Are the Leaves Turning Yet?
I must admit that this wet, chilly September morning is beckoning my thoughts to my favorite season of the year- fall. I am blessed to be off work and in a quiet home soaking up all the peace of the season. The temperature is in the low 60's, the sky is gray with rain clouds, and it is delightful.
I am in my pajamas. (Yes! still!) But getting lots done while reveling in the soon-to-come season. Or is it already here? I traipsed The Market just off Memorial Road last Sunday looking for creative fall decor. I created my mantle, sofa table in the dining room and dining table with colors of the season, pumpkins - orange with gold glitter, silver, grapevine with lights and white- all that I've collected over years from the 50-80% off at Hobby Lobby. I have the mantle pumpkins lit and my Tyler candle in mulled cider burning as I sit at my table making my grocery shopping list, browsing through the latest Better Homes and Gardens perusing the mums, asters, kale, and maples that adorn the autumn colors with such glory. My mind is making plans for football games, trips to the state fair, and hiking. Planning my garden and pots with oranges, yellows, reds and purples. And visiting the pumpkin patch - arranging different shaped pumpkins and gourds on a hay bale with a corn shuck and scarecrow on the front porch.
Oh, fall is hiking season. The ticks, chiggers, and snakes of Oklahoma will be receding from the glorious paths and my Camelback and North Face hiking shoes will be making a big comeback. I. can't. wait. My husband and I are both avid readers. One of our favorite things to do is hang out at our local bookstores, whether that be Barnes and Noble, Hastings, or Half Price Books - we get a kick out of just shopping for bargains for our library (more to come on that!) and talking with each other about travel books (a favorite genre that we share). We picked up a couple of new hiking books just yesterday:
"Best Easy Day Hikes: Oklahoma City" by Gigi Ragland
"Oklahoma Hiking Trails" by Kent Frates and Larry Floyd
I definitely recommend either of these two. I spent part of the evening thumbing through them making plans to visit several trails very near to our home that we didn't even know about! My husband, the all-around outdoorsman, has been hiking and backpacking for years - even solo. I am so lucky that we share this passion for being out in nature. We truly have some of our best memories out on a mountain. These include a very snowy day on a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, 3 (yes, 3!) big snowstorms with crazy wind at the Superstition Mts in Arizona (in which I made us turn around because the steep, smooth rock we were about to reach to continue elevation looked extremely daunting in the crossline winds and we ended up "hiding" between some rocks as a windbreak). Matter of fact, I have a video of that somewhere. A rainy, rainy weekend on the trail at Robber's Cave. A steep, steep ascent up the Alum Cave Bluff trail in Smoky Mountain Nat'l Park. I could go on and on. All I can say is, "You aren't living if you haven't tried it." Oh, and, "Oh, the photo opportunities."
Back from the side note: Fall is wonderous. I have lots of work to do with the new shelves in the office/library/future creative space. My house in Arkansas is sold next week. The weather is cool. Life is glorious. What more could we ask for?
I am in my pajamas. (Yes! still!) But getting lots done while reveling in the soon-to-come season. Or is it already here? I traipsed The Market just off Memorial Road last Sunday looking for creative fall decor. I created my mantle, sofa table in the dining room and dining table with colors of the season, pumpkins - orange with gold glitter, silver, grapevine with lights and white- all that I've collected over years from the 50-80% off at Hobby Lobby. I have the mantle pumpkins lit and my Tyler candle in mulled cider burning as I sit at my table making my grocery shopping list, browsing through the latest Better Homes and Gardens perusing the mums, asters, kale, and maples that adorn the autumn colors with such glory. My mind is making plans for football games, trips to the state fair, and hiking. Planning my garden and pots with oranges, yellows, reds and purples. And visiting the pumpkin patch - arranging different shaped pumpkins and gourds on a hay bale with a corn shuck and scarecrow on the front porch.
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| Image courtesy www.bhg.com |
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| Image courtesy www.bhg.com |
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| My dining room |
Oh, fall is hiking season. The ticks, chiggers, and snakes of Oklahoma will be receding from the glorious paths and my Camelback and North Face hiking shoes will be making a big comeback. I. can't. wait. My husband and I are both avid readers. One of our favorite things to do is hang out at our local bookstores, whether that be Barnes and Noble, Hastings, or Half Price Books - we get a kick out of just shopping for bargains for our library (more to come on that!) and talking with each other about travel books (a favorite genre that we share). We picked up a couple of new hiking books just yesterday:
"Best Easy Day Hikes: Oklahoma City" by Gigi Ragland
"Oklahoma Hiking Trails" by Kent Frates and Larry Floyd
I definitely recommend either of these two. I spent part of the evening thumbing through them making plans to visit several trails very near to our home that we didn't even know about! My husband, the all-around outdoorsman, has been hiking and backpacking for years - even solo. I am so lucky that we share this passion for being out in nature. We truly have some of our best memories out on a mountain. These include a very snowy day on a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, 3 (yes, 3!) big snowstorms with crazy wind at the Superstition Mts in Arizona (in which I made us turn around because the steep, smooth rock we were about to reach to continue elevation looked extremely daunting in the crossline winds and we ended up "hiding" between some rocks as a windbreak). Matter of fact, I have a video of that somewhere. A rainy, rainy weekend on the trail at Robber's Cave. A steep, steep ascent up the Alum Cave Bluff trail in Smoky Mountain Nat'l Park. I could go on and on. All I can say is, "You aren't living if you haven't tried it." Oh, and, "Oh, the photo opportunities."
Back from the side note: Fall is wonderous. I have lots of work to do with the new shelves in the office/library/future creative space. My house in Arkansas is sold next week. The weather is cool. Life is glorious. What more could we ask for?
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