Welcome Autumn!

Autumn is a very exciting time, a time of transformation, preparation and profound changes as is evidenced by the brilliant colors of the foliage. Animals are preparing for the winter by storing food or migrating to another place to live. Speaking of migration, the Monarch Butterfly embarks every year on a 2,000 mile journey from Canada to Mexico. Imagine, that tiny creature flying all that way - some of which may be right outside your backyard at this very moment. You can track the Monarch's migration, if you like, and here'a a link that tells you how:

Monarch Butterfly - Journey North (go to Fall Migration)

I recently photographed this lovely Golf Fritillary butterfly near my apartment and, who knows, maybe he's on his way to Mexico right now too.

I have been seeing a lot of butterflies lately, reminding me of a film I saw on Nova (PBS) a while back about the butterflies' amazing migration. It left such a powerful impression that I want to share it with you. It's a magnificent journey, an awe-inspiring, absolutely spectacular event. I never knew what those tiny creatures go through every year. I always enjoyed and admired the butterflies, but now I respect them even more.






Do yourself a favor and follow the 2,000-mile migration of Monarchs to a sanctuary in the highlands of Mexico:

The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies

The trees in front of my apartment are still green, and probably will remain so for quite some time. Although autumn officially started on the calendar, I live in Southern Georgia where summers tend to last a bit longer than what I'm accustomed to.

I associate fall with squash and pumpkins (one of my favorites) and homemade vegetable soup after a long walk in the crisp morning air. I think of baked bread and apfelstrudel, the scent of apple-cinnamon potpourri and making handmade gifts for family and friends in anticipation of Christmas. What about you?

This is what I'm hoping to see again this year. My dog, Gizzy's just like a little kid. He loves to walk through the rustling leaves and sit smack dab right in the middle of them, like in this last year's photo:



...something to look forward to and blog about later!

Happy Autumn everyone!

Here's another little autumn memory: Me, standing in an apple orchard. I went apple picking with some friends during a visit to Maine a few years ago.