Autumn in the Mountains

Last Thursday for our weekly lunch date, Hubby and I decided to drive up to Lake Almanor for the afternoon to see some scenery and to get out of the rut of the same ol' restaurants in town. Not that we don't have some nice places to eat, but we don't have very many and after a while one can order without even bothering with a menu. So, nice to have a change, that's all. Then we drove even farther through the mountains on Friday - starting out up in the Sierras and coming back out in the Cascades - to go to William's football game in Yreka. We left early and stopped frequently to take photos. In random order as they uploaded, here's a few pretty shots:

Docks left high and dry by low lake levels. Autumn gold reflected in the shallows.

A stand of aspen just past it's peak.

More aspen almost bare. I like how some of the leaves turn black and make little polka dots fluttering in the sky.

A snag and a few tall trees standing out above the rest.

Alternating ridges of green and gold disappearing into the haze.

"He went that way!"

Backlit cones.


A seasonal scene - time's slipping away to get your wood in for the winter. (After twelve years of heating with only wood, I have to say I'm finally happy to turn on my heat with a simple push of a switch. We do still have a fireplace though to make the living room warm and cozy when we want the smell and sound of a wood fire.)

This grand fire pit was in the middle of the Chester farmer's market area. I've never been to their farmer's market, but it's a nice little spot. Can't you just see yourself here on a cold autumn afternoon, chatting with friends, hands warming around a hot cup of apple cider?

orange and blue

Hi Mom! Hi Mom! Hi Mom! I'm having fun!

A token of love carved into the forest in Halloween colors. I wonder if F and B are still together this year?

Hanging in there

That's sort of how I've felt this last week, hanging in there. William and Hubby were both sick and I was waiting, waiting, waiting, I knew it would be too much to expect it to pass me by. I'd picked up a bit of a snuffly nose and scratchy throat but wondered if there would be more. Finally last night I felt crappy enough to head to bed without even a book to read. That's pretty sick for me! I feel better today and relieved, honestly, now I can stop waiting for the other shoe to fall and get on with what needs doing. Which is housecleaning and decorating.

I did feel it was legitimate to cancel my dentist appointment for this afternoon. I don't want to be all snuffly in the dentist's chair when it's not an emergency sort of appt. They nicely rescheduled me for the day after my company will leave in the beginning of November. And after trying unsuccessfully all last week to make some doctor's appointments for check ups, I got through today and have those all lined up. So I'm feeling very "check that off my list" smug and can now concentrate on other tasks.

I'm still working my way through all the fun party posts for Vanessa's exhaustingly successful Halloween Bash. I just made it up to the "R's". I spent a lot more time online "partying" this weekend than I'd like to admit. I'll have to finish up a few blogs at a time over the next week so I can get back to normal life. Okay, so not normal, but you know what I mean.

If you'd like more autumn, I put up a bunch of close up nature images over at Laume's Studio.