Eastgate Park is looking Autumnal. . . . . . .

. . . . . . at long last!  

We had almost given up on a colorful neighborhood walk this Fall.

 Nothing seemed to be changing in the canopy of dreary, shriveling green leaves,

 (other than a zillion acorns falling on the roof, the garden, our heads!), although
 we're well on our way into November. . . . . . . and December isn't far off, but

 don't let's go there quite yet!

So, after the Saturday hustle and bustle of an afternoon in the city, I insisted

 we take a Sunday mid-afternoon walk around our little neighborhood city park

 to celebrate the return to earlier dusk and darkness that comes with 'daylight

 saving time' . . . . . which, by the way, I love.
 Lighting candles earlier, cooking and dining with the garden clothed in deep blues 
outside the windows, brings a whole new feeling to these pre-winter days.

The pond was quite busy with Canada geese doing their usual thing - not much -

but soon came swimming toward us, hoping for food, which the signs say we

 cannot offer now.

"Sorry sweet children, we can no longer take a bag of snacks and have fun

 feeding the geese and ducks as we did in former generations". 

So, what are your thoughts on that? Are our toddlers poisoning the millions of 

geese who no longer fly back to Canada by tossing them a few stale bread crumbs?

Are childhood memories no longer going to include a fun pond visit on a sunny 

afternoon with mom and dad or the grandparents?

The quiet swimming of the birds did help in moving the still water and

presenting some lovely reflections of the trees

It was a warm afternoon requiring just a light sweater, plus good footwear 

to clamber through a section of woods which we hadn't visited before.

  Breathing in the fresh air Autumn air, peering up at the Carolina Blue sky,

I was grateful that Nature had once again come through with palette and

paintbrushes. In the noise and busyness of modern day life there are still

 some things we can rely on thank goodness.

If in the northern hemisphere, were you able to get out this past weekend

 and enjoy some colorful Autumn scenery? I hope so.

First light . . . . . . ..

Today I awoke and was up before the sun - probably because Bob allowed the

 storm door to slam at 6:00 AM when going to pick up the newspaper!

It rained again during the night but no thunder or lightning, and now we are

 looking at some fabulous weather for the next week. Hopefully it will dry up

and we can enjoy outdoor time.

After being at Gina's farm in Utah, seen in these photos, with stunning scenery

 stretching to the mountains, and the shining pond full of large winged visitors,

 my landscape here at the cottage feels somewhat encroaching and dark. . . . . . . .  

. . . . . I loved the openness of the garden and surrounding fields, the light shining through the dancing water of the irrigation system. . . . .  

. . . . . . the cackling birds on the bell towers of the gorgeous barn - you can just see

 the outline of the mountains here. . . . . 

. . . . . . . and then the sun appearing to make the colors of the buildings positively glow.

Gina's 'green thumb' produces such gorgeous flowers.

Early morning view toward the main house from the guest house - 

 Life at the pond - this year's parents and their now grown juveniles.

Speaking of waking early - I had no idea that on my second morning on the farm

 I would be awakened at the ungodly hour of 3:00 AM in excruciating pain!

  I knew immediately what was happening. . . . . . . another kidney stone on my left side!  

After waking Bob with my groaning, crying and flailing around from bed to the lovely

 comfy sofas, and back and forth to the bathroom downstairs, for a couple of hours, 

ready to jump from the balcony and drown myself in the pond (if you've had a

 kidney stone you know where I'm coming from!), Bob said to start packing and he'd 

drive me to the hospital in Provo, the closest large city! 

Before that occurred, Bob told Gina what was happening - thankfully she and Mr. G. are

early risers - and she insisted in taking me instead to a small hospital just 5 miles up the

road. (Thank you again dear friend of being so caring and understanding, and not

allowing me to be embarrassed at my plight in your home).

What amazing service that little ER gave me. How kind and caring were the staff.

The physician - actually a PA - was the best doctor I've ever had treat me - all

others should take 'bedside manner lessons' from him.

The sweet nurse had me hooked up to pain killers immediately. Lab tests were done.

