HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

             HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

SIGNS

Having moved to another place recently I keep looking for signs ofthe season changing. Back at home I looked for the wooly worm or the behavior of the wildlife I knew so well. Here..it's all new. There are seagulls and I still don't know their habits. They seem to congregate on the ground in all sorts of parking lots and open spaces.
I ask around about how long they stick around. The  people here tell me they are sometimes here all winter long sticking close to the places where they know they can get food. If it is a really bad winter they will leave and go farther south and sometimes inland. YIKES... if I see them all leaving I think we are in for big trouble.

We are pretty much done with fall leaves turning here now..trees are somewhat bare in places. I noticed a lot of people remove leaves and can be fined if they leave them in the street. Snowplows cannot plow with leaves stuck to the curbs. BIG NO NO! With the amount of snow they get here, I guess it would be quite a problem in the dead of winter.

 Being pretty much a city girl I sure am getting a taste of how it is out in the wild. Not a very far ride from where I am is the middle of a state forest for miles and miles. It amazed me that some people were actually living in homes in the middle of the forest. The land was sold years ago and so they got it at a great price.

 Little did they know that years later, their would be a big road in the middle of it and traffic night and day. Talk about snowed in. I bet they keep an ample supply of wood and food in the winter, because some of the little side roads are not paved and are wayyyy back in the woods. Hope they have a plow handy. Up here, the local lodges like ELKS and MOOSE really do look like lodges. I see I have a lot to learn yet.

"DOWNSTATERS" is a word I heard I had never even thought of before. Imagine that we "downstaters" had a nickname. Going to be a lot of  getting used to living differently. YES, the stores here have much more winter clothing than "downstate", who knew?

HALLOWEEN FUN!

If you haven't seen this photo it is quite something.. I had to look twice as I thought it was a baby but it wasn't. It was a mom having one!  So creative and from what I see it must have been done in a hospital by some ingenius workers there. Cute!!
The next one, well what a waste of good candy..LOL..you decide.. it is different

for sure and must have taken a long time to do. This one is pretty elaborate in the carving but neat design. MEOW!!  Well whatever you do this halloween, I hope you have fun doing it.  Here there are parties and trick or treats by going to the local shops downtown and it all starts on Saturday and runs all the way until Monday. Three days of fun. Kids love it!  I am sure I will have some neat pictures to include here by Tuesday, weather permitting.

 
                                

FALL PLEASURE

On my walk I passed a giant oak tree surrounded by a white picket fence. Inside the yard was a garden oasis and a swing waiting for it's next passenger. The tree was so large it took up one whole area in the backyard.

Tall and strong grows the mighty oak

TWO MORE

Two more photos worth posting.. I sure take tons right now as around every corner is a more stunning shot. Hope you all are enjoying some warm days too!
                                   Click to enlarge..