Things I Saw While Walking Around

Autumn keeps on coming in these here parts.  Tonight the forecast is for a low of 34°, with a slight chance of SNOW.  Ugh. Very Excellent Daughter Libby is coming home for a short visit and we’re going to do some winter-proofing in the barnyard. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting bitter cold in our area this year, so I better be ready.  Double ugh.

Anyhow, for now, my days are filled with changing clothes over and over again to keep up with the wide range of temperatures we have in the fall.  Morning is pants and a sweatshirt. Mid-morning, lose the sweatshirt for a t-shirt.  Around noon, throw on shorts.  If I work outside in the afternoon I’ll change into a tank top.  Then, that same changing game in reverse as the temps drop in the late afternoon.

I’m waiting patiently. Can we go on our walk now?

One constant is my daily walk with Keela.  Our neighborhood streets form a lower case “b” and our walk takes us past almost all the houses.  I get to watch the progress of house remodels and landscaping projects and now, I watch for signs of the changing season. There’s always something new, something different.

I don’t know my bugs, but this is one stunning caterpillar, yes?

We still have flowers everywhere.

A perfect rose.

This huge hibiscus bush is covered with blooms.

And since it’s been the wettest summer any of us can remember, the mushrooms are plentiful.

These were the size of oranges one day and grapefruit the next!

But the winner this year is…apples.  Every apple tree is loaded, nay, overloaded with apples.

The poor trees are bending to the ground with the weight of the fruit.

The squirrels think they’ve died and gone to heaven!  Food everywhere!

One of my favorite children’s books is Frederick by Leo Leonni.  Fredrick is a mouse who, as winter approaches, doesn’t help the other mice gather food.  Instead he gathers the feelings and smells and warmth of summer.  As the food runs short and the snow is deep and the mice are scared, Frederick’s stories about summer make all the other mice feel better.

I feel like Frederick on these walks.  I try and soak up the sun and take notice of all the little things I’ll be missing when that forecasted bitter cold arrives.  Because I will definitely, definitely be missing summer.

(Shared at HomeAcre Hop, Simple Lives Thursday, Down Home Hop, Backyard Farming Connection, Tuesdays With A Twist, Maple Hill Hop, Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Homestead Barn Hop, Clever Chicks Hop, Simple Saturdays, Farmgirl Friday, From the Farm and Old-Fashioned Friday)