Life Lessons


"Figuring out our gifts in life is part of our journey to becoming enlightened human beings.” – Allison DuBois

Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Bursting with Color

 Song -  Bring it on Home to Me -  Sam Cooke cover by Marc Broussard & Jamie McLean



Autumn begins slowly and before you know what hit you it is a riotous state of color!

 







"How beautiful the leaves 

grow old.  How full of 

light and color are

their last days."


--John Burroughs

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Fall Has Arrived

Song - Les Feuilles Mort (Autumn Leaves) by Andrea Bocelli





After several days of 100 degree weather last week,
it looks like Fall might just have arrived here in Northern California!


We have bushels of apples to pick next week.



I have a few flowers left but with the heat in September
there are only a few to enjoy.






Most are ready for the new season like this Hydrangea above changing her petals.




The Dogwood trees have their bright red berries ready.



And the Snowball Viburnum is always the first garden shrub to change color.




We have more Hawks.....


 

And Woodpeckers now.







 The Acorns are dropping all around me and crunching under the car tires.


But the best thing in our garden right now is.....



......little Henry who turned 6 months just two weeks ago and I got him this swing for the yard.

Andy hung it on a sturdy branch on a large Oak tree 
right where he and Ashley were married three years ago.

Funny how life happens.....



"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



Thursday, October 18, 2018

Cracker of a Day

Song - Autumn Leaves by Nat King Cole





A few photos from the garden and travels this year......



"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, 
than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

--Henry David Thoreau

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Closing Down

Song - October Road by James Taylor





The intense heat that we endured in California this summer has faded and we are now officially into Autumn. The days are comfortable and the nights are crisp.




Everything seems to have received the earth's message that it's time to close down for another year. I listen to the acorns "thud" on the roof of our house or on our little lane.  Cars drive by and you can hear the tires crunch the acorns into dust.


 The leaves on our maple trees are beginning to change color.  




The last of the Dahlia's and roses are blooming.
Unfortunately they were not happy campers this year as they were trying to survive the blazing heat spells, lower water consumption and not having Moi take care of them. 
It was just too dang hot to go out there!  



My friend, the Flicker sings to me every morning and in the late afternoon.




The days are decidedly shorter and our shadows are much longer.




I am harvesting apples in hopes of future cobblers, applesauce or my mama's famous apple pie!




The birds are filling up on nuts and seed for the approaching cold weather.



 As I plant my spring bulbs......the squirrels are planting and hiding their acorns.



 All day long I am replanting my flowers that the squirrels have dug up to make room for acorns.



YES.....I am talking about you Mister!


Meanwhile, there are so many wildfires in Northern California right now.




It's difficult to complain about the smoky air around here when so many have lost everything.

I am reminded of my Great-Aunt Theresa who at the age of 82 lost her home 
and belongs in the 1991 Oakland firestorm - she told me that everyone was so generous 
buying her new mixing bowls and beautiful fluffy towels.  

But it was her old chipped dishes and comfortably worn bedspread that made her feel at home.


"Mostly it is loss which teaches
 us about the worth of things." 

--Arthur Schopenhauer






Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Where's Waldo?

Song - When the Leaves Come Falling Down by Van Morrison


The sunrise from our bedroom deck.....was amazing!

Later that night I got a text from Mr. B.....




Who is that silver fox at the football game?

Waldo....errr....I mean Mr. B!

I know he is kind of hard to pick out in a crowd!  



“The problem with winter sports is that -- 
follow me closely here -- 
they generally take place in winter.” 
--Dave Barry

Friday, October 28, 2016

The Rat Pack

Song - I Put A Spell On You by Nina Simone




Last years jack-o-lanterns.....

...and this years roses.






 
Andy circa 1991




Halloween is this guys favorite holiday.....not the guy in the photo above 
but the photo of Mr. B below....



Can't you just see the love and determination on this guys face to carve the best pumpkin to date?



Last year Tyler did a "Mr. B" jack-o-lantern....pretty good imitation!



Here is Tyler a few years ago, balancing a pumpkin on his head for some unknown reason.....





And this year we have a new member of the Baird Halloween Rat Pack - Ashley!!!

Go TEAM Girls!

Boys - 4 Girls - 2

We're gaining...




Of course when the boys are as cute as this, who cares?





I forgot to tell Ashley that her new husband is a Joker....oops!

Happy Halloween!




"How beautifully leaves grow old. 
How full of light and color are their last days."
 -- John Burroughs

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Confusion in My Garden

Song - Harvest Moon by Neil Young


Fall has arrived in Northern California.  The squirrels have busily gathered the acorns and the trees are just beginning to change color.....although some are undecided if it truly is Fall or still warm Summer days or maybe it's already Spring!





I have Azaleas and Iris and Narcissus blooming which usually bloom in the Winter & Spring.









And the wall of Limelight Hydrangea that I planted for the wedding are beautiful!



Some plants are slowing down and going inward for this time of season.



Within two days, I could see the change of color in a new Maple we planted last year.








However my Dahlias are still hopeful.........


"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." 
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
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