An Ode to Fall

My connection is freakishly quick tonight (for dialup), and so I am able to post.  It has been a spectacular fall here. I cannot remember a year when the colors were more brilliant or lasted so long as they have in this autumn of 2012. I hardly knew where to look or what to photograph!  My photos can't do justice to the beauty I've experienced this year, and my words are inadequate.

Autumn is a feast for all of the senses. 

We see the colors, feel the cooling temperatures, taste sweet, freshly-pressed apple cider, hear the crunch of leaves underfoot and smell them as they burn. 

We mow the grass for the last time until spring.  We coil the garden hoses and winterize the spigots.  Shorts and sandals are packed away and sweaters and woolen socks are unpacked and shaken out. 

 An extra quilt is placed on the bed, and I spend a few extra minutes before sliding out of the warm covers in the morning. 

It is a glorious time to be outdoors!  Roadside markets are ablaze with great heaps of orange pumpkins and squash, and pots of many-colored chrysanthemums to be carried home and planted. 

Apples have ripened and fruits in all colors appear at the grocery store...my favorite is the Jonagold: juicy, crisp, and just sweet enough.

The rain and wind have taken down most of the leaves now, and most of the trees are bare. 

 The first flakes of snow will soon appear. 

I've been knitting, of course.  These socks were knit from bits and pieces of yarn that came from my sister's stash.  The pattern concept is called "Take 5" and requires that you change yarn colors every five rounds.  I knit them for a German group on Ravelry called RestEnd.  :- ) I don't speak German and cannot read group posts without running them through an online translater (always a source of amusement!), but they are a friendly and welcoming group, and have made me feel welcome.  I have a second pair of Take 5 socks nearly finished, just the toes to knit.

This is another pair of socks from the Big Bag O' Sock Yarn.  I think the yarn is from the Schafpate collection.  All of the yarn from this collection is completely produced in Germany: German sheep and shepherds, German spinners and dyers.  It is lovely yarn, with a wonderful hand and perfect bloom!  Each of these socks was knit from one long, unbroken length untangled from the great mass.  I've knit two pair so far, and have enough left for another pair or two in this color!

There is a little project currently being knit in the RestEnd group, called "Knubblechen".  I can hardly wait to finish a project or two so that I can start knitting along with the ladies!  I'll show them here when I've done one or two.

Bundle up...it's cold outside!