Thankful for Friday

It has been a hectic, crazy, busy month. I am thankful to have a job that I love, but today I am thankful for Friday with a short day at school and plans for a relaxing week-end. Photo above taken a recent morning on Lake Roosevelt by Barnaby Island.

Thankful

Today I am thankful for the beautiful corner of Washington state where I live. Today sunshine, mist, and a rainbow.

Good-bye October

It must have been the combination of sunshine, clouds, rain, lack of rain, barometric pressure, lining up of planets, fog, and harvest moons that created a most spectacular October. The flowers have never bloomed as well. The fall foliage has never been so diverse in color and texture.

The skies have never seemed so blue. Sunrises and sunsets have been breathtaking. November is usually a study in contrasts. Tomorrow we will begin more gray, early dark evenings, fog, bare trees, and the winding down of autumn. It all has it's own beauty though. Enjoy favorite images of October.

Dad Loved October

Today my dad would have been eighty-two years old. He died sixteen years ago . As I was organizing and reorganizing  pictures today I kept remembering Dad.

Dad loved October. Bowling season had begun. He got to enjoy the World Series, NFL games, and college football games in his easy chair with a can of beer. The weather was cooler to golf. He could watch the Kellogg Wildcats play from the porch of Dirty Ernie's. He could watch the leaves turn on Cameron Ave.

Sunsets were always beautiful in October as Dad sat on the front porch. He enjoyed all the leaves turning red, yellow, and orange.  He also  loved to burn leaves in the street. Although he didn't always like doing yard work, he seemed to like raking leaves and putting them in big piles. When he got a shredder he ran the corn husks through, then put them in the compost to enrich the soil for the next year. He stood around while his friend Donnie showed him how to trim raspberry bushes in October.

He always got out his flannel shirts and changed to a warmer hat. He loved a full moon and would belt out the lyrics to "Shine On... Shine On Harvest Moon." When we were small he would walk us up to Joe and Henry's for a root beer and took us around trick-or-treating hoping to get a cool one at some friend's house. When I was older him and Mom would come to Moscow to cheer on the Vandals. 

October meant canned goods from his mother in Spokane, roasts and homemade soups on Sunday, and later apples from the orchard below my house. He was so excited when the orchard owner told him he could take what he wanted. He drove his Chevy Lumina down the orchard road and loaded up.

October was that time before his knees started to hurt, his gout flared up, the roads got slick, and the sidewalk had to be shoveled. In early evening he could see his world from the front porch and later enjoy the warm light inside as he called it a night.

Another Magnificent Corner of My World

When our friends Joan and Dave were visiting last week-end we tried to decide the best places to take them so they could see the beauty that surrounds us in northeastern Washington state.

We couldn't have timed it better. The sun was shining. The leaves had begun to turn. Our friends paused to pose.

Everyone felt like hiking.

I had time to take many, many pictures.

We didn't have any schedule so we could take our time.

They agreed at the end of the day. It is a magnificent corner of the world.

(photos taken along the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway with a stop at the Sherman Pass Overlook)

Beauty Surrounding Me

 When the day has been hectic,

When I wanted some peace and quiet before preparing dinner,

When I wanted to surround myself in vivid colors,

And I wanted to celebrate glorious autumn,

It only made sense to walk around my gardens and say a little prayer of thanks for the beauty surrounding me.