Time Marches On..

...and waits for no one. Isn't that the truth?  Just when you cannot get enough of the changing leaves, they are fluttering to the ground, carpeting lawns and sidewalks with color before dying. 

October 26, while on a walk I took the photo below of Sandy's magnificent Red maple tree, a beacon in our neighborhood.

Today, a handful of leaves remain, signaling soon it will be the onset of winter. As a matter of fact, twenty six degrees is in the forecast for Sunday night, however, I am always skeptical until it arrives. That said, there have been two violent rainstorms of late, one of which happened last weekend, inundating nearby McCayesville, GA and Copper Hill, TN, the two towns that share a state line, with historic rain and flooding. For any reader that has been to Blue Ridge, GA and ridden the scenic railway, those names will be familiar as the train stops there for lunch. To say that it was destructive is an understatement. 

We went out to D'Anna and David's a week ago for lunch before the color disappeared and oh my goodness, the drive was glorious! 

Around each twist and turn, and there are plenty on that road, the beauty seemed endless.

I am getting ahead of myself because what I meant to say was that the storm a few weeks ago left so much debris on their yard that they were still picking it up.

More on that a little later because we have skipped Halloween which was a little different than last year. This year Bruce knew to use black duct tape to put up the same decorations as last year with a few more things we found at one of the thrift stores. 

This year we were prepared, with a huge amount of candy, and while people, and I emphasize people because adults were trick or treating, the number was way down; we think in part because we were not nearly as visible as the previous year.

While we did have candy left, it was still a good time with about twelve cars involved and this crew,

although you may not recognize Mr. Bruce in his turkey glasses. 

Of all things....a few years ago he would have resisted efforts to put him in turkey glasses, but as time marches on, he's quite willing these days! There were bats on my socks and oh my that veil was a pain! 

We went to see our friend Sue in a part of Murphy we had never visited before. The community is Ranger and while it is not far, it is a distinct area having it's own school or maybe it doesn't anymore? At any rate, Sue's place was lovely. Our mission was for Bruce to help her with her glass cutting saw that was not working properly.

Above she is testing it after he has sorted out the problem. Her home is in the woods, although soon after I took this photo I imagine there will be lots of sight lines not evident when the leaves are on the trees.

She had loads of birds and feeders, but by golly they were too fast for me! 

She is working on lots of projects as Christmas nears, and it was fun to see someone's glass studio.

She uses liquor bottles to make all manner of wind chimes. This delicate one hangs on her front porch.

The best photo I took while there was the first one. As we drove into the driveway she walked out on her porch, I said stop...don't move. Everyone appreciates a good photo of themself. 

If you have been reading Camera Crazy for any length of time I suspect you have learned that I see everything through a camera lens, either imaginary or the real thing. 

That's why when I walk into a room of our home, I see little scenarios that might make a cute photo like the last of my zinnias.

The plants are bent over with a few blooms remaining. For now I am leaving things for birds to scavenge. 

Speaking of birds, oh my, oh my, was I ever excited one morning. Well yes, it is fun watching the Starlings land in the mostly bare tree across the street,

but of all things, the pickleball courts were wet so my honey and I took a little different route to the grocery store. Don't ask me why because we never go that way, nevertheless on this day it proved to be a winner BECAUSE, for the first time ever, and really just by chance, I finally got a picture of a Northern Flicker's golden wings in flight!

Should you be interested in this POST from February of last year, I claimed I would never get a good flight picture and now I have. Woo hoo! Plus there is pretty snow in that post. Do I wish I had been closer? Yes. That said, beggars cannot be choosers and while I will keep trying to get an even better shot, for now I am just happy I even got this one!

All around town, especially in the park, 

we have been treated with beautiful color. Our neighborhood has been exceptional.

As has the walk into town, all two streets away, been great.

However, things have been changing drastically and it's not so pretty anymore.

So I think the trick is to find beauty in everything including the bare trees. While that's not hard for me to do because I'm okay with it, others find it more difficult. Whereas I think it is great to be able to see birds easier, others don't share my enthusiasm and after Christmas will be longing for leaves again. I like bare trees so much that when I saw this print at Antique Marketplace during Art Walk last Friday night, I felt it would add something to our home.

I neglected to mention that I had a UTI last week, however, I recognized the symptoms immediately and Bruce dropped me off at the urgent care center a few blocks from our home.

The wait was longer than I expected but it did give me a chance to start a book I'd gotten from the library that was super interesting about a place I'd never read about before. Detroit in the late 1920's. Called A Fortune of Sand the title refers to money made from making automobile windshields. While I think the author did not tie up some loose ends, it was a page turner that kept me busy through the next day when I was taking things easy.

Last Saturday we went to a cookout held at Ursula's campground, Rolling Meadows Family Campground. 

The idea was to thank all of the Soul Table volunteers and a good time was had by all. Our new pastor is quite the musician and never fails to bring his guitar to gatherings, much like I take a camera.

Because it was a Saturday in November some folks were sporting their football allegiences.

Much to Celia's dismay, Tennessee got the better of Kentucky. One could say that it is unlikely that children in Florida would be allowed to play in the huge pile of leaves for several reasons, of course the first is there are very few leaves to play in. And then too, safety concerns. Here, the parents seem to be a little more lenient when it comes to free play amongst children.

Later on Ursula's granddaughter showed off a little for me and of course, I had my camera in hand.

Oh to have the freedom of movement that those children do. They fall down, hopping back up in a heartbeat with no damage. How I wish that were true of this woman of a certain age.

As is always the case with the Libers, they love showing off where they live and we love seeing it. After an excellent meal of soup and salad, prepared by David, we went to the river road and were treated to waterfalls,

multi-colored leaves,

and a very cool looking giant mushroom.

