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Fall
2024
Fall 2024 was a typical Fall for north Idaho. Indian Summer temperatures in September allowed for those late Summer blooms to stay in place. October was full of sun and moderate temps with no snow, bringing with it all the changing colors of the leaves; fading greens, golden yellows, dazzling oranges and brilliant shades of scarlet. Early November filled the ground with a carpet of fallen leaves. I awoke on November 16th with our first dusting of snow, but the early morning sun cleared the roads and tree branches of the frozen dusting. But, the cold temps kept it frozen on the lawns, giving us our first sign that Old Man Winter is just around the corner.
Front of the house and front door. Lily poses on the rail, waiting to follow me along while I snap pictures.
Wreath on the front door. I actually count my blessings every day of the year, not just during the Thanksgiving season, but I love displaying my pumpkin sign during the
Fall season. At right are my pretty glass chimes. They're made of a very thick glass and are beautiful when the sun is shining on them.
Let's open the side office door and take a quick look into my office, where I work as a self-employed bookkeeper. Most folks get a chuckle from the little sign to right of the scarecrow, knowing that I have a sense of humor, but still am very serious about my work. I painted the ceramic scarecrow in 1982, back when painting ceramics was a popular craft. The bird statues atop my electric fireplace I keep up year round. They were an anniversary gift years ago from my husband. I usually switch up the decor between them for each holiday or season. Now, let's head back outside.
When I sit at my desk, this is the view I have of the front of the neighbor's home. They have the most glorious maple tree that towers over their home and never fails, year after year, to give me a showy view. Two of the photos here show its majestic size that dwarfs their little greenhouse that sits to the right of their home. A closeup of the leaves reminds me of tri-colored sherbet frozen dessert.
Here's the hillside that is alongside our driveway. This is where we frequently see the Whitetail deer come down from. It's covered with shrubberies and Ponderosa pine trees. The crab apple trees add a splash of color when the leaves turn in the Fall with their varying shades of yellow and orange.
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At left, a spike and a doe watch carefully from the top of the hillside that is alongside our driveway. They didn't come down any closer to the asphalt drive, but kept their wandering to the top. At right is a doe and her twins. Does with their offspring frequently do come down to the lower portion of the hillside and even down to the driveway. We are blessed with frequent deer visitors year round.
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Turkeys are frequent visitors and we just have to laugh when they show up close to Thanksgiving. One year, a large flock made a showing on Thanksgiving Day itself, which was so appropriate! At right is one of my favorite year round visitors, the Fox Squirrel. I've been feeding these guys for over twenty years and have about four feeding boxes attached to the two large pines trees that are my birding area.
The arch is at the center of what we call the birding area. Two towering pines flank the arch and there are five feeding boxes attached to the pine trunks. To the right is a water bowl that serves birds, squirrels, raccoons, deer, and . . . well, Lily, who loves drinking from it, too. She generally follows me along when I'm taking pictures outside. The raccoons make a mess of the water, requiring me to keep it clean and fresh often. It's actually an electric dog water bowl. I put a large rock inside, so birds feel safe perching for a sip. When the temperatures plunge, it's kept plugged in to keep the water from freezing.
Walking past the birding area in the side yard are the beautiful golden leaves of the lilac bushes that run the full length of the side yard. Across from them is a south-facing flower bed. Around October, nothing remains in the flower bed except the slowly-fading Black-Eyed Susans. They are Fall stalwarts and it takes several freezing nights before they finally drop all their blooms.
The gate leads into the back yard and is flanked by "Renaissance" Spirea bushes. Their delicate leaves turn every shade of Fall color, finishing with a brilliant red.
At left is a "Burning Bush" that's planted near the back steps that turns a beautiful blazing red that proves it is aptly named. At right, alongside the fence that encloses the entire back yard, is a "Princess" Spirea bush. Its leaves end the season looking beautifully burnished.
At left, they don't call them "Johnny-Jump Ups" for nothing. These little volunteer violas just sprouted up amidst our river-rocked area between our pavers. At right, are the glossy leaves of "Oregon Grape" that remind me of Christmas holly.
We've got our own Maple tree growing in the backyard. It's surely not as tall as our neighbor's maple, but it's been going strong for about four years now. In the tall picture above, shows one leg of our temporary cabana, where eventually will be a year round cabana built on a paver patio. We're confident our little maple will provide some lovely shade in summer. At right, two more photos of the maple. Since these photos were taken, the greenhouse cover has been removed.
At left, the beautiful golden leaves of a very tall tree in the back yard, which we believe is some poplar variation. At right, Lily loves climbing the leaning trunk of the Elm tree in the corner of the yard.
The true super-stars of the show in the back yard are the two Mountain Ash trees. They are a beautiful green in summer, with leaves that look like large hardy ferns. Come Fall, the berry clusters grow large and are gorgeous against the backdrop of the ever-changing colors of the leaves; from green to gold to orange.
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The berry clusters are devoured over the course of the winter by a variety of birds; Robins who will make a trek from the dense forests into more open land on a sunny day, a rare visiting flock of Cedar Waxwings, Pine Siskins and House Finches.
As a harbinger of Winter, at left, a carpet of fallen leaves await a blanket of snow. Each season seems to patiently and politely hold the door for the new season to arrive.
It's my prayer that you've felt the abundant blessings of Fall and you've taken some time to be thankful. As this season ends, may your stocks be plentiful, your friends and family healthy, and your hearts are warm.
Proverbs 3:9-10 comes to my mind every year during this season:
"Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine."
May God bless you and yours always. Thanks for visiting.
