Mid-Fall

I've had the whole day to myself, which has been a heavenly way to catch up on life after our trip.
Fall is gorgeous with all the leaves changing and the yard covered
and it was perfect weather for a morning bike ride.

I was thinking about the different stages of fall. The first 30 days where the leaves to change in the mountains and slowly the colors make their way to the valleys. 

In our neighborhood, the yellows make an appearance first 

(with the exception of some spectacular orange autumn blaze maples.)

The second 30 days where the leaves fall and the reds and oranges heighten.

The bushes and groundcover start to change too, but many of the summer container plants are hanging on.

(I kind of want to cut away the reds and whites and tell them they have no business being here still.

But then I feel bad and apologize and thank them for lasting through the long, hot summer.)

Then the last 30 from Thanksgiving to almost Christmas when we're ready for any remnants of leaves to be gone from the trees and the yard and the transition complete so the world is prepped and ready for snow.

Also loved this pic Michael sent.

    Looking forward to seeing them next week! 

Dan and I have been talking about how fortunate we are to see our kids a lot 

even though the older two live away. We're so grateful.