Then & Now
The field behind our house, 17 September 2009:
The field behind our house, 20 December 2009:
(Both of these pictures were taken around 4pm.)And look at this drift outside my bedroom window--isn't it beautiful?
Apple-Picking
Last weekend I went apple-picking with Angela, Matt, Kelly and Jeff at the Warwick Valley Winery.
We got cider (I had raspberry, yum!) and took our cups into the orchard for some one-handed picking. (Kelly also picked up a bottle of pear liqueur, which unfortunately tasted like turpentine, or maybe rubbing alcohol. However we described it at the time was very hilarious to me, but unfortunately I can't remember what it was. A couple pints of cider makes one very merry, but rather forgetful.)
We spent the night at Matt's family cabin in Highland Lakes in Sussex County, which is an absolutely gorgeous part of New Jersey-- especially with all the fall foliage--and Kelly was finally forced to stop calling it "Dirty Jerz." Bwahahaha!
We got to the cabin late in the afternoon, and went for a walk by the lake.
There was a wedding going on in the clubhouse, and we considered crashing it, but contented ourselves with frolicking on the tiny beach:
(What a ham.)
(The view from the road.)Things I neglected to take pictures of: inside the oh-so-cozy cabin, with an old wood-burning stove; apple pie and apple turnovers; rock-climbing in Montclair on Sunday afternoon (or attempted rock-climbing, in my case. I wimped out of climbing and only rappelled down, while Kelly kicked butt both up and down, and Matt and Angela of course made it look easy-peasy.)One more awesome thing: Matt's grandmother's collection of owl figurines.
Autumn in NJ, part 2
(Autumn in New Jersey, part 1.)
In New Jersey I live a pleasant fifteen-minute walk from the local library, where I do a lot of my writing. I was on my way there last week, still enjoying the fall foliage, when what should emerge from these woods...
...but a pair of deer! They sprinted across these fields and then bore left, back towards the trees.
I live in what feels like a heavily populated area, so this wildlife sighting was a real delight. It made my day.
Quedlinburg next time. For real!
Autumn in New Jersey
I know, I know, I've fallen down on the job--there are still so many more photos from Germany to share! I'm back in Jersey until October 19th, and it's been really busy around here with my aunt Debbie (from Arizona) and our cousins from Italy coming and going. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately, and the fall foliage is stunning. Here are a few pics from my neighborhood.
