On The Threshold of Fall

It's Columbus Day today, and normally we would be at peak for our fall leaf watching. But we haven't had a hard frost yet (there's one due overnight tonight), so we're running about a week behind for full color. That's not to say there's nothing to look at. Far from it! I spent yesterday afternoon helping DH in the yard, getting the general shed layout and setting up exactly where on the pad we want the shed placed. Then we started work on leveling. It's not bad, but the more level it is, the less we will have to rely on shims that will eventually rot out. The foundation of the shed is galvanized steel, but any minor adjustments will be shims. 

I had a chance to look around and took a few photos to share with you. A small slice of fall heaven in my own backyard. 

A glimpse of the sky through maple leaves as we relaxed in our little
alcove with a drink while getting up the energy to start making dinner. 

Nearby, on the ground, a few red leaves from another maple, along with
miscellaneous detritus and pine needles. 

The shed will be going here. You can see the basic outline by our 2x4's on
the ground. It's quite large - 8x14 feet. At the back end is the drop off
to our creek. 

Our creek was looking particularly lovely with the reflections of
the sky and the gentle ripples. In a storm, however, the creek runs
high and fast, almost rising all the way up to our yard's height. 

Back to our more settled section, here's a lovely look at an array of
mushrooms growing on stumps from some of the many trees we've pulled
down over the past two years. 

Here's a detail shot of the one stump, for all of my friends who also adore
looking at mushrooms. 

It's lovely details like this - the trees and their leaves, the creek and the variety of plant and animal life in my little corner of suburbia that makes me want to continue living here for as long as we can. We're due for our first hard frost overnight, so the leaves should start changing quite quickly now. I hope you have a great Monday and an excellent start to your week.