Signs of Autumn

It's been autumn for almost a month, and it is showing itself proudly all around. Here are a few autumnal scenes in my neck of the woods.  

After a summer of meager growth, the lantana has finally come into its own - just in time for a frost that it won't survive. It seems to do this every year.

These mums give a good show every fall. The ones in the back that aren't blooming are ones whose roots got damaged by a burrowing animal of some kind.

I rescued these mums a few years back, and luckily, they have come back every year. And by rescued, I mean that someone was going to throw them away when they faded, so I took them and planted them.

A little closer look at the red ones behind the pink ones in the above picture. Also, a rescue plant.

And here is a plant that I actually pulled out of the trash a few days ago. It has perked up with a bit of water. I will plant this one and hope that it comes back next year. I seem to have more failures than successes with my rescue plants, but it's fun when they live to see another season.

Also, the trees in the neighborhood are changing colors, and the grass is happily growing with rain and cooler temperatures. Spring and fall are our busiest grass-cutting seasons.

Ward and I took a hike around a lake today and saw more changing leaves. 

While I don't like the colder temperatures and the shorter days, I do like the beautiful show autumn puts on every year. What does fall look like where you live?

Outdoor Amble Ramble

Maine isn't the only place with cold and snow. We get our fair share here in Maryland.

 I love being outdoors. Well, I love being outdoors in fair weather. Cold, not so much. But not everyone agrees with me. I watched America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston on PBS the other night, where he visited Maine, and the theme was embracing the cold. He spent time with people doing various things outside - all in the cold. Looked crazy to me, but everyone was happy. My sister lives in Maine and has not entirely embraced the cold, but her husband, who grew up there, has. And her kids. I remember what a novelty it seemed when I heard they did snowshoeing in PE. And my grandnephew was in an outdoor preschool where they spent most of the time outdoors, no matter what the weather was. I guess it's all what you're used to. 

As we're moving into cold weather, I am inspired to be like Mainers and spend more time outside in the cold (she says from the warmth of her home). I know that Ward will be a very willing participant. When we're out together, I say I'm freezing, and he says how invigorating it is with a happy smile. And if truth be told, I find that annoying sometimes (always.) 

But it's good for us to spend time outdoors. You've probably heard reports on studies saying so. I recently read one by the Max Planck Institute that says spending time outdoors is not only good for your mood, but it is also good for your brain function. And it wouldn't hurt me to have a boost in both areas. :) But I'll start tomorrow. Today is cold and rainy. I think I will have to work up to it.

In the meantime, Ward and I walked at an Audubon Bird sanctuary a couple of days ago when the weather was beautiful. This is my favorite kind of outdoor activity. Here are a few pictures from our walk.

The sanctuary encompasses 129 acres of various habitats
of woodlands, meadows, wetlands, and streams.

It was a sunny, clear day.

The sanctuary used to be an old farm, and the first trail we took was an old farm road.

I'm always amazed that the redbud tree has such little flowers but such big seed pods.

An old farm pond.

More evidence of the farm.

We couldn't figure out what kind of tree had this interesting trunk growth.

They had some pretty serious deterrents with the birdhouses
 to keep out interlopers and predators.

Next time, we need to take Aunt Martha, our local bird expert, with us. Our untrained eyes didn't see any birds, although we did hear some. But it was a pleasant outing, all the same. And I can already feel my brain working better. :)

Until next time...

A Second Look, October 6, 2023

 We had a few days of rain just before we left on vacation. So everything that had managed to survive the very dry summer took off while we were gone. Below are a few things I saw on my Second Look when we returned.

The rain brought a fresh crop of mushrooms around the yard.

The moss rose was in full bloom. This entire box is filled with volunteers from last year.

The yellow mums are budding.

A lone dianthus has rebloomed.

Anemones

Vinca by Ward's shop. Ward chooses flowers each year for the big urn that his father made, which sits in front of his shop.

Beauty berries are in full color. I was excited on one of our vacation hikes when I saw one of these bushes in the wild.

I've picked up five bags of dropped apples since we returned. And there are plenty more where these came from. 

I harvested the rest of the carrots. Where I thinned them as I should, they got quite large. Not so much where I didn't. I'm going to try to be better about thinning next year.

