The trees were still green

It was the first weekend of October. While not as hot as it was this past summer, it was still hot. There were pumpkin patches everywhere in the Dallas Arboretum to remind us of the changing seasons, but the trees were still green.

As it now takes me about the same amount of time to fly from Dallas to the Twin Cities as it used to take me to drive from Odessa to the Guadalupe Mountains or to the Ruidoso/Cloudcroft area, I decided to book this trip back in July, thinking that the peak fall foliage season would be around the second weekend of October. 

The Museum of Russian Art was not as good as any of the museums that I visited in Russia, but it was worth finding that out: 

Lakewood Cemetery had a nice mausoleum and beautiful trees, but most of them were still green:

Except for this stained glass, the American Swedish Institute was nicer on the outside:

The Minneapolis Institute of Art is worth a visit. It's not just nice, it's free. European art will always be the best, but some American and Asian art was worth seeing as well:

You can walk between the Cathedral of Saint Mary and the Sculpture Garden/Walker Art Center area:

Visiting the Mall of America is a cultural visit:

Como Park had some interesting animals, but the Japanese Garden was the best. Japanese Maples were changing colors, but most other trees were still green:

St. Agnes Church had an Opera-style choir:

The Landmark Center was nicer on the outside:

St. Paul's Cathedral was just about as beautiful on the outside as it was inside. Some renovations are needed:

Thinking that there might be more fall colors outside the city I decided to head east and visit Afton State Park, which is right at the border with Wisconsin, but except for four maples on a parking lot, most trees were completely green:

We had Columbus Day off, so I had an extra half-day to visit some places. Trees were slowly changing, but most trees in the Twin Cities were still green:

On the western side of the metro area, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum had areas of sugar maples that were near peak (unlike most of those that were a few miles farther east), so I got my fall foliage fix this year before heading to the airport and flying back to Dallas later on that afternoon:

Just like these trees, I'm at my best before I go to rest. Definitely not a morning person.

Conociendo y reconociendo Dallas

Vivir aquí es un estrés diferente al de vivir en Odessa, Texas o en Monterrey México. Por ahora sigo en el proceso de adaptación. Se siente diferente volver a visitar lugares que antes habías visitado de turista, pero ahora siendo el lugar en el que vives.

Esto es un bosque urbano. Aún sin los rascacielos ni el arte europeo (o de otras partes) que hay por aquí, los árboles siempre mejoran el paisaje, aunque sea sólo para tapar los postes y los cables en algunas zonas. Si los edificios son feos, o el barrio no es el mejor, estos ayudan a tapar lo feo o a “maquillarlo” a la vista. Cabe aclarar que casi todos los edificios son bonitos.

En lo que me sigo preparando para poder pasear a quienes vengan a visitar (conociendo y reconociendo Dallas), no me queda más que pensar que el haber escogido esta zona metropolitana, done la mitad de mi alma quedó anclada desde el verano del 2012 al negarse una visa de trabajo (mientras la otra mitad ha seguido y seguirá en Monterrey), que esta ha sido la mejor decisión que he tomado hasta ahora. La mejor forma de agradecerlo es sirviendo a la comunidad a la que enseño.

Por más que quisieran muchos, es imposible predecir con certeza el futuro y los imprevistos que cambian los planes como el coronavirus, pero tengo fe en que este proceso de adaptación me va a seguir ayudando a evolucionar de una manera favorable que me permita seguir viviendo aquí al menos hasta la jubilación. A mis amigos y familiares de confianza, son siempre bienvenidos. Dallas y sus alrededores te esperan.