Autumn Leaves

Oak Leaf

I found this beautiful oak leaf today while walking in the woods. 

I wasn't sure I'd be happy with the picture

so I took it home with me and tried to find a background that would truly bring out its beauty.

I finally laid it on the bed on top of a black T-shirt.

Ready for Christmas

Timpson, Texas

If you love barns, visit Tricia's Barn Charm HERE.

The Last Daisy

Mom and I found this last, lone gerbera daisy in a flower bed.  Some of her petals were a bit askew and appeared to have been chewed on by something but she still made a beautiful picture.

Red Trees, Red Dirt

This is a scene from one of my mom's pastures.  Notice the red dirt road on the left behind the barn?  I think it complements the red of the big oak tree.  It was very cold here today.  A high of 46 degrees with high winds out of the northeast that froze my fingers and nose as I took the trash up the lane to the road for our Friday pickup and to get the mail from the mailbox.  It's a real treat to have trash service.  Up until just a few years ago mom burned her trash and hauled off the items that couldn't be burned.  She actually still likes to burn certain papers ~ she refuses to get a shredder.  I actually have gotten her a pair of shredder scissors for Christmas.  We'll see if she uses them!

A Walk Through the Woods

I arrived at my new home in Texas on December 11 where I will be living so that I may care for an elderly mother.  She will be 90 her next birthday and is still quite independent (and stubborn) but needs some help in maintaining her daily lifestyle.  It is quite a change compared to what I've been used to for the past 30 years.  No longer will I have the luxury of running to the grocery for a single loaf of bread or the lettuce I forgot to buy when I went earlier today; no longer will I have 25 different movies to choose from at a nearby local theater; no longer will I have a choice of an abundance of stores at one of the many malls; no longer will I be able to say, oh, I'll just gas up the car tomorrow.  Instead I'll be saying things like look at the billions of stars in the sky; look at the hawk soaring above; can you hear the sounds of silence; I'll get to know the joy of one-store shopping at America's largest retailer; I probably won't have to stand in line behind more than one or two people at the bank and within a few weeks' time they'll be calling me Scooter (my childhood nickname and the only name most people in these parts have ever known me by) and ask how my mom has been feeling lately; and perhaps the most fun of all, I'll have endless subjects to photograph. 

Yesterday Mother was feeling cold and she cranked the indoor temperature up to 83, so I went for a long walk down a country road and into some woods. 

Goodbye Arizona

Today the sun set on my days in Arizona and the evening sky was all ablaze as if just for me.  Or at least that's the way I thought of it.  I leave early tomorrow morning to return to my roots in the piney woods of East Texas.  My mom, who will be 90 her next birthday, is finally reaching the stage of her life where she needs a bit of help.  Not much, mind you.  She still walks twice a day with her dog, goes to church three times a week, visits her younger friends in the nursing home after getting her hair done every Friday afternoon, and is known to mow her yard on a frequent basis on her riding mower/tractor.

I shipped my computer earlier this week and it arrived on Thursday.  I will be having satellite Internet installed on Monday, so I'll only be gone a couple of days.  I'm looking forward to this next chapter of my life, but I have to be honest.  I will definitely miss these gorgeous sunsets!  (All I did to this picture was crop it and hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button.)

Kirk ~ 20/100 Strangers

My daughter, Em and I were standing behind Kirk and his two absolutely adorable little girls in a line waiting for pictures with Santa.  We couldn't help but notice Kirk's brilliant million dollar smile and his snazzy clothes so he was the perfect subject for a stranger photo.  Kirk and his daughters (age three and five if I recall ~ sorry if I'm off a couple of years, Kirk!) recently moved to Phoenix from California.  In addition to holding a Doctor of Divinity degree, Kirk is a senior solutions specialist for the Federal Housing Bureau.  Happy Holidays to you and your beautiful little girls, Kirk, and thanks for being No. 20 in my 100 Strangers Project.

Autumn Leaves

Last year I searched to find autumn leaves in Phoenix.  This year they seem to be everywhere, bright brilliant splashes of gold dotting a landscape that is usually populated by palms, eucalyptus, mesquite, acacia, and palo verde.  There are even more red leaves this fall.  I don't know why this year is special but I'm glad it is.  What is ironic is about the time all the leaves fall off (probably around January 1) is about the time the new leaves start sprouting.  Winter doesn't last long in the desert Southwest.

19/100 Strangers ~ Vera

Today after soccer I went with Em and his mom to the barber shop for a haircut.  There I met Vera, the manager of the Clean Cut Barber Shop, a small neighborhood establishment.  Vera was born in Russia and came to the United States 10 years ago.  She has a beautiful smile and a lovely accent and she gives a great haircut!  Thanks, Vera, for being No. 19 of my 100 Strangers.  Happy Holidays!

Desert Wash

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the desert, a wash is  a depression or channel formed by flowing water.  These waterways are often called dry washes because generally the word "wash" refers to the dry bed of an intermittent stream. However, during times of rain a wash can become a raging river even after a small intense rainfall of less than half an inch.  A wash runs behind my daughter's home and it is quite lovely, replete with flora and fauna.  This particular wash floods a well-traveled street when it rains, causing nearby residents giant headaches when trying to get out of the neighborhood to go to work and/or get their children to school.  It often means a detour of five miles just to traverse a one-block area.  But in dry weather, the wash is a beautiful ecosystem.  I walked through a good portion of it today and here I share some favorite photographs with you.

The bed of this wash is covered with sand and smooth stones ranging in sizes from pebbles to giant boulders.  The banks of the wash are dense with desert trees, shrubs, bushes and grasses because the water that flows through the wash during rainy seasons waters provides water to the roots of these plants for many months.

 

 
The photos above are a sampling of some of the desert plants I encountered on my walk.  Sorry but I just wasn't quick enough to shoot (no pun intended) that bunny rabbit who ran across my path at about 80 miles an hour.  He was just a blur!  I hope he wasn't being chased by a coyote!

Aquarium

Prickly Pear

Hibiscus