First Snow

Here it is just the end of October and we already experienced our first snow day! Usually, we don't see any snowflakes until December around here. It was a messy, wet snow today. At times, it looked like the sky was throwing down snowballs. Big clumps of snow fell from the sky and thudded on the cabin roof. As you can see from the photo above, it was quite messy as Kevin retrieved our mail today!



Ordinarily, the leaves are long gone from most of the deciduous trees by the time we have snow, but a lot of the tree leaves are still green and others just turning yellow and red. The wind blew pretty fiercely at times today and it was not only snowing but raining leaves, too. It was a good day to stay indoors!

Fall Trip to Washington, DC

This past weekend was one of simply wondrous Indian Summer weather ~ perfect for our visit to our nation's capital. Kevin and I stayed downtown for a couple of days and toured as many of the museums and monuments as we could during our stay. During the daytime, we went to the museums, enjoyed the many exhibits and viewed several 3-D IMAX movies, my favorite one focusing on orphaned elephants and orangutangs and their extraordinary caretakers who nurtured their young charges and then returned them to the wild. In the evening, we visited the Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. memorials which were especially impressive all lit up against the night sky. The magnificent and stately Smithsonian Castle building is pictured in the photogragh above.

My favorite showcase in the American History Museum displayed Jim Henson's original muppet puppets. What a special genius Mr. Henson was! His beloved characters continue to charm young and old alike.

The architecture of the older buildings in Washington, DC is stunning. As Kevin and I took a break inbetween touring and snacked on a bag of popcorn, fresh from the red wagon vendor in front of the Natural History Museum, I took the above photo of the museum's beautiful, finely detailed columns from our seat on the museum steps.

I've always loved the diorama taxidermy displays of wildlife within the Natural History Museum. Even though I enjoy seeing the live deer in our woods most of all, I thought this particular display was so pretty. We also especially enjoyed the Rock and Mineral Hall. The collections and individual specimens are amazing. Much has changed since I worked for the Smithsonian Museum Shops in the early 1980s. All of the shops and eateries within the museums have been updated and most of the exhibits modernized.

Our final evening was spent in Chinatown, where we ate a scrumptious dinner at Tony's Mongolian Restaurant. Kevin chose crispy beef and I chose shrimp lo mein. We were so hungry by the time we sat down to eat. We amazed our waiter, and ourselves!, by how much of the generous portions we were able to consume. Our waiter was literally beaming :) The gateway arch heralding the beginning of the the Chinatown district was a sight to behold ~ so ornate and richly colored ... the gold set aglow by the rays of the setting sun.

Our two day stay in DC went by so fast and left us yearning to return to see and do more ... the best way to feel, as you know your time was well spent and deeply enjoyed. We are so fortunate to live close enough to visit this city with so much to offer and of so much importance to our country. We look forward to coming back and taking in more of our nation's capital!

Early Signs of Autumn's Arrival

Officially, fall arrived on September 23, the autumnal equinox. In this part of the country, that time is more of a whisper than a major word of seasonal change. Generally, the temps are still nearly summertime warm and the leaves are still mostly vibrant green. Subtle changes begin to happen ever so slowly in the days to follow.



Today, I came across one of nature's harbingers of change, foreshadowing for us that colder weather is soon to come...this on-the-go woolly bear caterpillar.

The leaves on the dogwood tree in front of our cabin are also displaying signs indicating more change to come. Red blotches rim some of the leaves, and, as you can see also in the photograph above, one leaf on this branch morphed to yellow.

Fall is such an exciting season with it's changes and it's final expression of colors before the monotone shades of winter set in and take hold. This season of beauty provides a warmth to tide us over until the rebirth of greenery and new life returns to begin the seasonal cycle anew in springtime.

Enjoy the season!!!

County Fair Time

Kevin's ready for a good time :)

This little guy's ready to ship out!

