A friend of mine stated that when the Dark-eyed Juncos show up at the bird feeder, Winter is surely on the way. They have arrived in all their rotund fluffiness, an announcement that Autumn is trucking right along.

Although it has been a less vibrant Fall, the young maple planted in the front yard has ended up putting on a nice show despite my reservations about getting any significant color. I mentioned to the S.O. that some day when it gets larger that tree will probably be one of the most attractive in the neighborhood during Autumn, to which he replied (in his usual cynical manner) that we will be dead long before we ever get to see that. I conceded he was most likely correct….

Halloween has come and gone. The Fence Dinosaur down the street (for those who follow) is in costume. I think there are little dots that light up in the bat wings but I’m not sure.

I donned my wolf hat and sat out on the porch in the chilly wind next to the skelly, with his glowing red eyes and skull switched on for good measure.

Little Rudi wore his pirate sweater all day to celebrate the occasion. Yo-Ho!

We got maybe fifteen trick-or-treaters – if that – in rather unoriginal costumes. There was a Halloween event going on uptown and also I think most of the kids gravitated to the ultra decorated houses. Friends from around the corner mentioned about one-hundred kids came to their door. Their place was done up rather spectacularly. By seven o’clock I had eaten a significant amount of the candy all by myself. Cold and tired, I gave it up, switched off the lights and came inside.

In the next town from here there is an annual parade that is always filled with some really creative costumes and characters. My neighbor V. was there and snapped a photo of the Halloween night sky. She calls this her $20 photo because it ended up costing her that much, as a twenty dollar bill fell out of her pocket and was lost when she pulled out her phone to take the picture. It’s a great photo. What do you think, worth it?

My sister sent me some west coat autumnal shots from where she was standing, so I am including one of my favorite ones in order to encompass a broader geographic view of the week.

This afternoon I took Rudi for a walk around the block and snapped a few photos of November’s fleeting palette.

The Crimsons

and The Golds.

Dusty, antique rose hues

and patterned foliage of an Oakleaf Hydrangea.

Pops of Nippon Daisies glow among their slowly rusting leaves.

Over the last number of weeks the air has been punctuated with the clarion call of Canada geese migrating in V-shaped silhouettes across chilly skies. Their announcements, along with the arrival of the Junco and the red-golds of November, are natures reminders to start preparing for winter.

~*~