From two large growing bags, I got two potatoes. (Apple for scale.) However, that is two more than when grubs ate them all last year.

We're traveling to West Virginia this weekend to attend services for my aunt, who passed away while we were gone. Time to go pack my suitcase again.

Until next time...

Day 7, Home again

Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I took a week-long trip to the Blue Ridge of central Virginia.

We packed up and got on the road fairly early, but not before I fed the horse more carrots. I felt like I was leaving a friend as he neighed with a little head toss to greet me. (I know, he just liked the carrots, but I can pretend we bonded :)) 

We drove along the same part of the Blue Ridge Parkway as Ward and I had the previous day so Wally and Theo could have the experience before we left the area. It was hazier than the day before but still had good views. And we were surprised when we saw how much the leaves had changed in just one day. They will be at their peak soon. 

We had an uneventful trip home and arrived to a fussy cat, who, in her own way, was telling us she missed us. 

If you've read any of my posts about this trip, you know we had a good time. The trip was the culmination of good planning, good cooperation, good weather, and good scenery. 

However, that doesn't mean everything was perfect. At times, we had heavy traffic, wrong turns, slips and bruises, noisy cattle, headaches, colds, and disagreements. But the good was so good that those things didn't really register much. 

Or perhaps the vacation seemed so good because it did just what a vacation should do - it gave my mind a reset. However, I'm back in the real world now and all the chores and issues that come with it. Speaking of which, it's time to check on the laundry.

Until next time...

Day 6, The James River

Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a week-long vacation in the Blue Ridge of central Virginia.

 Today was the last day of vacation before we drive home tomorrow. We are having a good time, but were starting to get a little weary. Thus, we had a relaxed morning, each in our corner of the house vegging. However, after a few hours of relaxing, I got the go-fever. So Ward and I went out for the afternoon to visit the James River - the lowest point along the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

We took about a 20 mile drive down the Parkway to our destination. By this point on our trip, I had seen many spectacular mountain views, and thought I was getting used to them. But I was wrong! Each bend along the parkway seemed to be prettier than the one before. We made very slow progress because I wanted to stop at every overlook. However, we eventually made it to our destination. (Once again, the photos pale compared to what our eyes saw.)

We abandoned this walk after the trail became covered with briers and huge boulders. The view from the overlook pullover was good all the same.

It's not so evident in the photo, but leaves are just beginning to change color. 

There was an afternoon haze in the sky, but we could still see far.

Unfortunately, the visitor's center, where we hoped to learn
more information about the area, was closed.

But there were some self-guided walks to do.

Of course, Ward was interested in the construction
of this footbridge over the James River to the locks.

The Battery Creek Locks were the same age and were much like we have seen
along the C & O Canal.

More beautiful scenery along the James River.

We took another way home to explore more of the area, and we each found something of special interest. Ward got to see a passing freight train, and I visited a little library and chatted with the staff. A good time was had by all.

Now it's getting late and probably time to do some cleanup before bedtime. We have expanded to fill the house and have a lot to gather before our departure in the morning.

Until next time...

Day 5, Peaks of Otter Retry

 Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a weeklong vacation in the Blue Ridge of south central Virginia.

The weather was looking good, so we decided to go back to Peaks of Otter to try to get to the top of Sharp Top Mountain. When we got there, all systems were go, so we decided to take a two-prong approach to get to the peak. Ward and Theo took the steep, difficult trail all the way up, and Wally and I took a shuttle van that got us 3/4 of the way there.

The shuttle ride brought flashbacks of country roads that I grew up around. The road was narrow and steep, with rock outcrops on one side and and a steep drop off on the other. Some passengers closed their eyes during the ride, and others enjoyed it. I was somewhere in the middle. Wally sat up with the driver and thought it was great.

The final climb on foot to the peak was steep and rocky but only 1/4 mile long. It was well worth the effort to get there because there were unobstructed views of mountain ridges in all directions. I'll show you pictures later, but as usual, they will not do justice to what our eyes saw. The only problem at the top was the swarms of small flies and gnats. But luckily down a little lower, they were manageable. 

Besides the view, the other great part at the top was that we met Theo and Wally there. We had talked about trying to coordinate, but with no cell service, we didn't even try. However, it worked out anyway. We all got off the mountain the same way we got up and met up at the bottom to regroup.

