Harvesting at The Market

Corrine and I checked out the Des Moines farmer's market this Saturday. There is only one more outdoor market after this week and I hadn't been to one this year yet. Given the time of year, I wasn't surprised to see pumpkins and gourds for sale all over the place. We ended up just buying some fudge and hot-cider spices. Cool air, lots of sun, wandering the streets - all in all a great time.

And there was a shift in the breeze.

The sunrise when I got to work this morning.

....a mere 45 minutes later.

IMT Run

The IMT Des Moines Marathon began this morning on a great day for running. Temps right around 60° and spotty sun/cloud cover. Seeing as how I didn't really do anything, I just have some pictures hopefully capturing the atmosphere of the event.

Night-Cap

 It's Saturday night, it's dark and a little cold. It's time for a cyclocross race? You bet it is! 

Tonight was the second year of the Oakley Night Cap Cross at Mullet's Bar in Des Moines. The 2011 edition promised a larger course, expanded support (lights) and larger entrant fields. It delivered on all points  and was a really well run event.

The results aren't out yet so I'm not sure how many people showed up, but judging from the races we watched, it looked like nearly double compared to last year. The spectator crowd was massive and the band sounded much better than last year too (same band).

Pre-Sunset

Saw a great start to the sunset after work this evening, had to snap a couple pictures (this is the view from the company's parking-lot).

The river-bottom south of town looks to be getting wet.

Racing the sunrise

Getting to work just as the sun pops over the horizon lately, I figured I'd make use of the camera which now follows me around most of the time. 

Fall in the park

The leaves are starting to drop around some parts of Pella. A few red trees here and there, but most are yellow for the moment. This time of year is great for re-charging and recovering - 80° days, 40° nights, sunshine every day and very dry. It's almost like the desert without driving 1,200 miles -sweet. If a random earthquake wanted to sprout some mountains on the edge of town I'd be all set, but I'll take what I can get.

Lunch in West-Market Park today to sit for a while and soak it all in.