Fall in My Neck of the Woods

There is a beautiful little pond close to my sister's house, and I love walking there and taking pictures of the ducks and geese.  The colors in the rushes and reflections on the water now are so beautiful.  I never get tired of looking at them.  

 
I want a pond of my own, with ducks and reeds and endlessly changing views.  

 
I don't know why fall makes me feel so snug and warm inside.  Maybe it's just the way we're programmed to react to the shorter days and vibrant colors.  I can smell the fires from the fireplaces and wood stoves.  I want to snuggle under my comforter after turning the heat way down for the night.  I want to make soups and stews and go for walks with the brisk wind blowing on my cheeks.  Yesterday and today were perfect fall days, brisk and dry, wind blowing the leaves in scurrying little crowds on their way to winter.  

 

Spoooooky!

Beware the dreaded two-headed pirate!  Arrrgghhhh, mateys!

My Drive Home

The colors are really starting to brighten here in northern Virginia.  I have to remind myself to watch the road when I'm driving home these days.  With the sun behind the leaves, some of them look like they've been dipped in gold.  I imagine what colors I would have to mix to paint the trees as if they are lit from within.  I'm going to try to get some good photos this weekend to show you all how beautiful it is right now.  I know this will all be gone in a few weeks, but right now I'm loving fall and wanting to spend all of it under the blue sky and the tapestry of gold and red.

I don't know if these pictures will do justice to what I'm talking about.  I took them with my cell phone on the drive home on the GW Parkway.  To top it off, I've seen bald eagles three times in a week, flying along the Potomac.  It's a magical place.

This last photo isn't on the drive home, but I love the autumn grasses.  They look almost ethereal, don't they?

And then look what I found!! 

You never know what you're going to find on the drive home.

Heart Tree

My darling grandson Michael made this tree in school and gave it to me as a gift.  He said it was an apple tree but it looks like a Heart Tree to me.  From his hands to my heart.

More Maine

 Here is a picture of my beautiful granddaughter and the *other* grammy, Grammy Nan.  We stayed at Nan and Greg's house while visiting Maine.  Their backyard is a wonderful mixture of what looks like a meadow and forest.

 My daughter, granddaughter, and my son-in-law at a stop along Sunday River.

More beautiful foliage pictures from my trip.  I never get tired of admiring fall!

Beautiful Maine

I left for Maine on the 2d of October and was back home by the 5th.  I had a cold when I left here and by the time I was headed back, I had bronchitis and a sinus infection.  I needed to be home to get to a doctor and to rest in my own bed.  I'm starting to feel better after resting for the last week and antibiotics.  The flight into Portland was so beautiful with the islands and the blue water washing up on the beaches.  Julie, it made me think of you and your island home.  

I did get to take a ride and take some wonderful photos during the few days I was there (when I wasn't in bed trying to sleep things off).  We took a drive up to Sunday River and took a road along the river where I spied a beautiful pool between the fast running water coming down the mountain.  My great son-in-law was kind enough to pull over so I get some shots of the amazing view.  

This is beautiful little pond that lies between the upper and lower streams.  I could have stayed here all day.

Here is the river flowing on after pooling in the spot above.  I could just imagine wading into the water with a fly rod, trying to catch trout, something I've always wanted to do.

This is a shot of the river flowing into the beautiful reflecting pool.  It was heaven.  You can see the fall color on the trees in the background.  The leaves haven't started to change this much in Virginia yet.  I don't think we've had enough chilly weather yet.

The new photo in my header is another photo of this magical and beautiful place.  Can you tell that I LOVED Maine?