We are currently at the 50% leaves-on-the-ground phase of Autumn. A sad time for me, knowing that Old Man Winter is barreling down on us. Just two weeks ago, we were at peak foliage. Please enjoy some photos I took in my neighborhood while walking that week:
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| Orange |
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| Red |
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| Yellow |
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| Friendly scarecrow |
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| All paths lead home |
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| Yellow and red with a friendly ghost |
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| Perfect pumpkins with fake sunflowers |
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| The morning after Halloween, I woke up to Christmas. |
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| The snow melted and the next day turned into Thanksgiving. |
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I watched as 19 turkeys crossed the street, to get to the other side. This photo reminds me of The Partridge Family.In May, I began planning a reunion with my two best girlfriends from college to celebrate our milestone birthdays. We decided on a weekend in October to meet up in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. |
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What I love about this 'lifestyle community' is that you can park and forget about your car for 24 hours (or more). You have hotels, shopping, restaurants, breweries, games, and nature all within walking distance. And parking is free! (**Professional picture is not mine**)
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| We needed some peace and quiet after that, so we walked over the bridge to my favorite spot in Old Dublin, The Getaway. It has a travel theme with airplane windows outside the restrooms. And yes, I wrote about it last year when I visited with my husband. |
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| We took a walk to Indian Run Falls and vibed with nature. |
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| We toasted our 42 year friendship with Cava at this rooftop lounge. I met one of them at my 8 a.m. Modern University Mathematics class on our first day of college. She introduced me to the other friend. We all started out in accounting, but only one of us became a CPA. It was a great day of reminiscing. After saying goodbye to our local friend, the remaining two of us checked into our hotel and then grabbed some tacos at Cantina, along with frozen margaritas. We talked well into the night, got up and had breakfast, and then went our separate ways, once again. |
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Together again, after not seeing each other since 1987. We were grateful to celebrate our 60th birthdays together. I know of at least four college friends who sadly didn't make it this far.Have you kept in touch with any college friends? Done some leaf peeping? Celebrated three holidays in a row? |
These are STUNNING fall captures! You definitely have more where you are than here. I had to change my plans about going to Lancaster, which I will be doing at the end of November. However, I did meet a friend for lunch in Chestnut Hill two days ago and FINALLY got to see some beautiful fall colors. I may go back out there next Wednesday with my camera. If I do, I'll share photos.
ReplyDeleteLove the friendly scarecrow and ghost!
It blows me away how vibrant the colors are. Stunning!
I saw your photograph on Instagram with the snow you got after Halloween and was like, "WOW!!!" I cannot believe you got snow this early. I need to move where you live because we barely got any snow last year. Also, yesterday the weather was back to warm and humid. I was actually sweating. Crazy weather we're having.
"This photo reminds me of The Partridge Family." -- LOL! OMG, you're right, it does!!!!
Oooooo, and I love those pictures of Old Dublin. So modern! Looks like The Jetsons!
I actually thought you were in an airplane! How cool!
So glad you were able to celebrate your 42 year friendship! I remember turning 60, EIGHT years ago! But I love it. For me, life keeps getting better/different.
Thanks so much for sharing, my friend. Being a fall-lover, you know how much I enjoyed this post!
Have a superb weekend! X
*I never went to college, but I do keep in touch with a guy I went to HS with in Florida.
Oh, I was hoping to see your Lancaster post soon. I’m glad you saw some colors in Chestnut Hill. We do get vibrant trees here, but it never lasts long. I’m sure the snow didn’t help. I think we are just so much farther north than you. Even in Columbus, which is only 130 miles south of us, they don’t see much snow compared to us. We get a lot due to lake effect. It can be quite dreadful. Yesterday, the high was 55, but I had to wear a winter coat on my walk because the wind was brutal!
DeleteThe photo of Bridge Park was actually in the new section of Dublin. Old Dublin more resembles Dublin, Ireland. There is a beautiful pedestrian bridge connecting the two areas. I love it!
I keep in touch with many more high school friends than college. Most of my college friends were males and it was just harder to stay friends with them due to marriages, etc. At least it was back then, without social media. Hope your weekend is a good one, Ron!
A 42 year friendship! How wonderful is that. I loved this post and my goodness, the colours of those leaves! Yes please! Also, TURKEY CROSSING! How fun, I wonder where they thought they were going.
