Rhonda Bracey: At Random

I’ve been in Michigan less than a week and already the Fall colours are fading fast. As an example,  the tree on the left in the first photo was captured about 3 days ago. The bottom photo shows that same tree this morning.  Yes the time of day and cloud cover and photo angle were different,  but the reality is that winter is coming.

Some more photos of the magnificent Fall foliage in Michigan this time of year,  though it’s fading fast just in the few days I’ve been here.

When I walked to the road to get this morning’s paper,  I heard a sound I hadn’t heard in a very long time… Canadian Geese honking as they head south for winter.

And as I walked to the road,  I took some photos of the corn that’s ready to harvest. Some ears are still intact,  but many on the stalks close to the road have been nibbled on by the deer.

Finally, the outside temperature yesterday suited me just fine!

What’s more American than a muscle car and a malt shop?

On the family farm,  which my cousin now owns,  is this great secluded pond that he had dug out of a swale in among the corn fields. It’s very private and unless you were in a plane going overhead,  or had been invited to a bonfire/BBQ or summer party there, you’d have no idea it existed.  There’s a diving board,  a dock,  a fire pit,  even a sandy beach,  and I believe there are bass and possibly turtles living in the pond,  which in parts is 30 feet deep. Because it hasn’t been used much recently (summer is long gone),  the sand is peppered with deer tracks.

As it was such a nice day,  my aunt and I took the ‘jitney’ through the corn fields to the pond and I took some pictures (no surprises there  😉 ).

The light late yesterday in rural Michigan where I’m staying was just stunning. And overnight there was frost everywhere,  all glistening in the early morning sunlight. Perfect for taking photos 😉

I’ll try to forget about locking myself out of the house for an hour until everyone else got up. Yes, it was cold!! Like only 34F when I came inside an hour later…

Here are some of the photos I took.

We don’t get autumn/fall colours in much of Australia,  though I did experience the wonder of their brilliance when I lived in Ontario,  Canada many years ago. I’d forgotten how stunning they were.

Yesterday I drove from Grand Rapids,  Michigan east on I-96, exiting at Lowell,  then driving east along M-21 towards St John’s. The trees along that route were in full colour and were just magnificent. The corn was ready to harvest, and there were pumpkin stands too, as well as quite a bit of decoration on houses and in yards for Halloween.

Here are a few of the photos I took.