Come and Gone

It's now come and gone .....Thanksgiving Day!

Family gathered....with lots to say!

.....the plates are all washed and put away!

But...there's leftovers for another day!

Deep Into Fall

Returning from dropping grandsons off at school this morning...

 a stormy, but beautiful sky created a rainbow above the field.

In my haste to get photos...

I'm thankful I didn't run into this frequent visitor.

He frequents the back yard as well. I failed to get a photo

of his rising on back legs to feast on leaves.

He doesn't stand in one spot for long...

tracking and chasing the does keeps him on the run!

Most mornings the past few weeks have been sunny.

The mild season created warm Autumn colors in the leaves

and plenty of reasons for me to take breaks with hot teas!

One particular morning started with a promise of sunshine....

....which eventually turned to blowing wind and rain.

Many of those warm colored leaves were brought down.

Some mornings were hazy....with dew drops dressing the field.

Just before Halloween....

a witch appeared next to my and Alivia's 'unofficial' mailbox....

which overlooks a spooky area.

Alivia and a friend came 'very' cautiously to the mailbox

to retrieve a gift I had left. 

Hiding behind a tree...I captured the scenes. 

~note the little white ghost~

After getting the goods and escaping...her mom standing nearby....

mentioned she should go back and 'close' the door.

Reluctantly she closed it with a quick firm push...

which set off the little scary screaming ghost.

Alivia and her friend...both ran screaming!

Every morning hasn't been mild...

a few have produced frosty fields...

but there were beautiful skies still.

Icy crystals outlined everything from leaves to deer paths in the field.

On one of those chilly mornings....

deer gathered to eat acorns under the Oak trees in the front yard.

Her husband and I gathered for a few meals....

sharing them with Granddaughter Katie occasionally.

Rich desserts were few....fresh fruit and teas would have to do!

This past Monday morning on the way to school drop off....

50 some perched vultures were passed on the way!

Returning home I found the field in a seven o'clock blaze!

Other days....

an old pepsi bottle was found by son Steve and left by a tree...

while  a white tree fungus and red mite was spotted by me. 

A few things found on walks lately were a little puzzling.

Two hand sewn bags were found on different days.

One was empty and the other filled with beans and then a 

 little black cat entered the wood shed on Halloween.

One morning a few Bluebirds, who have been gone for over a month...

showed back up at the birdhouse they once knew as home.

The woods are still changing....

the golden leaves of the Beech trees have now....

....all turned brown....

...one Beech has even fallen over to the ground!

This tall Oak now stands naked without it's golden leaves....

...and

 the squirrels have eaten every last red dogwood berry....

without even saying please!

But then....

Deep into Fall....I do get to view sunrises like these.

~ Happy Fall Days ~

~ ♥ Wanda ♥ ~

Just Last Week

 This is probably the last Monarch that will be visiting me this year.

Saw it just last week!

Seems like it was just last week....that the straight and curvy trees

were dressed in summer's green.

All the small white mushrooms have now turned brown

on all the dead trees and logs lying on the ground.

Spooky October images are easy to see...

On my walks....I found two in the trees!

The large funny rock makes my count three.

But...it was given to me...by my son Steve! 

The cute happy face belonged with all these whites. 

So did the hairy seed pod and the caterpillar with spikes.

That's one of five puffballs in front of my shoe...

and a little brown snail on a capsized mushroom.

More loveliness in White!

Bronson and Amanda will be married 4 months on November 2nd.

November 2nd for her Grampa and I ...will be "48" years!!!

After visiting her family here just this past week...

Today....Amanda returned to Washington State.

~enlarges~

The state of my field and yard is changing....

slowly but surely....the white flowers are fading....

.... leaves and acorns are falling....

the deer are foraging constantly it seems....

they know a change is coming!

My favorite paths and hillsides are carpeted brown.

I come acoss all shapes and shades of brown on my walks.

Saw a golden honey-like liquid on a web-like growth!

Sometimes....coming out of the woods after a walk....

I startle the deer....seen below....tail up....racing off.

Soon bcause of hunting season....

my walks will be limited to the field for awhile.

There are paths around the perimeter

and through the middle....down to the barn.  

Just beyond the scarlet tree in the corner....  

....lies an old cemetery of the 1800's.

I always pass the cemetery....

after walking under my favorite wild cherry tree....

on my way down the drive to Granddaughter Alivia's house.

Sometimes on my walks there...I take a shortcut over

a small wooden bridge.

It's another area I can walk in during hunting season.

The paths make a circle and go between these 

two large old Oak trees. 

Near the Oak trees just last week...I discovered this grouping

 of mushrooms....like a secret Fairy Land.

On one very early morning walk....

I saw Alivia and a friend swinging....maybe even before their breakfast!

Alivia traced and colored the picture, which we sent to Amanda...

whom she loves and misses.

Alivia has now joined the Girl Scouts and they do fun things...

like camping out in cabins and will visit a pumpkin farm soon.

Just capturing the night moon, clouds in the sky,

a leaf speared by a blade of grass,

the colors of Autumn and a heart shape in the trees.

The colors of Autumn were very pronounced...

out behind the house just a week ago!

The season puts me in the mood for stuffing, salmon, squash...

rice, noodles, baked potatoes, cole slaw with apples, stirfries and fish!

I make large batches of breakfast muffins...

and freeze them for long term use.

Chocolate coated marshmallows, cranberries and almonds 

fill an ice bucket and apple crisp is eaten warm from the oven.

See the triple layer whoopie pie...looks larger than it was...

but it was eaten by Granddaughter Katie!

Mine was only 2 layers of chocolate....but it was GOOD!

This is Katie and her boyfriend Mitch....

Katie lives just over the hill and through the woods....

that's a younger Katie under the no hunting sign in our woods.

I also made a younger 'her' pose in a tree stump once.

Mitchell is entering the U.S. Air Force in November.

Katie is going to college to become a nurse!

She eats lunch with us about twice a week.

The grandkids are growing and changing just like the woods.

The Summer greens have quickly turned to Autumn golds.

The winds are blowing....the leaves are falling....

and the ornamental grasses sway....

...and I'm enjoying what I may!

~♥~ Happy Autumn ~♥~