Tag Archives: fall

Fall In Mahopac

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“I hope I can be the autumn leaf, who looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift.”-Dodinsky

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love—that makes life and nature harmonize.”-George Eliot

“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.”-Unknown

Fall is without a doubt the best time of the year. The long hot days are gone, but the misery of winter hasn’t gotten here yet. Not that I don’t like Winter, but if it is a really, really cold one, it’s no fun. Having a lot of snow doesn’t have the same allure that it did when my kids were young!

So I went for a walk today in the woods that surround my house for the sole purpose of taking some pictures so I could write this blog entry. I love the sound of the leaves as they crunch under my feet and the warmth of the sun as it makes its way through the trees. It is beyond description and it is a shame that it only lasts for a short time.

I hope that you enjoy the photos!

This is about 100 feet outside of my house.
You can see from the light in the background that many trees have fallen during the storms we have had over the years.
We all end up here sooner or later.
A solitary leaf before it separates and begins its slow journey towards death.
I love trees in Black and White.
Although it was chilly, the sun coming through the trees was enough to warm me.

A Beautiful Fall Morning

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“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”

– George Eliot

Today was a beautiful day in the Hudson Valley. Thankfully, my daughters hockey game was early enough in the morning that I was able to get some good pictures at Trinity Pawling school prior to her game.

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2017 Favorites (2)

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My second favorite photo of the year was taken after a late afternoon hike in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. It was getting dark very quickly and the temperature was somewhere in the mid 40’s. Even though it was a short hike, it was a good one.

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2017 Favorites

Transformation

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“I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder.”
— Ansel Adams
“We must go and see for ourselves.”
— Jacques Cousteau

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One of the things that I love most about fall hiking are the trees. No longer covered in leaves, the bare branches stand a lonely guard over the rest of the woods. I don’t know why, but I find that once they have been prepped for winter, they are truly fascinating. At dawn or under a clear blue sky, each branch, large and small, present themselves as the one true guardian of nature as it sinks into its winter slumber.

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The transformation that has taken place in the woods at Ward Pound Ridge over the last month and a half has been incredible. My first exposure to these trails was late July, when summer was already in full swing. Now, as time passes and the leaves have fallen, the view changes almost daily.

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Happy Hiking!!!

2017 Mileage:

11/24/17-4.1-331.42

Transformation

The Last Hike Of (Official) Summer (31)

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“When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness? Whatever it is, it’s welcome.”
-Kristin Armstrong

It felt really good to get out hiking again. With the start of school and traveling for my daughters hockey team, it makes it difficult to get out as often as I would like. As it is with the transitioning seasons, you never know what the weather is going to be like. It turns out that the last two weeks of August and the first week in September were cooler than it was today.

At the start of the  hike today it was 71 degrees and very humid.  Despite how sticky the air was, a nice breeze fell over the woods at the start and stayed with me the entire hike. As you can see in the picture below, it was still dark when I started at 6:00 am. For the first time ever, I forgot my camera at home. As a result, the pictures here were taken with my cell phone. And…since my cell phone is not on the upper end, the pictures aren’t that good!

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A 6 am photo taken with my lousy cell phone!

The great thing about hiking during these several weeks going into fall is that everything is evolving. You can see evidence of the leaves changing but the majority of the trees are still green. Soon, however, the woods will be transformed-the color, texture and the smell, until is looks like a giant bowl of stuffing. That is why fall is the best season of the year!

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The leaf covered trail with green still in the background.

Happy Hiking!!!

Summer 2017 Mileage:

9/21/17-6.0-181.22

Another Poem About Fall

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Dark brown, orange and yellow life sway  in the cool October breeze.

Fragile and clinging to life, each one fears what they can’t escape,

The inevitable forcing them to hold on, the quest for one more day.

The days pass, the grip loosens and darkness overwhelms them- 

Floating gently to the ground, memories of sweet summer days fade.

Meeting the earth, it welcomes them promising new life, another chance

At…Death? Rebirth?

 

Weed Orchard & Winery

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Fall is officially here in the Hudson Valley of New York! The leaves are turning, temperatures are cooler, a nice breeze is blowing and the sky is blue. What does that mean? Perfect apple picking weather.

We decided to head up to Weed Orchards & Winery, located in Marlboro, NY. An easy 50 minute drive from where I live in Mahopac, it offers everything that you would expect from an orchard. Even the car ride (mostly on highways) provided us with some pretty nice views of the landscape.

Pulling up to the Winery, we parked on a grassy hillside and walked a short distance to where you got the bag you would need to store the apples that you would pick.

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After speaking with several friendly people, we headed towards the orchards. Although they offer many different types of apples, we just followed the many signs that sent us in the direction of where we needed to be.

Most of the apples that we picked were either green (the kind my daughter likes), or red, the type the rest of us will eat. We found that the closer to the main road you were ended up not offering as many choices as when you moved up the rows and further away from the crowds. These apples tended to be lower to the ground and didn’t require the extra effort needed when they were higher up in the trees.

One of the more interesting things about this orchard is that it does have things that will keep smaller children occupied. You can pick pumpkins, feed animals and just wander the many acres of dirt roads. If you look carefully at the first picture below, you can see the top of the wooden structure that is in the middle of the corn maze.

Before you leave, I would strongly suggest visiting the bakery, as they had many different types of cakes, cookies, pies, jams and soups that will satisfy just about every taste.

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Here are some assorted photos from around the orchard: