I see bits of fall color around town but it's a bit early for the real burst of color. On Saturday Dale and I drove down to Aquabi to hike and search for Fall color. It was a beautiful day for hiking but out in the woods almost everything is still very green. It was a great excuse for a hike and I expect that we will find lots more color in a couple of weeks.
Because I love this season I will try to stretch it out as long as possible. I always make a trip to Howell's in October but decided that the last Saturday in September could be just as nice. It was certainly less crowded and just as beautiful. I did buy a couple of pumpkins and a mum but the best part is the photography at Howell's. There is so much to see and it feels so much like Autumn. I am so excited that October has five weekends this year and I even got a head start!
What a perfect Friday afternoon. I usually have a short day on Friday so I took advantage of the perfect weather. I took my knitting, camera and lawn chair to Lake Heron.
For over two hours I sat knitting and enjoying nature. I may just look for some yarn with this palette; water, sand, trees, sky and clouds. It was peaceful and entertaining. I watched the clouds and the seagulls as I knitted a few more stripes on my latest project. The geese gave me a great show also. There were dozens of geese but these two stopped right in front of me to bathe, preen and nap. What a perfect afternoon for the first day of Autumn.
I love it when family visits! Ashley, Travis and Mowgli came last weekend. We went to a couple of favorite restaurants and the Latino Heritage Festival but my favorite part was just hanging around at home; cooking, talking and just being together! 
I have just one last task to complete with these Christmas Stockings. I will stitch my grandson's name in the red band on his stocking after he arrives. For now I think it's time to take them down and send them home with Ashley and Travis. It was a very enjoyable project and I actually liked having the stockings hanging all summer. It will be fun to see them come out again in December at Ashley and Travis' house.
Another "Grammy project" is done! I am having so much fun preparing for this baby boy! I am quilting, knitting and painting. Do Grandma's nest? It's all new to me. I know it will be more than a year before my grandson rides this rocking horse but it looks cute for now.
Although I have about fifteen things that I really should be doing, I decided to dig into this project on Sunday. I had the fabrics, the inspiration and motivation for a few weeks but kept thinking that I should stay on track with my to-do list. So now my creation is taking over my living space. I think most people use tables when they quilt but I use the floor and the coffee table. The sewing machine is on the dining room table and the iron is in the kitchen. I have got to get this cleaned up by the weekend but for now I don't mind the mess one bit!
I learned how to duplicate stitch and it was very fun! The funny part is that this stocking is not mine...it's Ashley's! How crazy to imagine my baby being a mom!
It's a great time of the year for produce. I have appreciated having grape and cherry tomatoes on my patio this year. It's probably even motivated me to eat more healthy, but the scale won't prove that. Maybe next year I will plant more!
I just love my canvas! Ashley and Travis gave this to me for my birthday. We hung it right away but I didn't photograph or blog about it. This image is one that Ashley photographed at Living History Farms and I just love it! Twice this week a guest in my home said, "Where did you get that?" It was fun to tell them that Ashley created it!
High School football season has started! It was so fun to watch my nephew, Jake play with the Mason City Mohawks on Friday night. I just wish it hadn't been 92 degrees. This was not football weather.
Sunday night was our annual visit to the Dayton Rodeo. I always enjoy it more than I expect. The weather was perfect; in the sixties. I don't know this man in the photo but I got to see lots of the back of his big hat every time there was action on the left side of the arena.
Since it's Labor Day, the last baseball game of the season and the last day for the swimming pool it does feel like the end of summer. Therefore it felt like a good day for ice cream, right? We went to our favorite custard place after the ball game. I decided that ice cream for dinner would be a very good idea; the last ice cream of the season. When I got there and saw that the pumpkin custard is here I realized that it really isn't the end of ice cream season at all. I didn't get the pumpkin today. I will make a trip back for that in October. So it's "good-bye summer" but it's not good-bye to ice cream season!
Today seems to mark the end of Summer. The pool will close later today and I will miss the opportunity to swim, socialize and exercise. Almost every day after work I head to the pool to exercise. I need to work hard to transfer that habit to biking or walking the trails near my home. I do love fall and the temperature changes have started already. 
