Rhythm of the Seasons

Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night; and thus he would never know the rhythms that are at the heart of life. ~Hal Borland

Hubby and I drove to the Virginia countryside last weekend and I got so many great photos...there's just something about back country roads, especially with autumn showing its presence! I love it when we drive down a random road and stumble upon a gorgeous landscape...it's so incredibly quiet. There's no traffic sounds...just the songs of birds, or silence. What a wonderful moment it is to experience this...so good for the soul.

I'm sharing a few for Friday Finds. Today, I'm going to Williamsburg, VA for a weekend trip and hope to have some more great fall images. I can't wait to share when I get back! Thanks for stopping by.

The Landscape Yields

The red leaves take the green leaves’ place, and the landscape yields. We go to sleep with the peach in our hands and wake with the stone, but the stone is the pledge of summers to come. ~Emily Dickinson

The colors of fall make my heart beat faster...so, so beautiful. In the mum photo above, I used Kim's "cora" texture at Multiply/20%. So many autumn photos, so little time! I hope your world is filled with color, wherever you are. Thank you for stopping by!

The Beginnings of Autumn

You don’t have to go looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out and the pictures are staring at you. ~Lee Friedlander

Nature makes it very easy...especially in October. The challenge becomes picking a few favorites out of the hundreds of photos I'm taking. That's not a bad problem to have...these are a few from last week when the trees were barely starting to turn. They're getting much more vibrant with each passing day! More to come - have a wonderful weekend.

Decorate Your Own Soul

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security, and you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child, and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure…that you really are strong, and you really do have worth. ~Veronica A. Shoffstall

Being out in nature with my camera offers me much joy and comfort as I adjust to my daughter's move to New York City...my heart aches a little, but I also know I'll be OK. I like that age and wisdom give us the tools to plant our own gardens and decorate our own souls. When I feel sad or down, I let it flow through me and then I carry on. I go out in search of my own flowers, and when I find them my soul smiles and I feel so grateful. Gratefulness is the key to life.

These little daisy-like flowers are everywhere right now - maybe they're just weeds, but to me they're absolutely beautiful. So cheery and bright!

Thank you for stopping by - in the final image above, I used Kim's "mere" texture at Soft Light/20%.

Green Joy

Plants cry their gratitude for the sun in green joy. ~Terri Guillemets

Soon everything will explode into brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges, but for now I'm basking in the last of the summer green-glow. These images represent all I'm feeling emotionally right now: oh-so-grateful for the sun on my face, overwhelmed with the beauty of the green, sad to see it go, excitedly anticipating the change of color that's coming...I feel a jumble of both joy and sadness that creates an overflowing heart lined with a soft sadness.

My daughter officially moves to The Big Apple tomorrow...autumn is the perfect season for her to leave, because the feelings of fall perfectly match my real life emotions. Her new life in NYC makes me very happy for her...what an exciting, new path she's on. And I will look forward to visiting the city! But it's also a bit sad and bittersweet as I adjust to her living far away. Life is constant change, just like nature's seasons. The secret to life is how we adapt to it...and thank goodness for Facebook, texting and Skype! My daughter will be hearing from me quite often. :)

How is fall coming along where you are? Bask in the beauty of it!

There is Something in the Autumn

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. ~Bliss Carman

Well, that quote is absolutely perfect to describe how I feel about fall...so I think I'll just tiptoe out of here with my rhyming heart, put on my flannel scarf and fall boots, and continue my search for beautiful, October colors! And if you happen to see me out there, just ignore the foam mustache from my Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha, OK? :)

Happy autumn, everyone.

(I used Kim's Anna texture at Multiply/30% for my image.)

Fall Fungi

The jewel is the awaring presence, not the object being seen. That’s why we can be bored and disappointed while gazing at the Swiss Alps and ecstatic and blissed out over a crumpled cigarette package in the gutter. The beauty is in the quality of the seeing, the awareness, the presence, not in the object being seen. ~Joan Tollifson

I'm never bored while on the hunt for pretty mushrooms! They can be very elusive, so you definitely have to be 'present' while looking for them. I think the mushrooms may have peaked in my area, though...now that the temps are cooling down, I'm not seeing as many. Here are a few I've stumbled upon in the last few weeks. I will continue my search for the month of October - maybe I'll get lucky and find a few while out enjoying the fall foliage.

I'm trying to get back into a blog routine...October is the prettiest month of the year, so I'll definitely be blogging the autumn colors! Thanks so much for stopping by.