The CT scan was completed in 10 minutes - the x-rays sent via computer to be read

 at a major hospital in Salt Lake City - and that apparently tiny stone causing such

 havoc was located in my plumbing system!

Outside a medi-vac helicopter was revving its engine - thank goodness it

wasn't for me - another patient, a poor woman in even more pain than me -

was being airlifted to the city.

In a few hours I was back on the farm enjoying another spectacular day,

grateful for modern medicine. . . . . . . and wonderful friends.

More from Utah next time.

Giving thanks. . . . . . . . .at Thanksgiving

Today is beautiful outside.

What I would call a perfect Autumn day.

Here at the cottage we have noisy workmen repairing our deck and

 gazebo - wood rots after years of rain no matter how hard you try to preserve it.

We have been somewhat upset with the carpenter - he has not been here every

 day as promised, in fact disappeared leaving his tools behind, so the job is taking

 much longer than planned. Thankfully he is here today and has a helper so things

 are now moving along!

This morning I was totally stressed out and needed to get away from banging,

 drilling and sawing - so off to Eastgate Park just five minutes drive away.

Parked, walked through the woods, around the pond, sat and watched the

 Canada geese, sad that the ducks we loved now seem gone. I took in

 the Autumn colors now at their peak, the reflections in the water turning the 

landscape into amazing paintings only possible by Nature.

May your Thanksgiving be special tomorrow.

Eastgate Pond - reflections for this week. . . . . . .

This week has been a sad one. . . . . for me, for you, for people everywhere, for the world.

 I don't need to reiterate the reasons, we all know what they are.

After picking up a few more groceries yesterday, I stepped away from the traffic and

 noise and walked through the almost silent park before heading home. 

The bright sun was starting its descent as it was just after 4 o'clock.

I was amazed and thrilled to see there was still color in the trees, color reflected 

in even deeper hues in the pond. The sky, though blue, was even bluer below

 the trees. It shimmered in the placid cobalt water and in large puddles remaining

 from the recent rains. The Canada geese and ducks remained in shallow water

 at the far reaches of the pond, unusual as the geese always come closer,

 hoping for tidbits of course, when they see people on the walkway. They preferred

 to be alone late in the afternoon.

 I tried to capture the colors best I could with my aging point and shoot Olympus. 

I feel we all need a little color to cheer us this weekend and Nature 

came through, lifting my spirits in a special way as I took the photos.

Hope they bring good feelings to you also.

These links are to my posts from the pond last January - there you can see the geese and mallards on really cold, icy days.

http://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2015/01/woodland-walk-part-i.html

http://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2015/01/woodland-walk-part-ii.html

I hope this weekend will be a good one for everyone. Hugs.

Woodland Walk Part II ---------------

We seem to have a love/hate relationship with the Canada goose, don't we?

They are quite magnificent looking birds. I especially enjoy them when in a

 V-shaped loud honking flyover above the garden at dusk. . . . . knowing they 

are heading home to their pond. Whereas, when grounded in our parks, 

ponds and local gardens, I must agree they are extremely mucky pests. 

Having become non-migratory, their numbers have increased to thousands 

in my area of North Carolina. 

Extremely successful at living in human-altered areas, Canada geese have proven able to establish breeding colonies in urban and cultivated areas, which provide food and few natural predators, and are well known as a common park species. Their success has led to them sometimes being considered a pest species because of their depredation of crops and issues with their noise, droppings, and habit of begging for food, especially in their introduced range.   via Wikipedia

Only a dozen geese were hanging out at the pond Saturday afternoon, along with 

two pairs of Mallards. They seemed to get along fine together - there was no bickering 

or pecking, just quiet sharing of the open water for resting or swimming, and preening 

on, or sliding about on the more stable icy parts of the pond. They mostly ignored me 

when I managed to get down close to the bank, no begging for food or honking.

Reflections in the cold water were interesting. . . . . . .

 . . . . . impressionist style paintings came to mind.

Have you taken an interesting winter walk this month?

Do you tuck a camera in your pocket when walking?