Monday, October 14, 2013

Just a little autumnal pondering

Another scene from the Feast of the Hunter's Moon
I am so enjoying the weather these days.   It has inspired a great deal of housekeeping as I've been slowly decluttering, tweaking, washing vegetables, and even enjoying the hot sudsy dishwater as I wash the breakfast and lunch dishes.

We are still in the magical autumn days when there is a golden glow coming through the windows, especially in the morning hours.  There was a moment today when I heard an unfamiliar sound and realized the furnace had come on... in the daytime!  Definitely a sign of cooler weather.

I'm not sure our "color" is going to be very good this year.  Due to the warm weather lasting so late into the season, it appears at least some of the red leaves have already turned immediately to brown.  Although I know there will be enough red leaves eventually to make for a few mornings when I reach for the camera and run to take pictures of the forest while the light is "just right".

Until then, I must admit the world of various shades of fading green and gold make for an attractive scene.  Hubby has spent many an evening raking wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow full of black walnuts to dump in the forest, far away from our lawn and garden... and before anyone suggests actually doing anything with the said walnuts... have you ever tried working with the fruit of the black walnut tree?

Which in a way I find ironic as my husband's specialty in graduate school was... black walnut trees.  That was long before he was a homeowner with a huge black walnut tree in the backyard that rained walnuts on our roof night after night... and the daytime, too.  Actually, he studied black walnut wood under a microscope so he never thought about walnuts themselves.

But I do love that tree as it sits directly in the line of sight as I sit at my dining room table looking out toward the backyard.  Its' lower branches providing the first dappled filter the early morning light shines through before reaching the lace curtains.

Victoria is enjoying the cooler weather, too.  She awaits each morning, sitting on her perch in the kitchen, watching as I pour my first cup of coffee and stir in the cream and Splenda.  As soon as I walk to the living room sofa and stretch out, she hops on my legs (now covered with my favorite red flannel housecoat) to make herself cozy while I watch the local news and enjoy my first cup of coffee.

Yes, for all of us we are totally loving this change of seasons.  While I realize we will not be so enamored with the coming winter winds and snow (except our cat who... unlike dogs that must do their business in freezing cold weather... hardly notice winter at all), we are embracing autumn.

6 comments:

Vee said...

We are going to harvest some wild apples on John's property tomorrow. I may be feeling about them as you do about the black walnuts by this time tomorrow. You paint a cozy picture, Brenda. I've enjoyed visiting with you.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

We are just beginning to get good color, just today. And there will be more to come. It's also getting colder. It's the getting dark so much earlier that I find a bit harder to deal with!

And black walnut trees are the bane of my existence! I don't even have a tree, but obviously there are some in the neighborhood! I have them volunteering everywhere!

Vicki in UT said...

My mother in law used to pay my kids to pick up black walnuts off her lawn. She said the only way to crack them was if you drove over them multiple times. I don't remember her ever actually using any of the nuts.

Bonnie said...

I am so jealous! Here, in Florida, it will be a very warm 86 degrees and the air conditioner will run all day. It seems that most of the bloggers that I read live elsewhere, so I can live vicariously. Enjoy!

Jaynie said...

Arbor America in Westpoint is buying Black Walnuts with the hull on for 2.00 a bushel.

mdoe37 said...

The colors here in mid-Mitt are a little dull too. I have been travelling between here and the Upper Peninsula and the colors there were nothing short of spectacular. (the hunting was not as spectacular though--boo).