autumn awesomeness

It’s mid-autumn now, and the colors are warm and vibrant, as opposed to the gentle pastels of spring. I thought that today would be a good day for a walk, to explore autumn.

One of the great joys of autumn is that it’s the season when so many foods are ripening, such as apples and winter squashes. Pumpkins are a type of squash and what would Halloween be without pumpkins?

There are so many pumpkins, each with its own look. Some people like to carve their pumpkins, so they prefer big pumpkins. I previously purchased a smaller (pie-sized) pumpkin because I want to use it to make pumpkin soup. And then, I will roast the seeds.

And what about those apples? So many varieties!

Mmmmm, apples. Some time in the coming week, I plan on making applesauce, based on my mother’s recipe. We used to spend a lot of time involved in applesauce making projects together. I really treasure these memories of my mom before her terrible illness (Alzheimer’s disease). I loved chopping the apples for her. We had some good times together when we made our applesauce.

I spent some time on the bike path today. There are piles of leaves, and the trail was quiet. It’s a beautiful space that I enjoy walking.

My part of the world is getting ready for the dormancy of winter.

This tree is a white oak. There was a time when the entire island was covered in white oaks. The wood of the white oak was considered to be very desirable for shipbuilding and, so, in the nineteenth century, after the 1825 completion of the Erie Canal, the white oak trees were clear cut and the logs were sent away across the Niagara River and down the Erie Canal. At that time, no one even thought that, if you remove trees, you should replace them, so there are now very few white oaks left.

These leaves with rounded edges are white oak leaves. Red oak leaves have pointy edges.

We haven’t had much rain this year, so Woods Creek is running very low!

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my autumnal world. Don’t forget to go outside, take a walk, and enjoy nature!

What will I post tomorrow? I don’t have a clue!!!