NW Wisconsin in November

 Echinacea

It's official - November has come to our backyard.

I took the photos on the 6th. Things can change quickly in November.

 Purple Asters

 Leaves Frozen in Birdbath

 The Picnic Table

 Nearly Everywhere in the Yard - Frosty Maple Leaves

A Typical November Day

View From our Deck

November is not my favorite month. With dreary overcast skies and the humid cold that chills to the bone, it's a good thing it has only 30 days. :-)

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This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and Barn Hop and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  The Marketplace  and  and  Market Yourself Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Le Chateau des Fleurs and   Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and   Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Adorned From Above and  Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Weekly Top Shot and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special

October Fields, etc.

 Neighbor Bill's Hay Bales
October, late afternoon

There are times in the late afternoon when the sun is at just the right angle to make all the colors of the hay field and woods almost glow with deeper, richer tones. I love that time of day! And of course, fall is my very favorite time of year! While our kids were all still living at home, we celebrated Thanksgiving in mid-October. It's a great time for a celebration, and who wouldn't feel thankful when surrounded by all this beauty God has given us!

 Corn field south of the house

We're having an extraordinary October, starting with great weather for our son's wedding, and now several days where the daytime highs have been in the upper 70s or lower 80s. Except for digging the potatoes and picking the remaining peppers that should ripen in the sunshine this week, the garden is done for the year. It's kinda nice it works out this way, for I suspect that my waning enthusiasm for gardening is shared by many.

 Just one more shot of one of the maple trees in the backyard
They start out with green leaves in the summer, of course, then they turn to gold, then orange, then a deep rust color. I love late afternoon when the sunlight shines through the leaves.

I took this photo just a couple days ago, but we've had a good strong, dry wind since then and many of those leaves are now on the ground, where we all enjoy shuffling through them and hearing that wonderful, crunchy sound of the leaves beneath our feet. It was beautiful weather when our oldest son and four of their children came to visit last weekend. It was perfect for being outdoors. This is what I love about October - cooler, drier, bright sunshine, and full of color!  It's almost hard to imagine that cold, bleak, dreary, and icy November (when we rarely see sunshine) is just around the corner. It's definitely a transition month.

 Sunset over pines in west field

The sun sets fast. There was a beautiful sunset, and in the time it took for me to run to the house to get the camera and get back (about three minutes), it had lost a little of the previous color. We're losing daylight fast this time of year. It's dark when we get up in the morning and dark by about 7 PM. And this is only October!  I don't think I'd enjoy living in Lapland, where winter days contain only four hours of daylight.

 Soybean field in the morning

I think these beans are about ready to harvest. I'm hoping we'll have alfalfa in this field next year, for the dogs and I miss our walking trail. (It's a lot harder to make a trail through the soybean field.) We were just noticing tonight that the soybeans have dropped their leaves and now it's just the stalks and bean pods remaining.

October at New Scandinavia Church 
before the fire in early December 2010 destroyed it

It still seems strange to drive past that gaping hole in the ground where New Scandinavia once stood. I miss seeing this view on my way home from Rice Lake.