A wall of prize artwork

Snuggling with the giant pink gorilla

Evening sets in at the fair grounds

Going to the county fair is always a fun activity to wrap up summertime and head into fall. Kevin and I had a fun-filled evening touring the fair grounds, visiting the farm animals, perusing the exhibit buildings filled with crafts, colorful vegetables and yummy baked goods, and sampling the enticing foods the vendors had to offer. We took our traditional sunset ferris wheel ride and then ended our evening munching tasty caramel covered apples as we sat on a bench and people watched. By the time we strolled back to the car to head home, the sun had set and the bright lights of the carnival midway lit up the night.

Mushrooms and More

A week of rainfall brought forth all sorts of mushrooms and fungus in our woods around the cabin. It was fun to discover the many varieties on my walk this afternoon. Above is just a small photographic sample of what I saw today.

Thoughts on 9/11

Anniversaries are days of reflection. September 11 is a day etched on the minds and in the hearts of Americans as a day of tragedy and remembrance of so many innocent lives lost. In 2001, our nation took a blow that seemingly came out of nowhere. The attack on the United States was, beyond words, horrific ... and our nation's initial response of shock, anguish and grief to the horror was justifiable, as was the following surge of patriotism that took hold and helped us deal with the unthinkable atrocities together with a united front.

The acts of the terrorists on 9/11 are not defensible. Yet, have we as a people done enough to think beyond our own hurt, our own pride, and all that divides us to come to any understanding of why such an attack was ever conceived, planned, and carried out? Even though we are currently facing difficult economic times and many of our citizens are unemployed and have lost their homes, we are still collectively one of the wealthiest, most privileged groups of people on the face of the earth. We consume more of the world's resources than any other nation. Our country is a power to reckon with, but the ways that we have accumulated our wealth and held this power have not always been with the best interests of all in mind. Our motives and deeds have not always been pure. Actions have consequences.

Violence should never be condoned. Yet have we, as the powerful nation we have become, done all that we can to promote and establish peace and well being for all? Have we always demonstrated respect for other nations striving for the best for their citizens as well?

Today is not only a day to mourn and remember those lost, but a day to reflect on what divides us. Do the beliefs we hold dear take all mankind into consideration? Peace, prosperity and goodwill should not just belong to the fortunate and the few. I believe we need to continually strive to strengthen our values, demonstrate greater compassion and equity, and take into consideration that we, as individuals, have the right to our own beliefs, but others, who have differing views, are not necessarily wrong or need conversion. To strengthen ourselves, we need to strengthen the world. As a nation that is still a world leader, we have a responsibility to promote peace, cooperation, and justice. The notion that peace and cooperation is possible and preferable must take hold in each individual in every nation. We must not only believe in working together for a more peaceful existence but collectively strive to live it.

Historically, our most beloved leaders, the world over, are those who stressed compassion and who strove for peaceful interaction and unity among all mankind. What better way to lift ourselves up, not wallow in fear and a sense of victimization than to broaden our hearts and minds and allow the seeds of caring for all to germinate, take hold, and, with a little luck and a lot of tending, begin to flourish. Hard work...yes. Possible...maybe. Necessary...definitely.

September 11 will always be a day of sorrow and remembrance in the United States.
Hopefully, it can also serve as an awakening to a new collective consciousness as well.

Sighting in the Sycamore

After a week of steady rain, we awoke to a beautiful, sunny September morning today. The constant rainfall this past week had left everything outdoors soggy and doing its best to regroup and dry out again.

A tall sycamore tree grows right next to the driveway in front of our cabin. It's a lovely tree, and it's rare to find this water loving species on our dry site landcape. Kevin noticed that the sycamore had a very grand visitor resting on a top branch today ~ what we think is an immature sharp shinned hawk. He or she has the identifying bright yellow legs of the Sharp-shinned or Coopers Hawk, but we think it's probably the first because this species has made its home in the woods here for quite some time.

Here's a closer look at the hawk. It's so amazing to get a close look these wondrous, elusive birds! Kevin and I felt so fortunate that our morning was graced by the hawk's presence ... and I was also so pleased that from a far off distance inside the cabin I was able to get clear enough photographs to share with you here!