Nina and the Fox

Washington is a very small town.

And fall is an absolutely gorgeous time of year here!

It's sweater weather - clear and cloudless and just enough of a nip in the air to remind you that you aren't in California anymore. And everywhere you look, trees are showing off. Red leaves, orange leaves, brilliant yellow leaves. Vines all sport berries in blue, red, and purple. Sunday was the kind of day that demanded you get out and explore. So we did.

Remember studying the canals in American History class? I never could figure out why they were important - a technology that lasted a few years before being overshadowed by the railroads. Why the heck were kids in California learning about an outdated technology that kids in California would never even see? (Imagine if you will, canal boats floating down the LA River...)

George Washington tried building a canal here. And went broke. So did the builders of the C&O Canal that runs from Georgetown to Maryland. I think they made a profit just three years. The good news is that a Supreme Court Justice lobbied to save the old canals which left Washingtonians with a wonderful place to hike and bike. More than a hundred miles of tow path run alongside the canals, past those trees showing off in the autumn sunlight.

So in the middle of nowhere, walking on that towpath, who do you run into? NPR's Supreme Court guru Nina Totenberg. Out for a walk herself. A very small town indeed.

But the highlight of the afternoon came at twilight.

In Los Angeles, if you take a hike in Griffith Park or Temescal Canyon at dusk, you're likely to encounter a coyote. And that's what he looked like - a small, skinny dog-like creature. But with a red tail tipped in white. And a face that could be nothing else but a fox. He looked up and jogged away, over a bridge, and into the gloaming. Enjoying the perfect end to a perfect autumn day.