The Red Ones Fall First........

Saturday's Structure.....

It is the last of the vines for the fall.  The cold has taken them out leaving empty grids of wood.

The Fall Glow......

The nursing home has been closed for years but the area around it has been kept up with trees and shrubs looking great.  It is for sale as you can see by the sign under the tree.  The tornado took out the houses across the street a few years back but the nursing home stood strong and sound.

Floating on Leaves.....

The concrete swan sits in the yard waiting for the snow.  I brought this him from my mom's front steps.  I do not know anything about it. She must have bought it at a garage sale or a friend pushed it her way.  It is unusual as it is so heavy and is difficult to move around.  I may move it under the shed roof to give it a little protection but I will not be carrying it to the basement.

A Day to Reflect.........

I looked down at the pond and saw the ash tree creating a great pattern in the water.  I have removed all of the fish getting the pond ready for winter.  Have a great Wednesday.

An Iowa Ditch............

While visiting friends north of where we live a few miles, we were able to take a hike around their property.  They have built a compact home and an artist studio on 14 acres of land that is near the Des Moines River area. They planted a prairie on a farm field right next to their house.

This photo shows the diversity of our landforms in Iowa. This is a ditch or large ravine that cuts through the back of their property. It cuts through the whole length of their property.  The deer love to live back in here.  When it rains the overflow will travel down the ravine but on a normal day their is no spring to feed the stream bed.

The glacier movement that formed Iowa cut many deep areas in our land.  We have a lot of flat land but it is broken up with these kind of areas near our rivers.  If you remember from a past photo, of a few years back, southern Iowa has rolling hills and deep ditches. The photo above shows those landforms.  I always like to drive by this area on the interstate as there are always cows grazing on the hills.

Front Steps.......

The hydrangea that had turned green is white again as it ages for it's final showing.  I can't believe how one stray sprig of this plant has spred and become tall and overgrown on the right side of my porch.  I need to trim it back so that the entrance to the front door won't be blocked.

As a footnote, at  the house in which I dug my one stray sprig of hydrangea, the owners have now removed all of their bushes from the front of their porch and replaced them with conifer shrubs and lots of red mulch.  There is not a sight of hydrangea at that house anymore. The house is for sale again.