Beebopping In The Woods.

Election Day was gorgeous around here, with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures, so when I came home from casting my vote, I decided it was a great day for some beebopping in the woods. With camera in one pocket, cell phone in the other, and a sturdy walking stick to help me navigate the woodsy terrain, off we went to enjoy the last of this years autumn's colors.

Of course, some of the animals towed along. Like Felix on the left, and Oreo, on the right. Oh, boy, the woods are fun, Mom!

Sidney came along as well, although at 12, she is a bit arthritic. But she seemed to enjoy beebopping, as much as I; two oldies reveling in nature!

This is the southern exposed side of the woods, where things are dryer, and the ecosystem is a bit different from the northern side, where the huge white oaks grow, and the ginseng thrives! I'll take pictures of that side sometime as well.

But there is much beauty in these woods, where the young hickory trees intermingle with numerous dogwoods.

Sun shining through the tree tops created a magical effect; a feeling of being in a cathedral. Thank you God, for all this beauty!

A crow's nest up high adds some interest as well.

Standing under a dogwood umbrella is magical experience. Color and light make for a gorgeous palette.

We were in the woods for almost two hours. Time flies when you're having fun, and fun we did have! I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

According to the forecast today is our last mild day, for a cold front bringing thunder showers is on the way by tomorrow, followed by somewhat cooler temperatures on Friday. But today I won't be beebopping in the woods. Today is Chinese Buffet day!

Thank you for reading. Have a happy week.

Blessings from the woods!

Ruby Tuesday!

It has been a GRRRRR morning! The HTML got messed up and I had to redo this post. Greg, of course, thinks it's amusing. But I'm going back to bed! GRRRR!

My last hibiscus flower of the season is lovely. I took the photo yesterday as a heavy frost was in the forecast for overnight. And it's chilly this morning! It's always a bit sad to see a beautiful thing come to an end. Oh, well, there is always next summer to look forward to!

We spent some time in beautiful Mammoth Spring last week. You see some reds showing up around the river there.

The hills around here are slowly getting colorful as well, but still have a way to go.

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Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Ruby Tuesday!

Autumn blessings become more and more evident as this beautiful season of color progresses, delighting the human spirit. So, I was out with my camera early Monday morning, capturing some of the red colors of Autumn for this weeks Ruby Tuesday post. I hope you enjoy them.

The early bird catches the worm? Well, maybe not, but something even better. This early bird caught the red glow behind the woods, while the morning was still dark.

Nature brightened a thicket at the edge of the woods, with some beautiful red vines!

The lowly scrub sumac becomes a beauty in the Fall!

And the gravel road I live on still has a lot of green, and a beautiful red adding a special touch of beauty to my travels on it. In another two weeks, there will be a riot of color to enjoy.

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Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Blessings from the woods.

Early Autumn Showings And Pink Roses

Well, it's officially autumn, but around here it still feels more like summer than fall. The dogwoods, however, are lovely already, and the lowly sumac is once again transforming into a fall beauty, with it's blood red leaves. All the other trees are still mostly green, and I'm surprised the leaves haven't turned brown and fallen off altogether from the scorching hot, dry summer.

Autumn usually puts me in the mood for beautiful poetry. One of my favorite autumn poems is a more lighthearted look at this season of "fruitfulness."

Autumn
By Emily Dickinson

The morns are meeker than they were,

The nuts are getting brown;

The berry's cheek is plumper,

The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,

The field a scarlet gown.

Lest I should be old-fashioned,

I'll put a trinket on.

Because autumn has just begun, my pale pink rose with the blush in the center is still very much "in town" and doing well, even with the hot, dry summer we've had. Most things in the garden have bitten the dust by now, but not so my rose bush, because I watered it generously mornings and evenings throughout the summer heat. I couldn't bear to let it die.

My grandfather was the gardener in our family, and he especially loved to grow roses. (And I say 'our family' because I was raised by my grandparents.) His favorite rose was a pale pink one, with the blush in the center. My grandmother told me that when she married Grandfather in 1916, he brought her a bouquet of those pale pink roses with the blush in the center, to carry as her bridal bouquet, because they reminded him of the color of her cheeks!

"He was so romantic, my dear, and stayed that way all his life," Grandma often lamented wistfully.

After we fled our war-torn country in the fall of 1947, our only possessions were the clothes on our backs. But four years later, good fortune smiled on us when we were able to immigrate to the United States, where they both soon found jobs. And only two years after that, they had the down payment for a home of their own. After having lost everything because of the war, they were so grateful that such things were possible in their wonderful new country!

The house was an older white colonial, with a picket fence and a nice sized back and side yard. Of course, the first thing Grandfather did once they were moved in was to create a beautiful garden. He grew all kinds of flowers, in every nook and cranny of that yard, and tomatoes and Hungarian peppers galore. But his pride and joy was the Heirloom rose bush with the pale pink roses sporting a blush in the center. And his garden soon became the attraction of the neighborhood, with people often stopping by to admire it.

A year after he passed away, and the house was sold, Grandma picked a bouquet of those pale pink roses and laid them on his grave lovingly, while tears trickled down her cheeks.

So, you can see why I treasure the rose bush in my yard. And once autumn gets more serious and brings some killing frosts, and my rose will be out of town for the winter, I will look forward to seeing those pale pink blooms again, next spring, when they will once again remind me of a very special love.