Before we left, she let the chickens out to roam a bit, something she was once reluctant to do, however they now know to follow her into the coop when she says so.

When Bruce was asked about moving to Vancouver while working for Earl's, I begged him to say yes because I knew there would be seasons, something I had never experienced in all of my years to date. Fortunately, being the perfect husband that he is,  it did not take a whole lot to convince him that it would be a great adventure and those of you who have been with me for years know that is an understatement. 

Who knew that at the same time that I fell in love with seasons, I fell in love with mountains? That is exactly what happened, all of which made our move to Murphy a no-brainer. 

Doing all that we can while we can!! 

Amen to that!! 

your friend,

Gail

Red, Yellow, Orange, Rust, Oh My!

While I was trying to think of another phrase to use besides holy cow, I had to turn to Google for ideas. The AI explanation opened my eyes to possibilities I'd never dreamed of, including profanity. Forgive me should any of you taken it that way. Let's just say that I am crazy excited and leave it at that.  

Everywhere I look I see the colors above, however, I have yet to feel confident that I have taken a really good photo of this explosion of color that surrounds. Our neighborhood is packed with color and while I have photos of that I might save some for the dead of winter? 

In my last post, the link to it should you have missed it is here, I did show off some neighborhood beauty, however this post begins with a trip to Franklin and a few other places. I was talking to Linda about how our friend Randy said that Bruce and I MUST take a drive over to Franklin because the leaves were extraordinary. Wouldn't you know it, the very next day Linda said that Kerry was going to Franklin and wanted company. Oh yes please! She picked us up and drove us over to his house and what a beautiful view of color he had from his back deck. 

It was the start of a beautiful day beginning as we drove by Lake Chatuge, 

and it kept on getting better and better.

They gave me the front seat so I could photograph through the windshield which was squeaky clean. Both he and Linda have been here for over a decade so driving in the mountains is a breeze for them. 

We arrived at the highest point, a bit over 3,000 feet, where there is an overlook that you have seen before but it was green in those photos. 

Honestly what can you say when seeing this? During our time in Vancouver was my first experience with Autumn, but there it was neat and tidy. This was the view from our 20th floor condo balcony.

Stunning, right? I was going crazy there as you can imagine, but I have also been going crazy in this mostly untamed environment we are calling home now.  (The blog posts from that time are in the archives. This one is from Nov. 2, 2017.

Our first stop in Franklin was a bookstore that had been there a long time. 

Two big rooms and lots of seating.

Who doesn't like browsing in a book store, especially when you once owned one. Yup Linda had one here in downtown Murphy that she subsequently sold to Kerry!

They had a lot of cute decorations downtown and Linda took our photo in front of one of their photo op spots.

The drive home had more pictures that looked like this one. Somehow, I lost my touch. 😀

A few hours later we were meeting up with Jon and Tammy at everyone's favorite, Perrones, for dinner. They were returning to Florida within days so it was good to see them when we could.

While we were in Franklin, Julie texted  asking if Bruce could take her Dad out for some leaf peeping the following day. As it turns out, rarely is a Thursday free but on that day it was. All ready to go the next morning, she called and said he just wasn't up for it. We get that. Would he be up for a visit instead? You bet.

Visiting his home is a joy because not only is he a sweet man,  there is something to see everywhere one looks. Both he and his wife were artists as is their daughter Julie so it's full of interest, including the garden with zinnias fitted with little jewelry bags to collect the seeds at the end of the season.

The porch is outfitted with enumerable hand crafted wind chimes. 

Julie and her dad make bunting while watching MASH together since Julie's Mom died. It hangs in the trees between the properties. 

We had a pleasant visit followed by a drive through the Folk School grounds. Before we left I ogled the leaves on their property.

See title above!

The roads are winding and tree laden and showing off a kaleidoscope of colors. 

We got to the Folk School and were not disappointed there either.

Adjacent to the major gardens is a green house with lots of pots of multicolored mums, a flower that is used here for front porches widely. 

Mums galore!

That Carolina blue sky!

Back over to Julie and Harry's house I wanted to see their garden before it's all gone. That said, so far the weather has been mild and things are still growing. Today I saw some rhododendron blooming as well as camelias.  My weather app says it is 8 degrees warmer than normal. 

Beautiful dahlias.

Along with lots of baby tomatoes that I kept sampling.

Still, it wasn't enough for me because I took a walk in the fog the next morning. 

Spiderwebs were all along the bridge.

First I saw mountain fog burning off in the park across the street.

And a little later there was actual smoke coming from the other side. Apparently an auto repair place a few blocks away had a fire.

Of course I had completely forgotten the picnic with the pickleballers, but they let us eat anyway! It's a great group of folks that's for sure. I am becoming even more forgetful than ever!

Gary brought two little grills for the hot dogs.

Lori's costume was an injured pickleballer. Lori is the sweet woman kind enough to give me fabric for my scrappy quilt which has laid idle for the last week or more while we soak in all the color before it is gone.

While we were there some children came by to go trick or treating somewhere in the park.

Many of our players will be heading back to Florida soon, including the these two.

Our friend Camille is also going back to Florida for six months and we will miss her lively spirit.

And it was mostly Peggy who put it all together.

Anyway lots of fun with the pickleball gang.

Later that day I took another walk, this time on the other side of the riverwalk and it was lovely. This is the spot where the Valley and Hiwassee River join. I bet you already knew that, didn't you? It's not like it's the first time you have seen it!

This was the longer walk that included the primitive loop along the river where on this day the cypress trees were glowing in the afternoon sunshine.

Lastly, a photo from Halloween morning taken on the hill just on the other side of the lot that sits vacan beside us.  

Oh my, have I got some photos from Halloween for you next time.  Red, Yellow, Orange, Rust, Burgundy, oh my! 

your friend,

Gail