Today I woke up to discover that it's now fall in Vladimir. After the string of cold days, the leaves are starting to change, and some trees are almost bare already. I'd say that in about a week, it will look like mid-October in Cleveland, with all the trees in full color and leaves on the ground. Also, fall is apparently a very rainy season in Russia, and there is a commercial on TV now advertising boots that claims that you can "happily meet fall" while wearing these fashionable rain boots. I'm imagining slogging through monstrous mud puddles covered with birch-tree leaves. Time to break out the boots. Here's the view out my window, showing the beginnings of Russian fall: