Fall Arrangements

Yesterday the sun was out so pretty so I thought I
would take advantage of it and roam about the hills
to take some pictures.
I went to several spots that I enjoy but ended up back
at an old favorite at Conkle's Hollow.
I was there at the beginning of Fall when all of the
Autumn flowers were at their peak and the butterflies
were everywhere, the sound of the bees and birds
filled the air.

But Friday the butterflies and bees were very
much absent.





The flowers were all done with their blooms
of bright yellow on goldenrod.





All that remained were the golden brown heads
of the blooms.





The ironweed with its brilliant purple blooms
were all but blown away.






Beautiful heads of grass that remained blown about
by the cold breeze looked golden in the sun.





Even the grasses growing on a patch of ground in
middle of the stream were now dormant from the
cold freezes and frost.
Ice was even now forming along the edges of the
creek and in places there was a small coating of it
forming upon the water.



The only color than stood out was the red of the
berries from briers that grew along the stream.




Further up in the hollow that is ringed on all
sides by rock cliffs the air was much colder and there
only the mosses and ferns were green.





Even the ferns seemed almost lonely and
forlorn amongst the layer of leaves.




I was the only one visiting Friday and the quiet was
so striking as I ventured up into the hollow.
Even the birds were silent up in the cold hollow.
I finally got froze out and started back out looking
for signs of birds that were so absent in the hollow.
As I got back out across the bridge and into the
sunlight again I heard a Nuthatch but could not
seem to get a sight of it. I did spy two Chickadees
fussing and making a racked in a water birch tree.






Its peeling bark looked so pretty in the sunlight.
Then a heard a noise up above me in the sky
and there was beauty in wings spread wide against
the blue sky. It is times like this one when I covet a
better camera lens.





Frozen to the bone and shivering I started walking
to the car. I felt so refreshed and alive though to have
spent the alone time amongst all of these beautiful things.

Happy Gardening Everyone and
Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Time For the Yearly Invasion

Well I have good news and bad.
The dreaded hard freeze and frost did not happen
as predicted. Thank Heavens! I was dreading looking
out the window to see all of the dead plants and
flowers. I just knew if it was 27 degrees they were a
gonner. When I looked out they looked a little wilted
but were not mush so I checked at in was 35 degrees.
So we missed the big freeze so far.
And now we are having a few days of beautiful
sunshine and some warmer temps, it being up to a
whopping 63 degrees. Yeah!!!
Buttttt--- with the warmer weather it means the
farmers are rushing to get in their crops from the
field which is good, buttttt............ when the corn is
getting picked and it is the last warm days of the season
that means that the old pesky, dirty, stinking Asian Lady
Bugs are trying to get into the houses for the Winter.
I will not expound on how much I hate them again this
year by posting a whole section on them .If you want to
read up on them go to a posting I wrote last year
Lady Bug Invasion



Oh, I know you just love Lady Bugs, Birds or Beetles.
So do I but these are not your usual Lady Bugs.
There is a big difference.



The Autumn leaves are falling so fast here
in the Hills this year. With a little rain all
of the pretty leaves will be gone and all that will be
left will be the brown oak leaves. The big Sycamore
trees along Salt Creek have already fallen and
the trees are bare but their white bark will still
make them pretty this Winter.



I have a stand of beautiful yellow Maple leaves
behind my house and they are falling off fast.







I also have this Maple tree that always has the
brightest red leaves on it and they are going too.
One year I had a car load of college students that
were from Japan jump out and set in the yard and
take pictures of it. I wondered at the time if they
thought they were on park owned land. I was glad
that they were enjoying the leaves.





There are touches of orange leaves around in
the woods behind the house too.

The Sumac are so pretty in Autumn with their
red leaves and berries hanging from them.



The Sassafras trees which are in large supply
are so golden yellow. How many love Sassafras tea?



Even the brier leaves are pretty in the Fall
with their variegated leaves.




The berries of the Green briers are in plain sight now.

The field across from the house was so pretty
last week with all of its colors and pines.



Trees of russet color are nearby.




Autumn splendor at its best.

Don't Cry For The Horses

While driving down to the Bob Evans Farm
Festival Saturday we passed this beautiful log house
that sat upon a hill in Vinton County on Route 93.
All at once we saw this giant shiny metal Angel
on a horse that was in their front yard.
Since we wanted to beat the crowd we drove on and
decided on the way back home we would check it out
further. I made the comment that it did not really go
with the log house someway but them I did not know
what it was or what it was meant for.




We stopped to get a better look on the way home
and noticed that there was a plaque below the
angel but we could not read all of the words from
across the highway where we were parked.



We got a few pictures of it and since we thought
it might not be a wise move to go traipsing up into
their yard ,we just read the the title on it
which said "Don't Cry For The Horses".
We had both never heard of it before and still did
not know what it was for or why they would put this
giant silver statue in their yard.
So when I came home I googled it and found this
poem and its meaning then was evident.





Don't Cry For The Horses, by Brenda Riley-Seymore is
written by a modern day heroine who lives in Sun
Valley, California. A cowgirl with a cop for a boyfriend,
she was born in Kentucky and raised on a ranch.
A semi retired animal trainer for motion pictures,
whose heroes are cops and cowboys, she now
works Los Angeles in information systems.
Brenda and her 18 year old daughter who saves
all creatures great and small.

Don't Cry For The Horses,
by Brenda Riley-Seymore

Don't cry for the horses
That life has set free
A million white horses
Forever to be

Don't cry for the horses
Now in God's hands
As they dance and they prance
To a heavenly band

They were ours as a gift
But never to keep
As they close their eyes
Forever to sleep

Their spirits unbound
On silver wings they fly
A million white horses
Against the blue sky

Look up into heaven
You'll see them above
The horses we lost
The horses we loved

Manes and tails flowing
They Gallop through time
They were never yours
They were never mine

Don't cry for the horses
They will be back someday
When our time has come
They will show us the way

On silver wings they will lift us
To the warmth of the sun
When our life is over
And eternity has begun

We will jump the sun
And dance over the moon
A Ballet of horses and riders
on the winds
to a heavenly tune

Do you hear that soft nicker
Close to your ear?
Don't cry for the horses
Love the ones that are here

Don't cry for the horses
Lift up your sad eyes
Can't you see them
As they fly by?

A million white horses
Free from hunger and pain
Their spirits set free
Until we ride again

I have never owned a horse and in fact after an
incident as a child I was a little afraid of them,
but I have had pet dogs that have been in the family
for so long that they were like children to me. You
just learn to love them and miss them when they are
gone. So this was a very large display of their affection
for a horse or horses in general.



It is looking like Fall here in the hills.

Rainbow Knockout Roses

Now that we are into Fall and so many of the
flowers here in Ohio are giving up because of the
shorter days and cold temps in the mornings, it
is amazing to see what may well be the final
flush of blooms from my Rainbow Knockout
Rose.



I just love this rose because it has been in bloom
since early June.



The pink blooms are tinged with apricot
and run into yellow at the centers.



Each bloom is a surprise because the shading
has some differences in the petals.



This is the only rose I have that is still blooming.
Others have been moved so they have ended
their blooming this year. Others have new growth
coming on them for more buds so I am keeping
my fingers crossed that we will not get any damaging
frosts or hard freezes in the next couple of weeks.
Thankfully the snow they predicted is not going
to get here.





Finally I leave with you a picture of the Swans
that are at a lake near here. How do they stay
so white?

Wildflowers - A Tour in the Hocking Hill's

Greenheaded Coneflower

Last Friday was such a beautiful day that I decided to
take a walk in one of our local State Parks in the Hocking
Hill's where I live. With camera in hand I ventured up into
Conkle's Hollow. The fields around the entry to the
hollow was alive with wildflowers and bees.



I had been worried about the lack of Honeybees
in my garden this summer but they were thankfully
in abundance on the wildflowers growing there.



Ox Eyed Sunflower






Iron Weed






Jewel Weed



Woodland Sunflowers



The Woodland Sunflowers hanging over the Big Pine
Creek which flows through the hollow looked so pretty.



Joe Pye Weed






The whole bank along this section of Big Pine Creek was
full of Joe Pye Weed.



Bushy Asters



The Bushy Asters were in abundance near the creek.







The name of this one has completely slipped my mind
at the moment. Forgive me of having a Duh moment.






Great Lobelia







Hillsides of woodland ferns are everywhere up in the
shady areas of the hollow.Growing on logs, rocks, and
in crevices of the cliffs that line the hollow to the waterfalls.



And of course the fields full of Yellow rod show in the previous
posting.



These are just a few of the wildflowers that grow and
bloom in my neighborhood at this time of the season.
With the changing of the leaves the Hocking Hill's
will become a riot of colors. The view from the ridge
rim path from Conkle's Hollow then is breathtaking.