Here's a close-up of the white berry-bearing bush. (Hooray for alliteration!) Anyone know what these are? They're beautiful, and fit the season so well! I would love to have some sprigs of this to liven up an evergreen display this time of year. This bush is growing along the south fork of the Walla Walla River. This week I've been featuring close-up shots taken while on a walk along this trail (commonly known as Southfork) last Sunday. For a more artistic shot of these berries, see yesterday's post.
Another close-up day... I'm not a horticulturist, or a mycologist (a word I used while posting this - it's a scientist who studies fungi), so unfortunately I can't tell you what this is exactly. It was everywhere along the trail at Southfork. It would appear (after consulting Wikipedia) that mosses are not fungi, but I didn't read the entire entry on "moss." So I'm not really sure if this is a moss or a fungi, but whatever it is, it's beautiful. The colour is cool and it looks like this branch is attempting to dress its finest - in spite of having lost all of its summer accessories. More of Southfork to come...
On Sunday, my husband and I went to Southfork, a popular walking/biking area to the southeast of Milton-Freewater. There is a picnic area and campground there, as well, known as Harris Park, but it is closed for the season. This is a beautiful time of year to go, as the summer crowds are gone, and the earth is preparing for a "long winter's nap." I of course took my camera to stock up on great WWV shots, and think I did fairly well at grabbing some interesting things to show you. My focus on this trip was, for some reason, close-up shots. So there will be a few of those this week, but all are from the Southfork area. Today's shot is of a mushroom turned upside-down. No, I didn't pluck and turn it myself - I found it this way! I just loved the uniformity of the underside of the mushroom. Oh, by the way, it's called Southfork because the trails take you on a tour along the south fork of the Walla Walla River. I'll show pictures of that this week, too.
While at a friend's house a few weeks ago, I was standing in the driveway, waiting, and looked up. The sun was sinking toward Australia, and the clouds were alight with a faintly golden glow from the setting sun. The shape of the clouds, too, drew my attention; they looked like a pile of cotton balls or pillows. I really wanted to jump into them and float around, relaxing. Someday...
This beautiful bush greeted me for several weeks as I pulled into the parking lot at work. It grew more and more vivid every day, and I admired it each morning. Last week I noticed it losing its leaves. The colour was deep and almost bloody, and each morning there were fewer leaves on the branches, and more on the ground below. I was very sad about the loss of this cheeful autumn beauty. But THIS week, I noticed something new: Berries! All of the vivid colouring, the deepening, the loss of leaves - it was all leading up to something else beautiful. Here is a close-up of how that same bush looks now. Amazing, isn't it?!? I love this time of year.
And winter will soon be here. Thanksgiving (for those of us in America) is coming up next week, the trees are almost completely bereft of leaves - and colour - and the air is actually foggy/hazy in the mornings. This early fall view of a pasture west of College Place shows some tell-tale "end of summer" green. That's quickly slipping away around the valley; soon all there will be is brown. I do look forward to Thanksgiving, though - the colours of the table will be reminiscent of the gorgeous show of autumn splendor we had earlier in the fall.
I stopped to take a picture of something else early this summer, and across the road, this gentleman pranced up to the fence and posed for me. He swished his tail around a couple of times, and threw his head up and down. He kept trying to get my attention, even stomping his foot a bit. Finally, I laughed and said, "Okay, okay!" and snapped this photo. He seemed placated, and wandered over to munch on some more grass.
Another look upward on a beautiful sunny autumn day. These trees were each a different colour, and it was stunning! The blue sky offset the colours terrifically. Most trees around here either have no more leaves or their leaves are about half gone. This was taken late last week, and it goes right along with my unofficial "Colours of Walla Walla" series.
Today in America we celebrate Veteran's Day. In Europe it's known as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day. Whatever you call it, the point is that we are all thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in our respective countries, and are thankful to our veterans for risking - and sacrificing - what they did in order to keep our lives the way they are. War is something I can't imagine, even though we're involved in a semi-war currently. It's not visible to me, and I've never known what it's like to live in fear of attack, such as during WWII and other wars. So thank you, men and women who have risked and given up family, years, and life for America. You are the reason this flag can fly. Thank you.
The four male mallards were so intent on surrounding the lone female that I couldn't help but think they were her bodyguards. They were enjoying an autumn morning excursion on the creek that runs behind the "dollhouse" subdivision. They were slightly leery of coming too close to me as I stood on the bridge, but they didn't go too far away for me to get a photo. I think they may have been hopeful that I'd share some of my bagel with them. (I didn't.) I had taken a bagel and orange juice back to one of the benches along this creek to enjoy a morning break from my computer. It was just what I needed that morning.
This photograph was taken last winter at Mt. Hope, the College Place cemetery I've posted a photo from previously. (You can view that post here.) It was chilly and the wind was going full-force, but the flags caught my attention. Flying together in formation was the American Flag and the Christian Flag. How appropriate, I thought. So I've posted them together here as a reminder on this important day in our country. (For those who don't know, today is the day we find out who our next president will be.)
This photo could be labled "Dollhouses 7," because it was actually taken along a walking path that runs behind some of the houses in that subdivision. It used to be my favourite place to go walking, but we have since moved, and it is not as close as it used to be. Every once in a while, though, I still find an excuse to go wander around back there and take in the beauty and silence of the walk. This is one of my favourite spots along the trail - especially this time of year.
This is my favourite barn in the world. It just begs to be photographed in any light, season, hour, or angle. So I accept the invitation and snap away. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This one, I think, did. The barn is located along College Avenue in College Place. I've actually posted a photo of this barn previously, and you can look at it by clicking here. Hope your Sabbath is as glorious as this photo looks.
