the week for fall

post #465
          Fall in Appalachia is shorter than in New England, where I lived until I went off to college. This year our part of the world has had a very long dry stretch. I expected the leaves might just drop off before turning colors. Not. We have actually had a real fall over the last few days! Here are some of this year's photos, starting with ones around my little pond:

I was looking for the red-winged blackbird nest(s).

cattails gone to seed early

a cattail still intact

Notice the raindrops....  Time to go protect the camera -- and pass the mustard....

 What follows are a few out and about photos:

The field in the far distance is on my land.

my mailbox, on Sideway Road

on the ridge road

a driveway that does this display every year

not always looking this amazing

 What will tomorrow bring, nearby and for our nation. And actually for the world. I'm grateful to be living in such a beautiful corner. I wish for everyone a welcoming place to call home.

February favorites

post # 372
        I haven't finished my photo favorites from 2017 yet, so that's where I'm going today. I'm skipping spring, for now, and instead going right to February last year. But since there wasn't much snow then, compared to this year, I plan to end today's post with a few photos from this morning....
         First off, four from the pond. I made these particular photos in conjunction with the semester photo class I began a year ago. In the first photo, I was trying to show wind. (This summer I had all that broom sage cut back. It indicates that the ground is not totally healthy, but in addition it got to be pretty depressing to see it all around me all winter instead of some vegetation variations, and the colors of snow.

The house and pond area:

cattails, winter mode, beloved by red-wing blackbirds in the early spring

the waterfall area:

winter green I

winter green II, and 2 family members

winter green III

 a different kind of winter morning, seen from inside the house:

     This winter, in December, a never-seen-before-by-me sunset scene,
 

    and a few views from this morning:

my trusty, empty barn

A complete change of subject:

        This afternoon I have also watched an excellent documentary on KET about John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon from Alabama, who has kept a lifetime focus on how to Keep Our Eyes on the Prize.  His mantra, from his mother, has been FIND A WAY TO GET IN THE WAY.  His life story reveals the extreme dedication required of our citizens to provide desperately needed social change, and I am awed by the loyalty to principle that continues to be so necessary.  I wish I had known earlier in my life that I could be a photographer to honor history being made -- to remind us how now we are the ones who must continue to make history.