Autumn Leaf Buntings

 These are just a few of the beautiful autumn leaves 2 of our grandchildren and I collected last week .

 Our daughter's two youngest children spent a few days & nights with us last week ( thank-you daughter ! ) and we had a special project to do together with autumn leaves.

 We gathered colorful fallen leaves and arranged them as desired on wax paper. Each grandchild was free to arrange the leaves any way they wished. Granddaughter chose her leaves ...



...then ironed the leaves between 2 sheets of wax paper.

Tah-dah ! Lovely, don't you think ?

 Grandson chose his leaves and did the same.

 Tah-dah !

 Both grandchildren arranged and crafted their bunting / banners by cutting the wax paper, arranging the leaves, and ironing the design by themselves.

 Beautiful autumn decorations hung by clothespins on twine. They took their autumn buntings home with the sugar cookies they baked . I must say, their handmade buntings look even better in the windows of their home and their mommy loves them ! ( the buntings and her children )

These two grandchildren also helped me with yard work and spent a lot of time helping their Grandpa with a very challenging jig-saw puzzle. Any day spent with these grandchildren is a very good day and we are so blessed. God is so good to us !

Thursday In My Garden ~ Living Ornaments

 This is what I saw today when I stepped out my front door onto the porch. My geese Ella & Fella resting under one of our Japanese Maple trees.

I never take the simple beauty around me for granted. My silly, frilly geese ~ the living ornaments of my glorious Autumn gardens.

Simply Autumn

 Simply autumn . Pictures from the front of our home where the Japanese maples are dropping their leaves on the evergreen shrubs underneath.

 The shady and secret spots of our property hold little pockets of moss and mushrooms.

One of our ducks napping in the fallen maple leaves of autumn, simply autumn... my favorite season.

Remnants

 Remnants of autumn ~ red, gold, bright yellow leaves.

 The new grape arbor , just this summer loaded with vines and grapes, looks bare.

 The older grape arbor is almost hidden with grape vines , and the bright yellow cloud of leaves makes me happy, yet the cold rain and freezing weather has now lessened this cloud to a few puffs of yellow hanging barely, ready to fly away in the next passing wind.

 November is the time of transition from Autumn to Winter, the transition from the busy-ness of hunting and gathering, preparing for the cold bleak months to come.

A big part of this transition is filling the wood shed with wood cut from trees on our property, most downed by storms, to heat our winter hearth & home. So much of my favorite season ~ Autumn, is filled with the remnants of summer, and preparing for Winter and all she brings. "There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood, Touch of manner, hint of mood, And my heart is like a rhyme, With the yellow and the purple, and the crimson keeping time." fr.Bliss Carman, 'An Autumn Song'

Now, onto December, Christmas, and all the special delights of this season! I will be having a give-away of my Wee Little Sheep this month just because I want to, and I hope you come back to see how you might win a sheep of your own.

October Day, Just Ducky !

 A beautiful October day here on Cedar Pond.The ducks are loving the water and I love watching them.

 Although it rained off and on today, there were sun breaks when I would go outside to work and enjoy the day.The leaves are turning gold and red, reminding me why this is my favorite season.

 Now that abundant rain has lifted the burning ban I am burning much of last years' storm damage and many months' collection of feed bags. Keeping so many empty feed bags is like creating a housing development or slum for mice and wood rats. Got to get rid of them ( rodents and feed bags ) ASAP !

 I watch my ducks as I tend to the burn pile.

 You can see the smoke and reflection on the water of the burning branches, storm debris, and feed bags.The ducks swim around snatching at bugs in the water, seeming to be oblivious of my activity.

 The pond's water level is very low. The water is usually past the greenery in the far right bottom of the picture, and well up onto the island. The only time of the year the water is this low is late summer / early autumn. The rains have begun again, the pond will quickly fill, and all will be well...

 ... as far as the ducks are concerned.

 " Never lose an opportunity for seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Autumn Leaves

~A glorius autumn day at Grandma and Grandpa's!~~Grandpa and grandchildren are raking the bright autumn leaves.~

~It is so much fun to rake the leaves.....

~the leaves are so pretty, and the grandchildren have a plan~

~They might even need more leaves than are on the ground, let's help a few more fall so they can be raked into a very large.....

~Leaf pile !~

~Just perfect for jumping into !~

~Let's hold hands and jump into the pile together!~

~That was fun, let's do it again.....~

~"Look grandma, aren't the leaves pretty ?"~