Life Lessons


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

Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts

Sunday, October 17, 2021

And Then It Hit Me

 Song - Autumn Leaves by Eric Clapton


BANG - It's Autumn!

 


 Some of the trees are just beginning to change color but then there are some like this maple in our front yard that are screaming fall.

 

 

 


 Our Strawberry Madrone is slowly curling off its old bark

 

 

 


And the acorns are dropping along our lane.....and when cars drive over them it sounds like popcorn!

 

And with a little luck, California might see some rain in the near future....

 

"And all at once, summer collapsed into fall." --Oscar Wilde

 

 

 

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



Tuesday, November 6, 2018

'Tis Autumn

Song - 'Tis Autumn by Red Garland





Picked a basket full of Lady Apples the other day and I hope to prepare them for the freezer after having a few fresh ones on top of our salads.





The dogwood tree is enticing me with her beautiful colors.....



And our October Glory Maple is changing overnight into a show stopper.  Every Thanksgiving we take family photos in front of this tree when she is at her peak.




However, everyone is not on the same page - "It's Autumn" so why are my spring bulbs blooming now? Confusing weather we are having?






While I was filling up my bird feeders this morning, I noticed this hawk flying high in the sky looking for some tasty tidbit. As I walked over to our creek, I saw some large water rings and figured there was a large fish beneath the surface.  Then there were more and a creature came up for air.....there were two otters playing!  They slowly made their way downstream before I could grab my camera.  But I'll tell you - it was magical!



"Happy Fact: Otters hold hands while they sleep 
so they don't float away from each other."




Monday, October 29, 2018

Sisterhood

Song - Sierra by Boz Scaggs



Fall was definitely in the air up at Donner Lake this past weekend with warm days and crisp nights.  Leaves were dropping and swirling on the forest floor.



It was our 11th annual Girls Weekend and on Friday we headed up to the Sierra's for a few days of sisterhood, visiting, reading, shopping, relaxing, food and music.....oh......and quite a few laughs!




However this year things didn't go quite as planned. As Ellen and Barbara almost got locked up in the Truckee Jail!!!  This jail was used continuously from 1875 to 1964 and besides the two prisoners above, it has held notorious criminals such as Baby Face Nelson, Ma Spinelli and Machine Gun Kelly!  However, after we bailed these two out, we just went next door for a good cup of coffee.....


In historic downtown Truckee we did a lot of shopping and a little sightseeing







and we had a wonderful lunch together........




 ...at Moody's Bistro. (we were supposed to be mimicking the lady in the poster behind us but some of us - certainly not me - got confused)!



In the afternoon we relaxed around the cabin and then Ellen gave us a short but delightful talk on her passion of raising honeybees!  So many questions about the life of this very important little critter!




We played a late night game of Scrabble.....




I erased some of the words because of your delicate ears.....



But I promise....there was absolutely NO drinking involved!


"Just remember if we get caught, 
you're deaf and I don't speak English." 

 --Annonymous



PS - The menfolk seemed to adjust to their womenfolk being gone from the homestead just fine!




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
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