New Arrival

On the way to the mailbox the other day I found an oversize parcel being delivered!

The tractor is not new, but will be new to us.  The arrival of farm equipment is always a momentous occasion, so I was happy to have been carrying a camera along on this walk to the mailbox.

Colorful Spirea

Last spring when I planted this Magic Carpet Spirea bush its leaves were yellow-green.  During the summer, it was covered with lovely tiny pink flowers.  Throughout autumn it colorfully competed with its neighbor, the Burning Bush.  This photo was taken yesterday.  I wonder how long the color will last.      

Photo of the Day

With Thanksgiving over with, I should be thinking Christmas thoughts.  Instead I fret over which photo to post on the blog today.  The weather is cold and windy, so I chose a warm-looking scene from back in mid-October: I need to somehow get in the mood to start holiday baking and decorating.  It sort of goes against my grain, though, as I’d rather just curl up and read books this time of year.  Or, sleep.   

Skywatch Friday

These two photos were taken around the same time last Sunday afternoon, looking in opposite directions.

 

Visit Skywatch Friday for the rest of this week’s links.

Greetings of the Day

Happy

Thanksgiving!

I don’t have any Thanksgiving-type photos to post.  Instead, I searched through the font list to find one that seemed sort of Thanksgivingish.  "Old English" it is, because the Pilgrims came from England.

Just a Leaf

Just a single leaf lying there, colorful enough to be noticed.  

Bittersweet

Here’s a tangle of Bittersweet we saw on the autumn drive mentioned in yesterday’s post.

Almost looks like a snowbank in the background, but its actually fluffy white clouds.

Busy Week Ahead

Last Friday was cold and blustery, so I busied myself indoors at the computer, pre-publishing blogposts for this busy Thanksgiving week. 

I wished to go back to the day this photo was taken, in mid-October when my husband and I enjoyed an autumn drive in the hills of northeast Iowa.   

Last Hurrah

From a couple days ago, one last glimpse of the Burning Bush’s autumn finery.

These leaves fell off the next day after this photo was taken.

Skywatch

Thanks for stopping by!  Photo was taken earlier this week.  Visit Skywatch Friday to find more links.

Different

This Burning Bush leaf obviously marches to a different drummer!

And, there’s nothing wrong with that!

Barberry

I’m amazed at the autumn colors still to be found around the yard here in mid-November!  This Barberry bush branch poses next to an intriguing rock I found in the field a few years ago.

JD 630

On a sunny day back in early October I snapped a shot of the John Deere 630:

As of last week, this reliable old tractor is slumbering in the shed shadows for the winter.  

Late Bloomer

This late-blooming coneflower’s color simply does not fit in.  Shades of November brown and gray are currently all the rage!

Burning Bush Berries

They look a little bit like Christmas lightbulbs being held in place by purple clothespins! 

Bird Nest

By now, most of the burning bush’s leaves have fallen off.  Yesterday I noticed this tiny bird’s nest near the center of the bush:

I’m thinking it might be a Goldfinch nest.   

Skywatch

Welcome!  Here’s an early morning scene from mid-October…

Visit the Skywatch Friday website to find links to sky photos from around the world!

First Snow

Yesterday morning I was greeted by this scene:

By early afternoon the snow had disappeared.  Amazing how this maple tree is tenaciously holding onto its leaves.  Or the leaves are clinging with great determination.  Which is it, I wonder?

Teacup Clock

Earlier in the fall, I saw this clever clock in a shop in Pella:

Someone was really using their noggin to come up with such an idea.  Just now, after typing the word noggin, I decided to looked it up in the dictionary.  Amazingly enough, noggin also means “a small cup or mug”!  Plus, it can mean 1/4 of a pint, probably the amount of liquid in a teacup!

Leaf Donation

Yesterday I raked up a big pile of leaves and donated them to a good cause.

Bedding for the calves!

Wishing

Can you guess what I’m wishing for?

A big blustery blast of November wind to blow these leaves to kingdom come!  Shouldn’t be too much to ask for since I recently read somewhere that the old Saxon name for November is “Windmonath”, which means “wind month”!

Dogs, Cats, Leaves

Yesterday morning, upon stepping out of the house with my camera, I found:

Lefty eagerly approaching, followed by Buster sporting his “Viking Raider” look…

Unidentified cat contemplating voyage across sea of leaves…

Cat known as Dinky slinking across farmyard (with fall rye growing in background)…

And finally, Miss Kitty, who decided to wink and shake her head at the exact same moment I pressed the camera button!

Wind

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

---Christina Rosetti

Skywatch

Early morning at our farm in Iowa.  (Photo taken 10-20-11.)  I liked the hint of pink color in the clouds.

Visit Skywatch Friday to find the complete list of sky photo links.

Lingering Colors

Yesterday morning was definitely November-like, dark and chilly. 

Trees are quickly becoming empty and colorless, though autumn hues linger on in Marigolds and the Burning Bush.  

And, a little bit of Cosmo color clings to life.

Texture Attempt

I see alot of really cool texture work on blogs, so yesterday I decided to try and learn how to do such a thing.  I searched online and finally found instructions I could fathom.  Besides having a photo I wish to texturize, I found out that I also need a texture photo to apply over it.  For that, I headed outdoors with the camera and snapped a variety of scenes, from rusty barrels to dusty farm machinery to cement blocks. 

Following instructions I had found for applying a texture using Photoshop Elements, I overlayed these two photos with the rusty barrel photo.  First is the last Cosmo of the season (with a marigold bokeh) and secondly, a worn out Coneflower with a weed in the background.   

Cloud Tree

I wandered lonely as a cloud…

…only to be snagged by tree branches!

Painted Lady Butterfly

A couple days ago, I was trying to snap a photo of the season’s last coneflower blossom when suddenly this Painted Lady butterfly got in the way!

How dare she do such a thing!