Serendipity

There is a place that I am finding I stop at frequently while on walks around our property. At sunrise the wind picks up as the sun begins to peek over the horizon on these winter days, the white crowned sparrows in the hedgerow begin to stir as well. If I am lucky and stand quietly the occasional deer will move from a place where they have fed during the late evening to a place of safe haven for the day.

This month Venus has been the brightest morning star, it shows phases that I am unable to capture with my camera but I enjoy the idea that it is millions of miles away yet I can see it,

If I return at sunset and wait the geese arrive circling to land in the wetland over the hill to the east. Loudly announcing their arrival in the last few moments of light, they glide on the wind to settle in for the night.
Its been a good day.

Serendipity ~ The making of happy and unexpected discoveries by accident or when looking for something else; such a discovery. (src: Oxford Dictionary)

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Random Wanderings

With the amount of sunlight getting shorter each day there hasn't  been much time to get outside for  a hike  after getting  home from work. I decided  I would look through images taken over the past 3 weeks or so and pick a few out.

Crab Apple Sky

Crawford County Kansas

Cats still dancing in the overgrown bed,

frost on the pumpkin, frost on the bottle.

Kitten in the Barn

Jefferson County Kansas

Hay Loft Light

Jefferson County Kansas

In the loft

Jefferson County, Kansas

Thanksgiving at the farm

 We spent the Thanksgiving Holiday at my wife's family farm. The Land has been in the family continuously sine the territory was opened in the 1850s. Her ancestors settled here after immigrating from Germany. The barn is not the original, but its close to 100 years old.

I took a hike around the acreage past the cattle and back to the barn.

 A mismatched and multicolored group of kittens dashed to the safety of the old corners and feed bins. Except for a few brave souls.

 Where milking cows once stayed out of the cold Kansas winter nights with mules and draft horses, a lone pony now keeps the faith.

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Scenic Sunday Fall Colors

The first thing we did when we moved here into this pasture/field and built our home many years ago, was to plant three kinds of trees. Trees for fruit, trees for shade and trees for color in the fall. Each fall we are graced with color. Luckily, and not because of our foresight, the different  maples change and drop leaves at different times. They can be on fire with reds and yellows one day and bare the next if the wind is blowing. But at least a few hang on to give us a few more days.

During a windy walk last week I found myself being showered in leaves.

Leaves
by Elsie N. Brady

How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.  

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Skywatch Friday

A few photos from a walk out at Regal Prairie Last Night.

Last Light

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Bittersweet Hunt Time

Taking part in the fall ritual hunt for bittersweet along the fence rows on our property. This means disappearing into thick brush, with shears, gloves and a need to gather this bush.

Skywatch Friday

Looking West from the 26th floor

Kansas City 

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