A Quotation for Monday

                                     

Wordless Wednesday - Shapes

A Quotation for Monday

"Why not go out on a limb?  That's where the fruit is."  Mark Twain

It's Officially Autumn!

Autumn officially arrived at 1:44 p.m. PDT here in these mountains.  The equinoxes are the two days of the year (the other one is in the spring) when the hours of the day and night all over the world are equal, or very near to equal.  While it's the first day of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere, it's the first day of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere.  I love the thought that for two days a year something in this off-kilter world that we live in is in balance.  So, to quote my mother, who was from Georgia, "Happy Fall, y'all!"

And, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, Happy Spring!

Bliss

The chrysanthemums are doing great and the bees are loving it.  Mums are one of my favorite flowers because they're so easy to grow and they don't need a lot of water.

The sky today was that beautiful deep blue that I only see up here in autumn.  The summer sky is almost as blue at this altitude, but not quite.  The leaves on the Box Elder tree aren't as pretty as they usually are this time of year.  Usually they're all a brilliant yellow, but this autumn only a few are turning while the others are mostly just drying up and dropping off.  I'm hoping the dogwoods, maples and oaks put on a better show.

 

I just got such a fright!  I looked up and saw what I thought was smoke drifting by the window.  I rushed outside and found it was a heavy, wet fog.  The Ponderosa pines are collecting it on their needles, where it drips off and provides 'tree rain' to their shallow roots.  Not real rain, but better than nothing.  That is one of my pathway lamps above.  I was trying to think how to take a picture of fog at night and this is the best I could come up with.  It's really dark except for where the lights are.

 
It was chilly today (yay!) and it actually felt cold when I was outside, so I came back in and made a fire for the kitties.  I'm going to have to clear everything off of the hearth except for cat blankets because Merlin takes up just about all the space by himself!  Our low for tonight is supposed to be 33, just one degree above freezing.  Bliss!

Harvest Moon of 2013

The Harvest Moon of 2013 over the path leading into a little meadow.  It's been lovely and cool here the past few days; I think (hope) autumn is finally here.  No rain, but the cool air and gentle autumn breezes that make the air feel even cooler are most welcome!

A Quotation for Monday

"Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes.  Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."  Samuel Butler

Sunday Sunsets

Taken May 30, 2009, in the San Bernardino mountains.

A Quotation for Saturday

 

                    

"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."  Marcel Proust

Sunday Sunsets - The Start of Autumn

I took this photo of my favorite oak tree in November of 2006.  I use it as a header photo every autumn, but usually I have it up on the first of September.  I'm late!  I know autumn doesn't really start on the first of September (although fifteen or so years ago it used to be well underway by that time) but if I wait for the leaves to turn it just doesn't give me enough time to enjoy my autumn/Halloween decorations...which I'm also late getting put up.  Oh well, if being late was good enough for the White Rabbit, I suppose it's good enough for me...

Faeries Friday

"Erigol Wee Folk" by Gary Bronner

Count Birdcula

This is a little White Breasted Nuthatch.  They always make me think of vampires because of the way they walk with their head facing the ground as they come down the trees.  Why don't they get dizzy?  Why don't they fall?  Why doesn't the weight of that peanut make the little guy topple over? Count Birdcula isn't telling, so I guess I'll have to look it up.

Summer's End

Well, the summer tourist season is over, anyway.  Summer weather will probably hang on for another month.  Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike summer?  I used to like it, when it only lasted three months like it's supposed to do and our high temperature averaged around 75 F.  Now summer lasts four months, or longer, and our high today was 82 F in the shade!  We got a few plip-plops, drip-drops of rain over the past few days, but it wasn't enough to even measure on the rain gauge.  But, the deserts to the north and south of us got so much rain they flooded.  The frustration!!  Oh well, at least it hasn't gotten up to 100 F like it did last summer.  That is waaaay too hot for this old mountain woman!