An Ode to Autumn

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways...

1. Beautiful trees
2. Crisp air
3. Caramel apples
4. Pumpkins
5. Harvest
6. Bonfires
7. Hot chocolate
8. Jumping in leaf piles
9. Roasted marshmallows
10. Hay rack rides
11. Apple cider
12. Wearing a jacket
13. Wiener roasts
14. Baked squash
15. Leaves blowing in the wind
16. Crawling under the covers at night
17. Thanksgiving
18. Leaves crunching under your feet
19. Pumpkin pie
20. Sunsets over golden cornfields

Just to name a few!

Change of plans

The Illinois / Indiana workers' list this year says that I am to be in the southwest Indiana field with Gloria Edwards and Janet Nicol.  However, after a phone call a couple of weeks ago, the list is no longer accurate.  Alice Christopher, who has been laboring in South Carolina, has come to Indiana temporarily.  While she is here, she and I will be together in the northwest part of Indiana.  I was very much looking forward to being back in southwest IN as I was here three years ago and loved it.  However, I know that once I get to northwest IN, I will love it there as well.  I'm glad it always seems to work that way.  I don't know how long I will be there nor where I will go after Alice leaves.  What I do know is that it pays to be flexible and to fit in.  It certainly keeps life interesting!

On the road again...

Saturday, Oct. 8, I spent a good deal of the day on the road.  My day began in Lindenhurst, IL at Karmen's house.  At 7:15, I departed with Goshen, IN as my destination.  180 miles later, I arrived at Dave and Bonnie Wilson's.  I dropped off my extra things (winter clothes, extra toiletries, etc.) and headed for Kokomo, IN to pick up my co-worker, Janet Nicol.  Goshen to Kokomo is about 100 miles, so about two hours later, I arrived at the Hilligoss residence where Janet was waiting.  From there, our plan was to take two cars to Greenwood, IN and drop one of them off so that Alice, my soon to be co-worker, could use it while I was with Janet.  That leg of the journey was only 75 miles but took longer as I-465 turned into a parking lot about 5 miles before our exit.  Four lanes of traffic merging onto the shoulder slows things down a bit!  From Greenwood, Janet and I headed to Bedford, IN, where we would spend the night.  That was only 70 miles.  That brought my grand total for the day up to 425 miles.  I was glad to crawl into bed that night!

Farmer Girl

I love harvest time!  What better way to enjoy it than to be right in the middle of it?  Or, perhaps I should say at the tail end of it.  Dad is currently doing fall tillage for a local farmer.  So, when I rode with him on the tractor the other day, we were going through fields that had already been harvested.  The feeling of it was still in the air though.  And I will have to say, the tractor was pretty cool!  

View from the cab

Fleece wanted to drive.

Dad and Fleece

The whole outfit

A bit of perspective on the size of the thing

Illinois sunset

Guess what it is #4

#1

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A Walk in the Park

Equipped with our walking shoes and our trusty cameras, Karmen and I set off to capture, inasmuch as possible, the perfection of a beautiful autumn afternoon.  Sometimes it's best to just let the pictures do the talking.

Can you spot the deer?

Flexibility is often required for the perfect shot!

How to get from here to there with a busted ankle

Can you tell which method she prefers?