Simple + Southern Sunday No. 624

“then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬

I’m not always willing to rise very early and climb one of our Appalachian foothills before daylight. However, I did so on a day last week, and once there, I was glad of the decision! You can see that there isn’t a lot of color in some of the leaves just yet. But, October has come to a close so the inevitable changes will arrive soon!

The 10 day forecast still does not show a nighttime temperature that would result in our first frost. We know how those forecast can go, but our Japanese maples have decided to go forward with a little color, making their own predictions!

Oddly, the crepe myrtles in the garden next to the Japanese maples are already almost bare. I’m guessing the stress of the hot and dry days of summer, especially the latter half, affected these particular trees?…

…while the crepe myrtles along the drive not much distance away are displaying some very nice fall color! These are much older, so maybe their roots are deeper and more established. Or possibly it is simply the difference in trees, like people, no two exactly alike!

Three of the local bike gang members are now old enough to hit the trail and show up at our door unaccompanied at any given time. You can see the evidence of a well worn path, and there is also strong evidence at our house that we love it! A country road takes them home.

On the very next day after our annual pumpkin carving, a surprise jack-o-lantern appeared on the kids porch alongside the 4 carved by the grands. No one claims to have any knowledge regarding the origin of the P J (Pamelicious) pumpkin? I can’t imagine who did it!

I was inclined to move on from the  pumpkins for a while, but then I saw Pam had lights on out at the Sunshine Cottage. I just couldn’t help myself, I had to try an after dark photo. And on top of the storybook scene (at least it was to me), I was later invited to have dinner in the cottage. I graciously accepted!

They say it’s your birthday…and yes it certainly was. It was a time of cake and more cake. We celebrated (and continue today) all weekend starting Thursday evening with friends and family, continuing Friday together at Bottega Cafe, and then on Saturday with…

…all of our family, and particularly the little people, (the smallest of which was busy playing with balloons). They made their own cards and used money from their own savings to buy gifts they chose for P J! Their sweet mom takes them to do their own shopping for special occasions! Seth and Allison served dinner and dessert. I need to proclaim a fast until Thanksgiving! The grands love their P J, and of course we all do, very, very much!! Even after a weekend of birthday festivities, Pam will be bringing us Monday Morning Blooms tomorrow. Surely MMB will not have more cake or other desserts?

I planted a few trees in the early years after we built our house and some like this loblolly pine are still with us. The pine was a few inches tall when I placed it in a former pasture which had become part of the front yard. At about 45 years old, this tall pine produces an unreal number of cones. It’s no wonder that any open area around here which is left unattended and undisturbed for a couple of years will become filled with little pine saplings. Primary succession at work!

The messengers are back. Their message is…we are here to eat all the fish we can and to bring harm to your vegetation. I call them “messy-engineers”. Cormorants are just that, messy.  Maybe nasty is a better description. I hope they are not your favorite bird!

I was hopeful the birds in the previous photo would not discover this old Chevy and decide to land on it to conduct their business. I parked next to it for a brief stop I had to make which was not far from where those birds were gathered. I wondered what was the model and year? All I was sure of was Chevrolet. Maybe some of you know?

We had a few clouds blocking the eastern sky on the evening of the full Hunter’s Moon, but I managed to get a couple of photos.

A shrub that recognizes and celebrates the seasons and the holidays with us has to be impressive. This large Scarlet Firethorn (Pyracantha) must be fairly old. I’ve noticed it for years on a vacant lot that we pass on our way to various places. In October, the berries are an orange standout, but for Christmas they will change to a brilliant red!

One of our maples suddenly decided to embrace the spirit of autumn and provide us with a gold rush! The prospectors better hurry as this gold will not be available for many days. This tree is actually thin and has some dead limbs. Our largest and prettiest maple that stood next to this tree died and had to be removed. We aren’t encouraged that this one will make it many more seasons.

For the first time last week I took note that the popcorn tree was beginning to blend in some fall color with the lingering green. A closer look revealed that the “popcorn” was also beginning to pop!

When I come in after a jog, Pam often asks if I spotted anything interesting along the way. Sometimes I have a real story to tell and at other times I give my own version or interpretation of what I witnessed. When she asked on this day, I told her I had spotted a large number of sky puppies. I received “that look”, but showing her my photo helped my case somewhat!

In the midst of seeing fall color begin to make its presence known in the landscape, we are continuing to hold on to a small bit of summer. I refer to this as our miniature summer garden, knowing that regardless of how much I resist change here in the outdoors, change will come, as certain as November has arrived!

One of October’s final sunsets of 2026. We were blessed with another great autumn month. Actually November can be quite nice too.
Happy November!

“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