Although the weather has turned cooler the past few days, the month of October has been a series of one lovely fall day after another here in Minnesota. The temperatures were above normal, the sun was almost always shining, and the fall colors seemed more vibrant than usual. Like many, the weather drew me outdoors and I often found myself reaching for my phone to capture some of the beauty just outside my front door. All the photos below were taken with my iPhone 5s and edited in Instagram.
This first photo was taken in the evening and features a small border garden along our granary with Sedum and ornamental grasses. All of the red hues captured my eye.
Outside in the garden one morning, I stopped to take a picture after noticing the rays of sunshine highlighting the yellow maple, contrasted with the still-blooming shrub roses and Russian sage in my garden. The barn in the background was the perfect backdrop.
The lovely morning sunlight caught my eye once again a week or so later, as it lit up the Autumn Blaze Maple outside my bedroom window.
And finally, this picture is from the woods that surround our home, spilling down the hillside to the river and to our field. In the evening, as the sun would start to set, the warm light would shine through the yellow canopy of leaves and the scene felt so magical. For about a week, I made sure to step outside each evening to take in the spectacle of light.
Wherever you might live, I hope your fall has been equally as splendid. While the leaves have all fallen off the trees now, perhaps we will still be blessed with a few more days of warm temperatures and abundant sunshine. Once can always hope! 🙂
–Lynell
The plants were so loaded down with buds this year that the branches were drooping under their weight.
The only peony that I have actually purchased is this white one. Although it is pretty, it just does not have the same strong fragrance as the old-fashioned pink ones that I have transplanted and taken with me all these years.
It turns out it was a good thing that I did pick some flowers that afternoon because we had a big rain and wind storm the following evening that really did a number on the peony plants, pounding and shredding the big blossoms that had already opened.
Just Two Farm Kids 