It’s been a beautiful Fall. Love the vibrant colors.
Too bad it’s coming to an end… especially with a weather forecast
of “windy & below freezing” coming our way in the next few days!!!

Another beautiful weekend. Another beautiful bike ride weekend.

Soon enough we were enjoying some winding roads through the woods. Rolling through the forest. I love how the sunlight dapples the road. Leaves gently trickling down. The crisp breeze in your face. I love Fall. Such beautiful days… even more beautiful when looking at it all from over my handlebars!

And as we’ve always said… “The best part about biking, is stopping.” We’ve never been too focused that we couldn’t stop for a good photo-op. A scenic rest. Or even a good piece of pie. For the record, we had photo-ops & scenic rests… and a piece of yummy cherry pie!

And even though we aren’t quite to peak Fall colors yet, there were a few beauties along the way! Great pops of color against the rest of the “still green” forest. Nice to know we might still have a few more weekends of Fall fun before all the leaves fall off… and Winter sets in!  Ugh…

So it was another fun day of biking… a fun day of “stopping”… and beautiful Fall colors.
But nothing better than sharing all of that wonderful biking fun with my good friend Nancy!!!

This wonderful flower has reappeared in my garden. From what I understand, it’s a Toad Lily. I don’t have any recollection of planting this beauty, but I’m glad that it pops up every Fall. Always a surprise to me! There’s only one stalk… but it’s covered with several blooms along its length. Now if I could just get it to spread & multiply?!

The drive home was beautiful.
Once I finally “accept” the fact that Summer is finally over, I’m in.
I love Fall. I love Fall colors. I love October. And today was no exception.

One of the nice things about “Art In The Barn” is that they set a great Fall atmosphere. Bales of hay. Potted mums. Pumpkins. Gourds… and more! Just a quick glance at the mums around us… and a mum visitor!

So I was shopping at Home Depot this evening for stain, varnish & brushes so I could make some quick ClayQuilts for this weekend. I happened to find myself checking out the “clearance” plants… picking up a few perennials to add to my garden for cheap. When all of a sudden I saw some flitting about in my peripheral vision. I assumed it was a bug… but no, it was a hummingbird. We don’t see many of them in the city. It was pretty cool. Luckily, I managed to grab my iPhone quickly to snap a couple pictures. Some were blurrier than others… but this one wasn’t too bad for a quick iPhone snapshot. A teeny tiny hummingbird flitting about.

Sure… it was warm & humid this morning.
Sure… I could see that it had rained overnight.
Sure… there were a lot of clouds.
Sure… there was not much chance for a pretty sunrise.

Sure…. I got soaked for the last 8 miles of my ride.
Sure… it was still fun.

Sure… I know I won’t melt.

This morning’s sky seemed to be painted with broad brush strokes of color.
The clouds started off pretty subtle & pastel… but as the sun came up, the colors became brighter & bolder as they swept across the sky!

Yet for the third day in a row, the waves were crashing in and splashing all over the shore. Crashing waves with loud popping sounds as the water exploded like vertical geysers. And yet somehow, after two days of dark & gloomy, the brightness of today’s sunrise made the crashing waves seem somehow friendly & playful.

Darker than normal. Cloudier than normal. Windier than normal.
All the makings for another “splashy-crashy-cool” morning ride!!!
Sure, the first half was great fun. Strong tailwind. Barely pedaling.
Speeding along at like 23 mph!!! Literally being pushed by the wind.
The ride back home… not so much fun!

Take a look at the flag not flying horizontally… but UPWARDS!!!

Soon enough, my fascination with the dark clouds was replaced by all the splashing!!!

With splashing all around, the sky was taking on some moody colors as well.

And a little ray of sunshine…