And now this is the time of year we take a ride up one of our favorite roads, the Kankamagus Highway in Conway, NH. We get some beautiful photos and this year was no different. We actually went to a different part of the state, more north, the previous week and found very little color. But this past week we went to the Kank (as it is fondly referred to up here) and found magnificent color. We also like to check out the various license plates to see where people come from to look at the beauty we have around us just a little over an hour away from where we live. Most people are from the east coast area: Maine, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and of course, Massachusetts. But we also see a lot from Florida and as far away as California! 

And now it is my favorite season of the year: Fall! There is so much to love about it; cooler weather, the changing of the leaves, fires in the fireplace (indoors and outdoors), apple-picking, hot cocoa, walks in the woods (and this year, electric bike rides with my new ebike!), soups and chowders, reading by the fireplace, apple and pumpkin pies, etc. So many things that I love about this season.

As we come to the end of summer, I look back on the variety of birds I enjoyed and the ones I missed. Over the years we used to get the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak but I haven't seen them for a few years now. We did change our bird feeder so that only the smaller birds (and not the squirrels) can access the sunflower seeds. Perhaps that has something to do with it. For a few years we were getting the Northern Tufted Flycatcher but I didn't see them this year. And every year since we've lived here we've had the Tree Swallow nesting in a couple of the houses we put out but I was sad not to see them this year. 

Many people declare that 'summer is over' when it is the end of August and Labor day is just a few days away. Somehow the Labor day weekend has come to mean the end of summer in much the same way Memorial day weekend at the end of May is known as the beginning of summer. 

Along with the abundance of birds in our yard we have been fortunate to catch sight of a deer or two as they make their way through the wild olive trees growing on our property. Just yesterday morning, for example, as we were getting ready to go golfing (our favorite summer activity) we saw a deer nibbling on some bushes at the back of our house. My husband Jim and I always pause to watch the beautiful animals, hoping they don't make their way to our hostas but happy to see them looking healthy as they munch on the variety of wild shrubs we have growing on our property.