I wish I could tell you the different mountains and ridges you're seeing below, but I can't. There was no signage and the bugs were too annoying for me to spend the effort to figure them out. :)

The lake in the picture is Abbot Lake that we hiked around on our first visit.

After we regrouped, Wally convinced us to do the Johnson Farm Trail which was close to the lake hike we did on our first visit. It was an easy walk 2 mile hike through fields and woods to the farm. The Johnson Family owned the farm from 1852 until the early 1940s, and the farm is one of the few structures left from the original Peaks of Otter Community. We were in luck because there were interpreters at the site who filled us in on the history of the farm and area during our visit.

We had Mr. Bill all to ourselves as he eagerly shared his knowledge about the farm.
A side note: Mr. Bill and his wife live in Florida, but every summer come to the area to be interpreters at the farm. He does the outside area and she does the house. They are thrilled to be out of the Florida heat and like what they do. It got Ward and I thinking about possibilities for the future. :)

Mr. Bill's Wife

It was an interesting visit and I'm glad we did it. (My first inclination when Wally suggested it was to say no.)

After stopping on the way home for dinner, we headed back to our home-away-from home, tired but happy.

Until next time...

Day 4, Roanoke

 Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a weeklong trip to the Blue Ridge of Central Virginia.

Today for a change of pace, we went into the city of Roanoke, VA. Thank Goodness for the GPS helping navigate around the city. Roanoke is a city of around 100,000 people, and among its many attributes, it is perhaps best known for its star. On top of Mill Mountain in the middle of the city is the Roanoke Star. It can be seen from miles around and is a landmark that everyone knows. So, of course, we had to go see it up close. 

The star is the world's largest man-made star and can be seen for 60 miles. It was originally constructed for the 1949 Christmas season to bring in business, but was popular enough that it stayed. It lights up in different color combinations every night.

From up top, we also had a good overlook of Roanoke.

Surrounding the star was Mill Mountain Park with a wildflower garden, teaching zoo, discovery center, and trails. There weren't many wildflowers blooming in the garden at this time of year, but it was a very pleasant walk all the same.

 Our next stop was the Pinball Museum in the center of Roanoke. 

Coincidentally, there was a Hispanic Heritage Month Festival going on. 

We enjoyed some of the music and dancing being showcased. 

The Pinball Museum was not exactly what we thought it was going to be. There wasn't much about the history of pinball, more a large collection of pinball machines of all ages. The best part was that the machines were operational and you could play to your hearts content. No money needed (except the entrance fee.) 

After our sights and senses were full of flashing lights and bells, we headed back to our home-away-from home. 

Until next time...

Day 3, Smith Mountain Lake

 Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a weeklong trip to the Blue Ridge of Central Virginia.

Our destination today was Smith Mountain Lake. Smith Mountain Lake was built in the early 1960s by the damming of the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers for hydroelectricity. It is a large lake of approximately 35 square miles. Our first thought was to see the dam and an exhibit about it at the visitors center. Turns out there are three visitors centers around the lake, and we went to the wrong one, but found very helpful people where we did stop. After talking with them, we decided that we would go to Smith Mountain Lake State Park for some hiking. We hiked the Turtle Island and Chestnut Ridge Trails which go out onto peninsulas in the lake. Trees along the way were labeled which was very interesting for this tree-identification ignorant group. BTW, every place we go, including where we're staying, we are seeing some really big trees. Below are a few pictures from our hikes around the lake.

After our time at Smith Mountain Lake, we toured the nearby Booker T. Washington National Monument. In case you've forgotten, Booker T. Washington was born a slave, but became an educator, author, orator, and founder the the Tuskegee Institute. 

The monument is located on the former tobacco plantation
where Booker was born and later freed.

Today, it is a working farm (minus the tobacco crops) circa late 1850s
 when Booker lived there.

They had livestock including sheep, pigs, and chickens.

This was a replica of the cabin Booker and his family lived in. His mother was the plantation's cook.

Then we returned to our home-away-from-home for another evening of relaxing with games, puzzles, books and a Bop-It. More on the Bop-It another time. Now it's time to get on the road for today's adventures.

Until next time...