Happy Weekend Thoughts and Congratulations!

First of all I have to send huge congratulations out to my new friends, Brenda, over at Cozy Little House and Kim over at Exquisitely Unremarkable who have both made the elusive short list for the Amara Interior Blog Awards - what an incredible honor and I'm so very proud of both of them!!

I think what sets these two ladies apart is the authenticity of their writing - they both speak from the heart. In addition, they march to the beat of their own drummer - their styles are truly unique, and extremely warm and welcoming. I follow both of their blogs regularly and I couldn't be happier for them both!

Congratulations, Ladies! Truly a reason to celebrate this weekend!!

Check out the rest of the shortlist here and don't forget to visit Brenda and Kim while you're at it!

I caught the tail end of what must have been a beautiful sunrise this morning when my pups woke me at...well, literally the crack of dawn!

 

I kind of didn't mind (kind of!), it was so amazingly gorgeous. I immediately ran back inside to grab the camera, even with eyes only half open. 

In a few more weeks the trees will be bare and the mountains will be much more visible from my deck. 

Some of the trees have already dropped a ton of leaves. 

In the evenings there's a band of light that creeps across the mountain and illuminates a strip of trees that are changing color rapidly. 

There's a tree on my neighbor's property at the end of my lane that is full of apples....if only I could reach them!

The Goldenrod at the top of the lane is coming to the end of it's autumn display - the colors are not nearly as vibrant as even a week ago. 

I have no idea what this shrub is that grows next to the ravine between my house and the creek at the end of the lane but how cool are these seed pods?

The pine at the base of my garden stairs is full of baby pinecones. I see a craft project in my future!

The roses are still putting out buds, and will continue to bloom right up until the ground freezes solid. This is a Knockout Rose, which I love for the profuse blooms and ease of care. There is little or no fragrance but the simplicity of this rose makes up for it. There will most likely be blooms even during the first snow!

The whiskey barrel plantings are still going strong, despite (or perhaps because of?) being basically ignored and getting little to no water in the past couple of weeks. Go figure!

Fall has surely arrived to the mountaintop and we spent the early part of the evening lat night sitting by the fire enjoying the beauty around us. Our evenings outdoors will be dwindling now and I will hang on to them for as long as I can. 

Our patio table will be unused for alfresco dining until Spring unless we get lucky enough to have an Indian Summer. 

This weekend I'll be bringing in the houseplants that have been basking in the sunshine outdoors and starting to bring in some firewood for the wood stove. I'm still in a quandry about firewood storage as I wrote in a  previous post  - I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and make a decision. 

Meanwhile, it's the WEEKEND!!! And my daughter's on her way home!!

Enjoy it, friends!