October Flew By

The title says it all. I’m surprised that this month is almost over. October is the quintessential autumn month and I love that about it. I’ve made sure to do a number of standard fall activities so here is a little montage of my month.

My boyfriend and I like to go canoeing on the lake near his house. This was a bit earlier in the month so the foliage wasn’t quite as beautiful as it is now.

We also went apple picking one day. I hadn’t been apple picking since I was a child so it was fun to wander up and down the rows, eating and picking the perfect apples. But my favorite part was the apple cider doughnuts we had at the farm stand afterwards.

This photo was taken at Leominster State Forest, near where I grew up. My brothers and I used to swim here during the summers when we were kids so it was nice to go back for a visit and a little hike through the woods.

I’m not sure what kind of fungus this is but it’s so cool looking!

Last weekend, I went for a walk in the cranberry bogs in Hanson. It was nice because it offered such open views of the foliage. It’s all flat so you can walk for a few miles without feeling like you went far.

Charlie enjoyed it of course.

These winterberries were so pretty and vivid against the grey sky.

Now I’m looking forward to Halloween! I’ve ordered a costume from Amazon that is supposed to arrive tomorrow so I hope it fits. Fingers crossed!

I feel a little sad when autumn slips away, but I feel that way at the end of every season. I enjoy the fall so much that I wish it lasted a bit longer but I don’t mind winter and I’m so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love holidays! There’s always so much to look forward to at this time of year.

I’m going to be posting some of the things I’ve started making for my nieces and nephew here on the blog. They are Christmas presents but I almost can’t wait to give them to them. I always get so excited about giving presents to people when I know they will love them.

Norris Reservation in Norwell, MA

Last weekend I went for a hike at the Norris Reservation in Norwell, MA. It had very well-maintained trails and lovely scenery. I went with Shawn, our friend Lauren, and her brother Chris (and their small dog, Charlie). Together we had a grand little hike in the November woods.

At the start of the trails, somebody had decorated a couple of trees for Christmas!

Adorableness.

It was a grey day, making it feel especially seasonal.

We had to sort out a makeshift leash for Charlie because there were lots of signs around the preserve about keeping your dog on a leash. Plus there were a lot of other people out walking. Chris had some tie-down straps in his car that we tied to Charlie’s sweater. And away we went!

Although we hiked for miles, it didn’t feel like it because there was constantly something to see along the way. Like this tree that had fallen over.

I was asking Shawn not to get my feet in the shot because I thought my sneakers looked a bit nerdy. I can’t tell if it’s more cool that I want stylish sneakers or less cool that I even care.

We came across this spot that seemed to be a little spiritual/druid/Wiccan shrine. We’re not really sure what philosophy or religion it was affiliated with but there was a wreath made of sticks hanging from a tree, which is a little too Blair Witch if you ask me.

There was also this mysterious pink stone on the ground.

When we flipped it over there was a pentagram on the other side. There were also a few burnt scraps of paper.

I loved this tree! It looked like it had great big lips and was eating the old rusted sign.

There were a lot of beautiful details to appreciate along the way.

Overall, a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.