Autumn in the Park

It's been awhile since I updated my blog, so when I went to write up a new post today, I couldn't decide whether to talk about how my garden is still growing in November, or to show you my annual autumn trip to Chestnut Ridge. Both are worthy subjects, so I'll start with a perfect day in the park, and sometime soon I'll show you my still lovely November garden. The weather has been quite strange this fall, so all of the colors are later than usual. Peak color happened at the end of October into early November, which worked out great for me since I was on vacation in mid October when it usually arrives. I thought I was going to miss the best parts of fall this year, but that has not been true at all.

Chestnut Ridge is a favorite spot of mine, and I really do like to visit it several times throughtout the year. But it's in autumn that it really shines. I never miss a visit this time of year.

Last year at this time, I posted from this same spot as I contemplated my upcoming knee replacement surgery. It was a frightening thing but had to be done, and I knew I was in for a trial. I was correct, of course. There was a lot of pain, illness and hard work, but the end result has been fantastic. It truly did give me my life back.

One of my goals at the park this year, besides taking pictures of the fall colors, was to once again hike up to the top of the ridge to see the city skyline off in the distance. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't see this view as much as I had in the past. Perhaps the trees grew too tall, or maybe it was just the haze and smog obscuring my view.  But the colorful trees against the blue skies made up for for that lack. And my sense of accomplishment was through the roof. I did it! A year ago, I could barely hobble around the parking lot at the park.

After my hike, I wandered down to the pond for more photos, of course. Usually the colorful trees are reflected in the water, and I was not disappointed. I often sit here for quite a long time, just watching the glory that is autumn in Ohio. This day was particularly quiet, even though the park was full of other visitors. It's almost like a cathedral for those of us who worship the outdoors.

I'm sure we all marvel at the colors of autumn, and the leaves that swirl about our feet. But I have a favorite type of tree this time of year, and at Chestnut Ridge, there are several of them. Sweetgum trees seem to show their fall finery in every color at once, so I gather an assortment of them for this photo each autumn. It was the ending of a perfect morning, but lunch was calling me home. I think I should go back again soon before the leaves all fall. Housework can wait, I'm sure you all agree.

Farewell to Fall

Well, it's time to say my final goodbyes to autumn here in Central Ohio. The trees are all bare now, I'm sad to say. But earlier this month, I made a trip out to Dawe's Arboretum and there is where I really said farewell.

 This quiet park is one of the finest in this area. Because it's an arboretum, they concentrate mostly on trees and shrubs, not flowers. The advantages of using trees becomes obvious every autumn.

One of the best parts is the fact that they use an auto trail around the park so that you can see it all without having to hike mile after mile. This makes it accessible to all. Of course there are numerous turnouts so that you can stop and enjoy each pretty spot. Boy did I ever!

I know about using different colors and textures in your landscaping, but I don't think I've ever seen it done so well as here.

This living sculpture, that spells out Dawe's Arboretum, can only be seen fully from the air. But if you climb the tower at one end, you can get a pretty good view of it.

 Well, the sculpture is just one beautiful thing you can see from the tower.

That lake was just so beautiful that I had to get up close and personal with it.

I have to admit that I drove through the auto trail twice, just so I could make sure that I didn't miss anything. But something sad happened on that second go round. My camera battery died, so I had to switch over to my phone camera. So the rest of the pix here may not quite be up to snuff. But it was such a gorgeous park that hopefully you will barely notice.

As I went to leave, I found a smaller traditional garden, and that's where I found this colorful carpet view. What I particularly like about this part of Ohio is the rolling hills, and this is a good spot to see them.

So farewell beautiful fall, I'll see you again next year.

That Last Fall Walk

Over the last week, the beautiful fall weather we were enjoying just disappeared. The skies turned gray, the rain arrived, the wind blew all the leaves away, and it turned cold. But before the change of weather, I took one final fall walk. I didn't know it was the last pretty day, so I'm extra glad that I took the time to enjoy that beautiful day. This time I walked at Blacklick Woods.

Trust me, I was the only one there for the beauty. There was a lot of fitness going on around me that day. But not me. I was just there to take it all in.

 The air was warm, the sun was shining, and fall colors were still all around.

 

It was just one in a long string of magical fall days this year.

I didn't walk very far, or very fast. But that's mostly because there were too many pretty sights to catch my eye.

So I let the joggers and speed walkers just buzz right by me. I kept my pace slow, so I didn't miss anything. I took the time to just soak it all in, because I knew that winter was breathing down my neck.

I'm so glad I took the time to enjoy that lovely fall afternoon before the dreary winter ahead. It was worth every step.