“It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.”
Jeremiah 10:12 ESV
Capturing the wonder of a sunrise does not require facing east. October’s final day was splendid, with clear skies and a 39 degree start. It was still early morning as I walked through the garden, but the sun had climbed above the tree line and illuminated the coral bark maple. There is a window of opportunity where the light and sky presents itself in the perfect combination, not seen the rest of the day. Possibly a lesson in that!
Change is evident down by the river where we’ve worked on clearing for a picnic and camping spot. We didn’t notice earlier that there were maples along this bank, but they are revealing themselves now!
The water beads on everything last week made no exception for the spiders. After looking at my photos I discovered something in the scene I had not known at the time. While the wet beaded webs against a blue autumn morning sky was my main focus, I do believe there was another object up there.
Pam dropped in on a pumpkin festival with some friends down in central Alabama. It was called the parade of pumpkins. This was a small portion of a proliferation of pumpkins in a downtown area. I wouldn’t want the task of placing these here or removing them, but I’m sure visitors were glad someone was willing!
Most of our goldenrod has completed the blooming season, turning brown and fading. This small patch is the only group on our place that is still looking pretty nice. Sometimes all the goldenrod takes a hit from frost before now, but not this season.
The birthday girl decided to try a new dish. This was called veal paillard. Along with a few “tasties” I cannot identify, it was served over creamy polenta and topped with golden chanterelle mushrooms. These mushrooms can stand alone as a delicacy. Chanterelles cannot be commercially cultivated, but must be hand foraged from the wild in season. A happy dish for a happy birthday!
I did my best to celebrate in a sacrificial way. I sacrificed calories by giving myself over to this lemon-raspberry semifreddo!
I kept seeing what appeared to be bright colors through the trees off the main highway about a mile from home. I made my way over on a narrow country road and discovered there was good reason to notice. Quite a standout, especially with most everything around still green!
At the pumpkin carving it was said that the insides and carved out pieces should be saved for the chickens because they love pumpkin, and it provides nutrients. WL kept insisting he liked the pieces and thought he should snack on them. I finally gave in to his wishes and gave him a piece that had formerly been in a spot that was now considered a nose. He gagged and spit and carried on for several minutes. The pumpkin remains were gladly given to the chickens.
I called this little visitor the Halloween lizard. His color matches the season perfectly and he came by on Halloween. It is actually a salamander known as an eastern newt. Salamanders are normally in very moist environments, but this happens to be one that does have a terrestrial stage. Otherwise, a salamander would not enjoy sunning on our steps. They are very small. The light color is a 1/4 inch mortar joint between bricks.
I had one purpose in mind when I zoomed in on the upper branches of the popcorn tree. I had recently shown the “popcorn” as all green clusters and I wanted to show how quickly those had turned dark, dried out, and were beginning to show the popcorn. While still focusing, and before I could take this photo…
…I noticed something pass by the upper corner of my view finder. Lowering the camera to take another look was very rewarding.
We do see bald eagles on occasion at our house, and such a sight thrills me every time. This one was low and circling directly above the house. I actually made the eagle photos first and then returned to take photos of the popcorn tree!
We finally received about 3 inches total rain during the week. I was on my drive home from a wildlife park walk mid-week and isolated showers could be seen in the distance. The sun would pop out and then disappear again. It was simply an unusual, eye catching, October afternoon.
Just up the highway and only 5 minutes from home it was time to pull over in the median and hope to not be ran over by a trucker who was watching the sky instead of the road! That’s what I was doing before I found this pull off.
It was a full rainbow (really a faint double appeared) but I was so close I could not get the complete bow in one photo. The sunlight made the world turn gold for a few moments!
It is time for harvest. Thanks to Appalachian Media for this shot. Most of the area corn has been picked. While a lot of soybeans and cotton have been harvested, many fields are still awaiting their turn.
With predictions of cooler and dryer air for the remainder of the week, this field, which is not too far from the house, might be visited by the cotton picker!
While not a literal sunset, which we often have at the end of our Sunday post, the sun has set on another growing season for this particular farm. Cotton bales, wrapped and labeled, await their ride to the gin!
Have a bountiful week! Happy November (and standard time if you happen to like it)!
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 ESV
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Life and Linda
Happy belated birthday to Pam! I hope it was as spectacular as your fall photos captured here, Butch!
