It's that time...

It's that time of year. The time in between the scorching heat and the bitter cold. The time when days become shorter. The time to harvest. The time of the year that I consider to be the most beautiful. I love Autumn. I love the colors of the leaves. I love the smell. I love the weather...it's usually not too hot and not too cold...usually. :) Last weekend I went on a road trip to Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills to take pictures of the pretty colors. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disappointing trip. It rained the whole time (just my luck...it was super nice the whole week before...almost too hot). Yes there were pretty colors to see, but they just aren't quite as pretty when there is a cold, wet fog surrounding everything. I did manage to get some fairly decent pictures at Roughlock Falls, but I had to use Photoshop Elements to enhance the color a little because they turned out too dull and dreary (due to the fog and rain). Next weekend I get to attend a wedding at Roughlock Falls and I'm hoping that the sun is shining and there is still some color to see.

This is North of Harrison in Monroe Canyon.

Roughlock Falls in Spearfish Canyon

Near Roughlock Falls

View from Roughlock Falls

On the way home...beautiful Aspen.

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. " ~ Albert Camus

"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter." ~ Carl Bishop Hipps

Abandoned

A couple years ago I mentioned my fascination with old, abandoned, and wore-down buildings. It's a fascination I've had my whole life. When I see an old abandoned building all I want to do is sneak inside, explore, and take pictures. I don't want to steal anything or destroy anything...I just like to look. I like to imagine what it may have looked like in the past when someone cared for it and I like to imagine what it could look like if someone invested the time and money to administer some TLC. It's just so hard for me to fathom how people can let old buildings rot and crumble. There are so many abandoned buildings that are beautiful and could be put to good use if they were fixed up. If I were filthy rich and didn't have to work I would spend part of my time fixing up old abandoned buildings.

Last week I stumbled upon a website that made me drool. It is a website that lists 100 abandoned houses in Detroit. I have fallen in love with a majority of the houses on the website. They are amazing and beautiful! I've heard enough about Detroit to understand why there are so many abandoned houses, but maybe by cleaning up and fixing some of those houses Detroit can begin to clean up and become a better city. I assume many of the abandoned houses on the website are in the ghetto type areas of the city, but I just feel that if they were fixed up then maybe the neighborhood(s) would turn around and become what they once were. Have I also mentioned that I am a very hopeful person? I dream...A LOT. :)

I love this house! Beautiful and so much potential!

Look at all the abandoned homes in this neighborhood! Ridiculous! They even have decent roofs and glass in the windows...they could be fixed up fairly easily (compared to many others).

"The cry of the ghetto is being heard by a nation with its fingers in its ears." ~ Barbara Sizemore

Pumpkin Patch

Today I went on a field trip with the 4th graders. We went to the University of Wyoming Ag Research Center and the Harvest Home Pumpkin Patch. Pacen has been on a field trip to the pumpkin patch every year since 1st grade and I've never been able to join him. This year the field trip was on my Friday off so I jumped at the opportunity to go. I've never been to a pumpkin patch and I always thought it would be fun. The pumpkin patch that LEMS goes to also has a corn maze. This year the maze is a soldier with a flag and it says "We Support Our Troops". Last night Pacen said, "Mom. Last year I ran through the maze with Cole (running through the maze is not allowed). I'm not doing that this year because the maze is a soldier and that is disrespectful to soldiers." I asked him if a teacher told him that and he said, "No." I was so proud of him for wanting to (on his own accord) respect the military.

Pacen led Mrs. Wasserburger and I around the maze and then we got to choose our pumpkins. Pacen picked a pretty large one. Surprise, surprise. :) I picked a medium sized one and I also bought a few itty bitty white pumpkins, some tomatoes, and a few squash. I can't wait to eat the squash (with a little brown sugar and butter baked into it). All-in-all it was a good field trip. We learned quite a bit at the UW Ag Rearch Center, ate lunch in the park, and had fun at the pumpkin patch. I hope I get to go again next year.

Pacen with his pumpkin

"We fancy men are individuals; so are pumpkins; but every pumpkin in the field goes through every point of pumpkin history." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson