Backyard Views

Would you like to know one of the things I love about this time of year? (Say yes. Thank you.) I love the colors. It's not quite really leaf-turning season in Kentucky yet, so most of the leaves are still green, and so is the grass. But a few early-birds, like winged sumac, Virginia creeper, and poison ivy are beginning to turn bright red. Poke stalks are magenta, while the berries are a deep eggplant purple. Goldenrod and Jerusalem artichoke, both very plentiful around here, are sweeping the hills with masses of bright yellow. And here and there are stands of royal-purple Ironweed. Put them all against an intensely blue autumn sky and it's just breathtaking. This morning I was filling the birdfeeder and the view off my back deck caught my eye. I may have mentioned a few times that I live way out in the country. Way, WAY out in the country. And did I mention the words "middle of nowhere"? Our house sits in the middle of about 120 acres of land. There are a couple of relatively civilized acres around the house that we choose to call the yard. The yard is surrounded by fields. And the fields are surrounded by woods. Off to the north, just where the yard ends and one of the fields drops away over a hill is one of the most impressive stands of golden wildflowers on our place. And there's a dying tree (which we really need to cut down) being taken over by Virginia creeper. This morning, the light had an amazing quality to it that I don't know quite how to describe and that field just glowed. I threw on some shoes, grabbed the camera, and wandered outside in my nightie (middle of nowhere!) to try to capture the image. And failed. Miserably. The very quality of light that attracted me so, made it impossible to capture. Well, impossible for ME to capture. Someone with a better camera and/or a better knowledge of how to use it probably could have done it. But I decided to share a couple of photos anyway. Even though they aren't "right" in terms of being exactly what I saw this morning, they're still kind of pretty. Looking straight north from my back yard Looking northeast, toward the "back 40"