Thank you Rita. Yes, a great birthday and a good final week of October. Hope you have a great start to November!
Butch and Pam
Lovely,Butch. So glad Pam had a good birthday!
Thank you Patti. We did enjoy the birthday and the week. We pray your November is off to a good beginning!
Butch and Pam
Happy Sunday Butch and Pam! Beautiful captures, especially the rainbow and eagle! Love the pile of pumpkins and gourds…it looks like hours of back breaking work to gather all those. Love Appalachian Media’s harvester shot in the field too. Hope you enjoyed an extra hour of sleep this this morning. ♥
Thank you Mary. I’m thinking we didn’t make the most of moving the clock back since our biological clocks had us up at daylight which was an hour earlier. Seems it takes me a couple of weeks to adjust every time we move the clocks. We wish for you a happy first week of November!
Butch and Pam
Beautiful as always. Wishing you all a very lovely Sunday.
Thank you Jeanie. And we hope you have a lovely Sunday and a lovely week to follow!
Butch and Pam
I found today’s post interesting as well as pretty. For one thing, I didn’t know that Chanterelles cannot be commercially cultivated. That is why you hardly ever see them at the markets. A belated Happy Birthday to Pam.
Thank you Karen. I guess gathering Chanterelles by hand is very labor intensive. They are so good but definitely pricey. Thanks for the birthday wish. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Birthday Pam. What a wonderful meal to celebrate your special day. All your Sunday pictures are gorgeous. Wishing you a beautiful new week ahead. Hugs. Kris
Thank you Kris and thanks for the birthday wish. We are continuing to celebrate, always finding ways to justify eating too much, especially desserts. Have a pleasant week!
Butch and Pam
Wonderful shots, Butch. The rainbow, eagles and trees are all beautiful. WL may have thought that cooked pumpkin and raw pumpkin tastes the same. It’s amazing what a little sugar, butter, milk and spice can do for pumpkin. The pumpkin festival display is so colorful. So glad that Pam had a good birthday. The meal looks delicious! Harvest is always a good sight to see. Enjoy your day. Clara❤️
Thank you Clara. I think adding butter and sugar to almost anything is bound to make it good. WL was talking big but one taste of raw pumpkin changed his mind quickly. We hope your November is off to a good start! Happy first week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Belated Birthday Pam. Your meal looked amazing. What restaurant was this at? I know you come to Bham. to eat often. I live in Bham. There are some good restaurants.
Butch love your article each Sunday.
Happy Belated Birthday Pam. Your food looks amazing. What restaurant is this at?
I know you go to Bham often.
Butch I enjoy your article each Sunday.
Kay
Thank you Kay and thanks for the birthday wish. We go to Bottega in Birmingham often and that was the choice last week. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Pam,
Thank you for answering my question.
I enjoy you, Butch & your Beautiful family. You are blessed & I know you certainly know this. But thank you for sharing your blessings with all of us.
I live in Birmingham & my Birthday is the 5th. I was thinking about going to celebrate it at Botegga since we haven’t eaten there. Moved back here 3 years ago & enjoy trying restaurants I haven’t been to.
Have a wonderful week.
Kay
Thanks again Kay. We enjoy Bottega Cafe. They have a great menu and no reservations are required. The dining room next door does require reservations. Same chefs and great food at both. We were at the cafe last week.
Butch and Pam
“It is He who has made the earth by His power” I saw the first rainbow picture and knew you would have words of joy to follow. Beautiful and I’m thankful that a 18 wheeler didn’t interrupt your picture taking! All the leaves hit the ground over night one night this past week. Whew! When the yard man came Friday even he was shocked at the amount of leaves he had to get up. The maple tree was worth the time it took you to find it and click the camera. The golden rod is a favorite. My mother’s too. She could make beautiful flower arrangements using golden rod. Butch, I couldn’t decide what that was high up on the tree limb. It looked like a scary Halloween mask but surly not. Belated happy birthday greetings Pam. And a blessed week ahead.
