Spring's got flowers, birds, and rebirth, and summer's got long, lazy, nostalgic days, but there's nothing like the snap and tang of a beautiful autumn day as crisp as a firm apple.
A friend once expressed astonishment that I actually liked fall. "All that death and decay!" she exclaimed in horror. But it just doesn't strike me that way. Maybe because getting into flannel pj's and settling in with a good book and a glass of wine on a chilly evening is so lovely, and the way the overwintering insects, other animals, and plants prepare to go to sleep for the winter seems so akin to that settling-in to me. Not like death at all.
And the excited chatter of the birds pausing to refuel in our trees sounds more like pre-vacation hubbub than the start of a forced march south.
As ever, this fall saw us trekking out to a pumpkin patch, where we took pictures that we've taken a zillion times before and will no doubt snap again in future.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8AwUENdnZWhuSWlrb1YnX33lTqXL5UdJHa-pk-3EJUC07SN3thLE9U-ml-sF61jQYkIdi_CDo1d0oOdycmTV2ERkLPR5Zh2c0BA9DcjhHsklByOpF2P8INKalmn94mHH-D8wqS1sEK0/s400/punkin+patch+small.JPG) |
It's a very, very sincere pumpkin patch. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdO64H3LLYvtADgb-HTjFB5ehLG9s7YS1sXtYkkOIPhrFvFTDWZ5B04YeRK_I3Yqu7q2S9PyQGg60tm7p0u4fxlhfNajznuRwLS0mHuNL5UeBJgSOq992nF2FhQpAU-rpkU8JaIINyrEk/s400/corn+roots+small2.JPG) |
Never noticed how much corn buttress roots look like dinosaur feet... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gGRC9oZ158m_3Fi7zZIlDtzg7YmMuuHtW6d_2rydWtBO9d_bVGPmdOeeg_Et6vEcg3jkaAcykgFr39jNmwGZsHeAPJ2GvDQa84pdtTaykHHaTEzBpCqY21AotSRzoPSRUkR1q1IZQdo/s400/corn+tassel+small.JPG) |
...nor how much a corn tassel looks like a hydra. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisl1jn8j3hxSvuVSZuwLF_X0qWA3_l34o71Hy1Op-uGhWMoieA_joB5RwHQHEnGUKb7rc6umb39fWgwKh0ptt-FoEy8eWH8rFadtr0y1nVne98UMddnF-c-P4h9znQIgksTPyhpyGYu28/s400/horse+train+small.JPG) |
This year the pumpkin farm added an adorable horsy tractor-train--quite amusing to see it chugging across the field from far away; you could only see the horses' heads over the corn stalks. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWjnwOwvhvy-qNzGC2njv8qi2nfR7MCuA506plXpHq1AhY1hN5NOh2XHDHKG73FIH4bS29sM_6DahBaKqCfEC-wWdgJfEdo4APgSUi79FwA9z0ZH7qvb_Sc8t9eLC6leaMJncq5b7NWk/s640/P1020652.JPG) |
Rose hips in hedgerow. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTkOmlXxPD5z8_8bLUmPtK6-gJxKIEQ868bfpxfIBFm2PG50WxSEf_N4JKDv2GGC6Oc3XqGVKGWFDarIqrq5JrIKJqn3RGWyBc_5-cgck1Q8TrKEEsyaq3NZhzz9EX5bxPPWaHMsktM8/s400/punkin+cannon+small.JPG) |
Another sure sign of autumn: the pumpkin cannon, which can hurl
a pumpkin across two fields and into a swamp. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8Mqmk0rGE3CItm3Q9ZLFYXR4EEeo8ztQMpbuIruBl_wkrKxNHiiZZH_h2wZSQ7vrKfEtgLfX9AUYVqpaod6_4dAbu-fNs4DN1hgQfXvTH6J2zyCla7yoi9amNOK9aYjsK7r_vuK743w/s400/birch+fall+small.JPG) |
Picture 2,412,693 of our paper birch in fall splendor against blue sky. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDVl_ug1I6GKyiHe6IPFsrCF73aEalJyPtV70U5gaBS6fmOzfuQVtrG84x26smHu16aCrBQaTPPZTp95AIumjfCvTvHrfthvWFPl1oYFzNriX7maekzNXKIqx0NAxqRBFhxYKQhFm70A/s400/danger+tree+small.JPG) |
I know we're very safety-conscious in the USA,
but are falling leaves really that heavy? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcs4y8mnyV19lAHZhTRad6M4FQPg5semSgfJr2rgWou-ykkRnPV3VI36CYIpZn6NkTfZ3MjnVRmVqM58h1LHz7sGR6I8ee9e5touwObbG_KHH7Ao3Yg_4E5OMf3rYzI60_UdHYGhsflu4/s400/cupcake+small.JPG) |
Autumn also means maple pumpkin cupcakes from Cupcake Royale.
Nothing sad or decaying about that! |