ReplyDeleteWe see the turkeys every year in November, but they disappear the rest of the year. It’s quite odd, since our Thanksgiving where turkey is the tradition, is in November!
DeleteThose photos are amazing. I'm with you - not ready for all the leaves to be gone because then winter will be here. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteYou have not seen one another since 1987? Wow. Now that I say that, it has been decades since I've seen my closest college friends. We are spread out across the US. I call one of them every few years. We exchange Christmas cards. My best friend from college couldn't have children and I think that made it hard for her to stay close with me. No matter how I tried. Also, she's in North Carolina. I've gone back to college reunions and they haven't attended in a long time. I have a few other college friends, who I wasn't as close to in college, but we've met up more frequently or called one another more regularly. Go figure. I reconnected with a woman I went to college with at a meet and greet for incoming Creighton freshmen. I knew her to say hi in college, but I didn't hang out with her. She was biology and I was business. Coach and I really click with she and her husband. We get together with them fairly regularly and it's crazy that all this time they lived minutes away from us, have 5 kids - similar ages. She's the one who brought my wallet to Omaha.
They came to my wedding in 1986, and then I saw each of them separately in 1987. One of them kept getting transferred out of state and then they both got married, kids, divorced, and we only kept in contact via birthday and Xmas cards. I thought it was finally time! We went to a large university that doesn’t do reunions. I’d totally go if they had them. I did meet up with a college roommate that I found through Facebook, but it was weird because I felt as though she didn’t really remember me or any of the others who lived in our off campus house. I think I did a post about it.
DeleteHave you kept in touch with any college friends? Not a one. When I was on FB a decade ago I looked for some of the girls I'd lived with in the dorms, but we all married soon after graduation so who knows what names they go by now.
ReplyDeleteDone some leaf peeping? Yes, but none were as pretty as yours.
Celebrated three holidays in a row? I'd say we all do if we celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, then Boxing Day. Why not go all in for that holiday!
I’m a master detective when it comes to searching for people online, especially since I’m good about remembering details, like where they went to high school. Unfortunately, it’s led to quite a few obituaries. Sometimes, it’s best to not know.
DeleteOh, that's fun! That place in Dublin is beautiful! It's wonderful how you finally got together with them after all this time! I love seeing photos of you with your friends.
ReplyDeleteI also really loved the photos of all the leaves in your neighborhood. Our trees' leaves are also starting to fall. November is one of my favorite months of the year, but I'm also sad about the soon-to-be bare trees.🖤
It was so nice to see them again. People who knew you when . . . It’s shocking to think how fast the decades went by.
DeleteI hate winter. My husband always starts saying in January, “We just have to get through Jan/Feb because we always get a few nice days in March.” Yeah, and usually a lot of snow🙄
That's some lovely fall color! We're probably a week or two ahead of you - most of our trees are mostly bare now, and the leaves that remain are mostly brown and shriveled. But I do love me some fall color. I used to do a favorite bike ride to a nearby state park during the peak color days; the brilliant colors (in a good year) and the crisp fall air are just magical!
ReplyDeleteVirtually all of the friends from college I'm still in touch with are from our Christian community, and we've been in each others' lives for coming on 50 years. my 50-year HS reunion was this past summer, and that was a wonderful time. . .
Nice to see you, Craig. I didn’t get the chance to ride my bike this year on the towpath at Cuyahoga Valley, but saw some pretty pictures online. Yes, it is indeed magical. That’s awesome that you have so many college friends still in your life. I’m still upset I missed my 40th HS reunion because Covid was still rampant at that time and my daughter was due any day, so I didn’t want to get sick.
DeleteYour pictures of the Fall leaves/scenes are just gorgeous! We did have a gorgeous week of Fall color and then a cold front came in with high winds and brought a lot of the leaves down.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to get together with your college friends. I do have a hand full of friends that I went from Kindergarten thru HS with that I am still in touch with and then my BFF that I've known for 38 years. Talking to people that have known you SO long is the best. Sometimes they remind me of things I have forgotten. lol
Happy Friday!!
Thank you, Lori. I also keep in touch with a few I've known since elementary school days. I especially enjoy class reunions because I was a K-12 graduate, like many others in our school district. It is funny what some people remember! Hope you have a super weekend.
DeleteWe're at the 50% leaf-fall stage and the colours are wonderful. Sooner or later I shall have to start sweeping up all the leaves from our cherry tree. Good that you've kept in touch with some college friends. I haven't kept in touch with any old school or college friends, I guess I was just too lazy or too busy to make the effort.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s harder for men to maintain friendships. I don’t know why.
