Welcome Autumn

I know I have said this before...

but I have to reiterate.

For as horrid as last winter was...

this past summer and now autumn have been stellar!

Happy Autumn to you!

It's here... my very favorite time of year.

Autumn...so crisp and fresh... a season that you can sink your teeth into...

just as you would a juicy ripe apple from our orchard!

Our mornings are cold (low 40's)...

just perfect for the horses.

If it weren't for the gnats (all of the little black dots of the following picture)...

life would be absolutely perfect!

Yes, they are flying around my face as I sit here in the grass!

It will take a good hard frost to kill these tiny nuisances.

And at this point I am in no hurry for frost.

Frost just might be the harbinger of a winter that could plunge us right back into that polar vortex!

I am always amazed that the gnats don't seem to bother the goats.

At least they never complain!

As long as you keep moving, you can avoid them flying in your eyes and up your nostrils.

But as soon as you stand still...

yikes!

I am lucky to live in a countryside that is rich with covered bridges...

many still being used.

Yesterday a friend and I did some antiquing, and our travels took us across this bridge.

I found a rather large cast iron bell...

supposedly from a paddleboat that ran on the Missouri River.

It weighs over 50 pounds, so it will be a challenge to hang.

Once it is hung I will show it to you.

And so another day of random moments passes...

I am squeezing as much into each beautiful day as I possible can...

knowing full well that this temperate weather won't last.

I can hear Ole Man Winter's bones a-rattling just around the corner.

So... for now....I am going to do my best to revel in Autumn's color and temperature!

Wanna join me?