Thank you Alice. We still have a lot of leaves yet to fall and a lot not turned yet. We still haven’t had a frost although tonight may get close. I think there was a small vapor trail and jet really high in the sky above the spider web. No, no scary masks. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
Another beautiful Sunday of photos…when I saw WL and his experience with the pumpkin tasting if made me think of the vanilla extract and our twins. They insisted they loved the taste of vanilla until I relented and let them taste the wonderful aromatic vanilla extract. LOL Love the rainbow and the hidden tree’s beauty….it was almost like it was giving you a ‘come hither and see my real beauty’ as it enticed you down the narrow dirt road. A belated Happy Birthday to sweet Pam…love her meal choice…and the dessert choice too…oh let’s face it, I just love food…anykind, anywhere. LOL Have a Blessed November.
Thank you Kari. I can relate to the vanilla, big difference in a vanilla dessert and tasting the extract. Thanks for the birthday wish. And food…the birthday was Thursday and we celebrate through tomorrow, all about the food. Have a pleasant week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Belated Birthday wishes to Pam! The photos were beautifully captured this week as always, and especially the rainbow ones.
I don’t like changing the clocks and it’ll take me awhile to get readjusted. Happy November!
Thank you Kitty and thanks for the birthday wish. Changing the clock is something that upsets my internal clock. You wouldn’t think one little hour would matter but it does. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Belated Birthday to Pam! God bless you all! Beautiful photos. Have a lovely week ahead.
Thank you Maristella and thanks for the birthday wish. We had a nice celebration with too much food. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
I sure hope Pam had a beautiful birthday! She and I share October as our Birthday Month.
Lovely photos, especially those of the rainbows, eagles, spider webs and colorful leaves. I am sure I left something out because they are all fabulous.
Happy November friends.
Thank you Nancy. Pam had a delightful birthday. We seem to have a lot of friends and acquaintances that have October birthdays. I think it’s the busiest birthday month. We aren’t always equipped with a camera when something like an eagle drops by but happened to be the other day. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Hope you have many happy returns on your birthday, Pam. It is such a beautiful time of year to be born. I am an October gal myself. As always truly enjoyed this post, Butch. Your shots of the double rainbow and the bald eagle were stunning – well all of it was. Especially the yummy birthday deliciousness. God bless you this week.
Thank you Michele and thanks for the birthday wish. I just read about Nancy having an October birthday and was thinking on so many we know that we’re born in October. It is our favorite month for many reasons and it slips by too quickly. November can be quite nice too. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Hello Butch and Pam! Was it really wise to let the Birthday Girl go to a pumpkin festival!! You know she came home with lots of new ideas! There are several farm animal rescue groups here already asking for discarded pumpkins. Mr. Will probably won’t ever be a fan of pumpkin pie now after that taste! The bald eagle and rainbow photos are magnificent. We got over 6” of rain last week, needed badly. The time change (yuck) has me totally discombobulated. If we are going to be jet lagged, at least let me be going to Europe! Have a blessed week, my friends.
Thank you Roxanne. Fortunately the pumpkin festival visit was late in the season and there’s not too much time or available goods since everyone has out Christmas already. I’m looking for Valentine things to appear any day now. We got slightly over 3 inches but had more coming yesterday but it didn’t happen. Yuck is a perfect word for the time change. I have a pumpkin graveyard but it’s not their time just yet. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Great photos Butch – love love the eagle shots! Such beautiful blue skies and still leaves on the trees. How wonderful. That was funny about WL and the raw pumpkin and I hope it doesn’t put him off for good. Oh my all those pumpkins! I can only imagine… So glad to hear you have a pumpkin graveyard for yours. Also glad that Pam had a wonderful birthday and the food looks delicious. Happy beginning of November!
Thank you Kim. Maybe the raw pumpkin didn’t turn off WL from all things pumpkin. It seems a lot of wildlife will munch on the pumpkins once I take them some distance from the house. We are fortunate that we don’t have much trouble with critters bothering them here at the house and garden, some people do. Have a great first week of November!
Butch and Pam
Happy belated birthday Pam! The birthday dinner, including the lemon-raspberry semifreddo must have made your birthday a memorial occasion!
Thank you Mary. I think we’ve been celebrating the birthday for almost a week and we must move on. Things like the semifreddo and hummingbird cake and other goodies will catch up to you eventually. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Another beautiful post! The rainbow was stunning, and I’m thankful you persevered to take the photo. Many blessings to you both!
Thank you Cheryl. Sometimes I can spend much time seeking a photo and end up with nothing but sometimes things fall in place. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Butch and Pam