October 6, 2022
Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~ George Eliot
Autumnal glory
changing seasons
Crowning glory
It’s snowy and gray out my window, so I went in search of a little color and warmth. Enter the Queen’s Crown.
August 28, 2019
I photographed this on a hike at Square Top Lakes and am warmed by its colorful and intricate self. My identification research tells me that the succulent leaves turn red in the fall and you can just see the tips beginning to turn. This wildflower is very lovely, but I’m glad we’re currently headed into spring rather than autumn.
Robin’s serenade
Every morning, I open the bedroom window for about fifteen minutes to allow fresh air inside. It feels good to replace the stale with cold and invigorating air that wakes me up both mentally and physically. This morning’s ritual brought an unexpected bonus: a robin’s serenade.
February 2, 2022
While I never did locate where the robin perched outside, it was delightful to stand at the open window and drink in those lyrical notes. It’s only early February, but for a brief time, spring was in the air.
Autumnal state of mind
Dark-eyed Junco. November 12, 2021
Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Friday Haiku
September 28, 2021
Autumnal palette
final colorful hurrah
splendor in last gasp
Wordless Wednesday: aspen edition
Eaglemere Lakes Trail, White River National Forest. September 28, 2021
Just peachy
Per his Saturday morning ritual, Zippy went to the farmers’ market for organically-grown peaches. The man loves his peaches. A few days ago while eating the last one from the most recent batch, he said (with tears in his voice), “This might be the last peach of the season.”
Well, he got another week’s reprieve. But I thought I’d best document these because there’s a very good chance this is the final haul of the season.
Seven little peaches.
Sweet dreams are made of this.
Intermission
I received my second Pfizer dose today and while I rest on the couch, feeling depleted, the nine-plus inches of snow continues to melt outside.
April 16, 2021
This is all a temporary setback. Spring is happening no matter what and soon the maple tree and I will be in full bloom.
Today is gray but spring’s on the way
I miss the bees and am looking forward to when they return to perform their vital work in my yard. Here’s a little sample of what’s in store for the coming months:
August 4, 2020
Yesterday (March 7!), Zippy removed the lights from the locust tree in our front yard. We’d stopped turning them on several weeks ago but left them wrapped around the trunk. I could lie and say it was because the bulbs provided bits of much-needed color in the brown/gray landscape. Really, it’s because we procrastinate. Either way, now that the holiday lights are gone, I’m ready for spring. Bring on the bees and blooms!
#Caturday from days of yore
June 20, 2019
Here’s Marcel watching a scrub jay through the window screen, flowers blooming in the background. A photographic reminder for me on this January day that no season is forever. Soft spring air is in my future.
Hello, October
October 1, 2019
In October, a maple tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp. Even on cloudy days, its presence helps to dispel the gloom.                         ~ John Burroughs
Poppy pride
Many people welcome and celebrate autumn’s arrival, and I agree there’s much to be said for cooler temperatures. However, I’m not a fan of stuff dying off. I get that it has to happen, but what makes my heart soar is the new growth and bright colors after long, dark winters.
So today I take another look back at the poppies from my front yard. Look at all that glorious color and all that potential for many more blooms!
On this final day of September, I celebrate the exuberant poppy.
Friday Haiku
Today’s the shortest
we gain daylight tomorrow
Happy Solstice, friends!
Wordless Wednesday: today’s view
October in bloom
When I think of October, I picture pumpkins and dried cornstalks. A nip in the air. Ghosts, goblins, and headstones. When I think of October, I do not think of clematis in bloom.
And yet, here we are.
A second spring
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~ Albert Camus
I stopped during my run this morning to stretch my calves and as I leaned against a post situated at the edge of the open space, looked down to see that glorious display. Those leaves aren’t messing around. They are seriously red.
Wordless Wednesday: The Drear Edition
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Peachy keen
I photographed these delicious organically grown peaches on the day that Zippy bought them at the farmers’ market way back in July, when the sun was still high in the sky and the days were long.
This morning I didn’t want to get out of bed because the house was cold. And even after doing my routine of exercise-yoga-hooping, I’m still chilly. My hands and feet are cold, and so is the tip of my nose.
Autumn is a truly beautiful season and I know it’s not yet winter, but today I’m feeling the cold and chill of what’s to come, and missing peach season.
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Friday Haiku
The fall equinox
leaves losing hold of their green.
Soon, naked branches.
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Tracy Abell 