DeleteI wish those colors lasted more than a few weeks. You grabbed some lovely pics though while it lasted!
ReplyDeleteCheers to keeping friendships alive and well. I am glad you all had a great time together. I have one friend that remained constant since middle school, though we also don't see each other often. We did celebrate our 40th birthdays together 3 years ago, then saw each other again this summer. I wish life didn't keep us from those we hold dear, but I suppose it makes us treasure those fleeting moments all that much more.
I’m glad you got to celebrate your 40th together. I’m really trying to make a point of getting together with old friends more. Life is passing us by too quickly.
DeleteWow, beautiful colors. I love the changing colors so much!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteWe just don't get anything like that here unless we go up in the mountains.
ReplyDeleteWe pay for it in winter!
DeleteFall is gorgeous in your 'hood. Thanks for that walk-about.
ReplyDeleteI love that you still have these friendships; this says a lot about the kind of friend you are. I agree, it's so sad that so many of our peers have not made it to our age. It looks like you three had a nice, quick catch up session.
I went to trade school and not college, but I didn't keep any of those friends. I do have friends from high school though and that seems kind of crazy to me.
Awww, thank you. I love to stay in touch with people from my past. There's just something about people who knew you back when . . .
DeleteA 42-year friendship--that's so lovely! Welcome to the Six-O Club, we're happy to have you! And I love those beautiful foliage photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rob. I'm glad to have made it to the club, but wish I could re-live some of the earlier clubs!
DeleteOur fall colors were at their peak while we were traveling in mid-October, and while it sad to return home and find that most of the color had passed, the trip was so worth it. Now, if only the weather had been better. How wonderful that you and your friends had a reunion after so many years and what a fun outing as well. Sadly, I do not keep in contact with any of my former college roommates, but I keep in sporadic contact with one fellow classmate. Also, belated 🎂🎈wishes to you and your friends. I passed that number a while ago and a few more since then!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I’m glad your trip was worth it. You saw so many sights and looks like you had some delightful foods as well.
DeleteAmazing colors.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI love fall too but I am also dreading that winter is not too far away. Awesome that you had a reunion with your friends. Glad you all had a wonderful time and continue to stay in touch.
ReplyDeleteWinter is no bueno!
DeleteLooks like a fun trip! I have not kept in touch with any college friends only childhood and high school friends! I have one friend that I met when we were both 7 years old! Love the turkey picture! I reminds me of the partridge family too! There seems to be an abundance of wild turkeys this year!
ReplyDeleteThe turkeys only make their appearance here every November. It's very odd! My bestie is someone I've been friends with since I was 5, when she moved in to the house behind us.
DeleteI just love how beautiful earth is at this time of the year.
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteLeaf peeping, yes. We got our fill of fantastic fall foliage frequently (okay, I'm running out of alliterative steam now). It's a shame the colors don't last longer; our yard just isn't the same with so many bare trees. But you know how much I love winter, so I can't complain too much.
ReplyDeleteI don't keep up with a single friend from college. I lived with my parents and commuted to San Jose State, so my experience wasn't very traditional.
I commuted for the first three years. Then I finally got a job on campus where I didn’t need a car and was able to afford to rent a room in a big house with 6 strangers. It was like The Real World.
DeleteI do tend to stay in touch with people more than most.
Those photos are perfect. I love the fall season's colors. I am glad you all (your friends from university) had a great time together. Childhood and school friendships never forgetable. Have a wonderful weekend to you dear friend. Greetings.
ReplyDeleteGreetings to you! I hope you are having a delightful Fall as well.
DeleteThe holidays going back to back to back is hilarious. Too bad they were out of order. I was going to comment that your weather seems to follow grocery store rules. Once one holiday is over, the decorations for the next begin!
ReplyDeleteLove the pic of all roads lead home. Those turkeys are wild! Literally and figuratively. The airport windows--very clever. Amazing you haven't seen those ladies since 1987! How wonderful you were able to reunite. I hope I can do that with some of my friends--only still mildly in contact with thanks to the wonders of Facebook. ;) (This is Betsy.)
The weather is always psycho here. I’m grateful to Facebook for keeping people in my life that I would have lost touch with long ago. Thanks for the comment bombing!
DeleteComment bombing. hehe. I like it. :)
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