, and the golden hue that comes with autumn afternoon light into pill form, fewer people might need prescriptions for anxiety and depression.
            Is there something in your life that brings calm contentment? A place, a season, a person? Tap into that goodness when you can, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Pioneer Tree Trail, takes readers on a woodsy walk through old growth redwoods in Samuel P. Taylor State Park, a perfect place for soaking up golden autumn light that filters down through the trees.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 91: Pioneer Tree Trail

Animate Inanimate Objects
            Behind the 1870 vintage wooden door framed by thick stone walls of the house I grew up in, in the dark cellar dimly lit by sparse incandescent light bulbs and amply filled with large, fuzzy-legged spiders in every corner, a shovel with a worn wooden shaft and dark-rust-tinted metal blade was kept in easy reach. It was handy for yard projects, as well as for catapulting the occasional dead critter over the wild grape vines that covered our back fence and into the farmer’s unused back field.
            My earliest memories include images of that old shovel, which felt to me like it had a spirit of its own, having passed on to my father from his childhood home further north in Tug Hill snow country. Was it the sense of the wood? The rusty blade? The way my father used it for so many purposes, always kept so easily at hand?
            A similar sense emanated from the honey-colored wood stock of the old .22 rifle my father also inherited from his childhood home. He didn’t like to hunt, but his father and brothers taught him to shoot deer during hunting season in the cold north, where venison was a helpful addition to the dinner table. It was a very basic, unpretentious rifle, but something about that wooden stock gave it a magical feel.
            Being country kids, my older brothers took up hunting with our BB gun and the .22 from before they were teenagers. I didn’t like the idea of killing rabbits and pheasants, but my brothers taught me how to aim and shoot the BB gun and the .22. It was gratifying to hit the old tree trunk across the swamp at the bottom of our sledding hill.
            Both the old shovel, featured in the photo for this Insights post, and the old guns kept in our cellar, have cameo appearances in my new story, “My Atticus Finch Takes Aim,” featured on The RGG web site (also known as The Renaissance Garden Guy). John, co-publisher of The RGG, mentioned to me that he also feels that objects can emanate a spirit of their own.
            I hope readers will take a few minutes to read the story in this week’s featured link, “My Atticus Finch Takes Aim,” a story in which these animate-yet-inanimate objects from my childhood play a role. 
            Are there objects in your life that bring you a powerful sense of emotion or connection? Feel free to share in the comments. Keep putting one foot forward!
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s featured links:
RGG story: My Atticus Finch Takes Aim
Find other podcast and article links under Media

A Change of Scenery
            A friend who took on too many extra work assignments for too many months realized as we were chatting that she needs a break. Not just a full weekend off, but maybe a little trip out of town to change up her environment and routine.
            I remember being able to do that years ago. As a single person living in Kyoto, Japan, I was able to use work breaks to travel around Asia. When first married and living in San Francisco with no kids, my husband and I had the freedom to visit family in Europe, England, Japan, or the east coast. We took several-day road trips to visit friends in far northern California and Oregon.
            When our two sons were very little, we hauled fold-up baby strollers onto airplanes to visit family. With each year, our younger son’s constellation of differences that added up to an autism diagnosis made it increasingly difficult to get out of the house, much less travel any distance by car or plane.
            For several years—between ages ten and fourteen, when hormones and other changes make life even more challenging for autistic youths than it is for typically developing kids—we were virtually trapped at home. My son’s inability to tolerate almost any sensory input or change of routine made getting away for an overnight stay anywhere seem like an impossible dream.
            With the support of a dedicated helper, as well as courage and persistence on the part of our son and the rest of the family, we managed to do a few overnight stays at scenic places within reasonable driving distance. It was never easy, but we were all better for having expanded our horizons.
            Sometimes we need to rev ourselves up and overcome obstacles, even if the obstacle is mostly inertia, to experience a change from our usual environment. If possible, try even just a day trip to freshen your perspective, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Pacific Valley Bluff Trail, shows a trail at Big Sur where we managed to take a family road trip. The trail starts with an inconspicuous gate opening onto a cow field, with waving wheat bordering a path leading up to bluffs overlooking a stunning stretch of the California coast.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 29: Pacific Valley Bluff Trail

After the Crowds Leave
            A friend who lives in Cape Cod—a hugely popular destination for summer visitors—recently posted about visiting a local beach just after the summer crowds had gone. The photo showed an empty beach which he was enjoying all to himself. It looked so peaceful.
            I was reminded of many dramatic stretches of the California Coast. It seems everyone is going to a beach along scenic Route 1 during summer break, especially in areas like Half Moon Bay which is easily accessible to the large population of the San Francisco Bay Area.
            Due to traffic and parking frustrations, we plan our beach visits to this busy area during the off season. It’s easier to truly appreciate the natural beauty of a place when not fighting crowds.
            Do you live near a place that gets congested during summer break, or perhaps a popular winter activity area? Enjoy the benefits of off-season quiet time, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Half Moon Bay State Beach-Francis Beach, takes readers to the main hub of a stunning multi-beach stretch along the Half Moon Bay shoreline.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 182: Half Moon Bay State Beach-Francis Beach