I need some woods

We're having another misty, moisty, muggy day. It's really rather nice, not hot, and we needed this storm. All our grass was turning brown. I think fall is here; leaves are starting to scatter on the University of Richmond roads, which, incidentally, I adore. They go down a steep woodsy hill and wind through more forest, a real one with pine trees and all. It reminds me very much of the road down the the skating rink, into that steep little canyon behind Hot Rocks.
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The strangest thing about our housing complex is that there's so little outdoors. The place is begrassed and tidily-bushed and landscaped to within an inch of its life, and I can't even find a decent stream. There are woods off that-a-way, miserable little snatches and corners of them, but they're full of beer cans and broken glass, and I have no intention of going into them alone. I know where the James River is, but not a good place to go hang out with it, and anyway rivers are not conducive to floating little impromptu boats and splashing about without an audience. No; I was thoroughly spoiled, first by our beautiful mesas and then campus.
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It's Virginia: there's got to be outdoors somewhere!
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On the positive side, there's a big old maple right outside the kitchen window. It's definitely older than my house, which is encouraging. I'll keep you posted when it starts to change colors. And my schefflera (Bertie Woozle) and impatiens seem very happy on the front porch steps.