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Summer's Final Bookend

Memorial Day and Labor Day are kind of like the bookends of Summer, don't you think? Does it make you sad when we reach that second bookend? I've heard several conversations lately where people were grieving the end of Summer. I am not one of those people.

Don't misunderstand, I like Summer just fine. However, I really, really love Fall. I always have. Part of that is maybe that I always loved school and Fall was when school started again. There's more to it than that, though. I really like the crispness of Autumn! The colors, the smells, I love it all!

So, in case you are mourning the loss of Summer, I decided to post a few photos from last Fall. Maybe it will help you feel some happy anticipation for the next few months.

An Autumn Hayride for Snow White

Each Autumn friends from church invite the entire congregation to their farm for a hayride.  It is something the kids all really look forward to and the adults enjoy it as well.

This year the hayride wasn't on the usual wagon with hay bales.  It was a bit more uptown, having bench seats and everything.

We enjoyed entertainment from a real cowboy while we waited.  I like this photo.  Do you see the after-shine where the lasso had just been?  I thought that was cool.  I've no idea how that was captured but it no doubt has to do with my remarkable photography skills.  No?

For those of us who don't live on a farm, just seeing a horse close-up is a real treat.

These cows seemed a bit suspicious of me and were trying to get their babies closer to themselves.

I soon left as I didn't want to make them nervous.

Some of the kids enjoyed bobbing for apples.  I just thought they looked pretty.

We enjoyed our meal together, eating in one of their outbuildings.  It felt quite Western.

The best part for me, though, was the late arrival of Snow White.

After waiting and waiting and waiting for Halloween, Cordelia had been sick that day and missed out.  Her parents promised a Halloween II for her and last night was it.  They'd taken her trick-or-treating to a few prearranged homes before coming to the party.  She was so beautiful!  

For me, the thought of showing up at a party in a costume and discovering that everyone else was in regular clothes is rather a nightmare.  Not Cordelia, though.  She has great self-esteem and it did not bother her one little bit that she was the only one in costume.  I guess princesses are just used to standing out in a crowd.

Since she is a Wyoming Princess, adding a jean jacket to her gown seemed appropriate.

I loved this photo of my friend, Nicole, holding Elise.  Elise wasn't in the mood to wear her matching Snow White costume.  She carried off the casual princess look with class, though.

It was a peaceful and beautiful Wyoming evening. 

I wish everyone had a chance to experience this kind of evening in the middle of Wyoming.

Sunshine & Shadows

Late yesterday afternoon I sat down in the recliner with a bag of yarn and my crochet hook.  The sun was hanging low and pouring in the window, shining in my eyes so that I couldn't even do my work.  I got up to close the drapes and then came to my senses. Instead, I grabbed my camera and went out to better appreciate the last of the day.  It was so lovely out, I decided to just share some of that beauty here with you.  I hope it makes you feel as happy as it did me.

Autumn

Autumn breaks my heart...

...because it is over all too soon.

One day this week, shortly after Mike left for work, he called me at home and told me to look out the window.  I did and then I ran outside to capture the moment.  We'd had a hard frost during the night and our cottonless cottonwood tree was letting go of most all of its leaves in one morning.  It was incredible!  It was noisy!  It felt like it was raining gold.  The picture doesn't do it justice but if you look closely, many of the leaves are much larger than the others, or so it seems.  They were actually much closer than the others as they fell.  Some even hit my camera as I tried to photograph it.  I would guess 30-50 leaves were in the air at all times for quite a long time.  I've never experienced such a shower before!

I love Fall!

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