A Fall Day in the South

[Beth Larpenter-Shurbutt]

We had a nice day. We attended a Fall Festival at a local Dairy and then visited a cemetery nearby. Here are some of the photos that I took.

[Beth Larpenter-Shurbutt]

I'm not sure if you can see the sign in the last photo that says, "Dead End"

I couldn't pass that up!

[Beth Larpenter-Shurbutt]

The stickers on the back of this tombstone caught my attention. There was a package of little dolls in the front. I guess we all deal with grief in different ways.

Only in the south would you see the "Stars and Bars" sticker on a tombstone.
Beth

[Jill Mickelson]

LOVE YOUR PICTURES! The tombstone one is sad...."precious Lord take my hand"....what great words to have on a tombstone! Is that a goat in the second picture? Trees are pretty...ours didn't get that bright! Love the cow picture with you nearby....my friend is an artist and made a cow out of junk and painted it.....she stores corn cobs in it for her corn cob stove! Thanks for sharing your great pictures! jill

[Beth Larpenter-Shurbutt]

That is a goat. He was curious and I took advantage of the moment! Those are my daughters, standing by the cow. It was a fun day.

Our leaves haven't been very pretty either. We have had a hot summer and not much rain. Most of the leaves are just turning brown. A few trees are pretty and I try to capture them with my camera.

Beth

[Jill Mickelson]

Beth...I LOVE THE GOAT PICTURE! And this is a REALLY NEAT picture of a goat! I was waiting for some goat slobber....hahaha! THANKS! Keep the pictures coming! jill

[Barbara Moulton]

We had a nice day. We attended a Fall Festival at a local Dairy and then visited a cemetery nearby. Here are some of the photos that I took.

So you get fall colours in Alabama? I didn't know that.

[Barbara Moulton]

The stickers on the back of this tombstone caught my attention. There was a package of little dolls in the front. I guess we all deal with grief in different ways.



I have noticed a lot of people making little shrines like this in cemetaries. It's a relatively recent thing that seems to have started happening. People seem to want to leave something to connect with the individual who died.

It's odd, I haven't been to my mother's grave in ten years.

[Jill Mickelson]

Barbara, I don't go to graves either. I "see" my loved ones in Heaven so I just don't "get it": the practice of going to a grave? My Sister-in-law loves to go to cemetaries and reads the grave stones, and think about the lives of the people who have died. I've gone with her a few times. If I am missing my loved ones, I have asked Jesus to give them a hug from me and tell them that I love them!

[Beth Larpenter-Shurbutt]

Barbara:
The leaves are usually very vibrant during the fall but this year they were not because we've not had any rain. With all the hurricanes that have been our way you'd think that would not be the case but it is. Most of the leaves have just turned brown and dropped off. Remember that we live at the foothills of the Appalachain Mountain Range. It is very hilly around here.
Beth

[Barbara Moulton]

Barbara:
The leaves are usually very vibrant during the fall but this year they were not because we've not had any rain. With all the hurricanes that have been our way you'd think that would not be the case but it is. Most of the leaves have just turned brown and dropped off. Remember that we live at the foothills of the Appalachain Mountain Range. It is very hilly around here.
Beth

We haven't had the vibrant colours either. And wind...my goodness the wind. It's been incredible. Took all the leaves off the trees in a matter of a few hours overnight.

So how will the seasons advance now for you? Will you have some bare trees? How cold will it get. When will the trees bud?

Inquiring minds want to know. We have such dramatic differences in the seasons here...I like to know what others experience.

[Beth Larpenter-Shurbutt]

All the leaves will drop with the exception of the evergreens, mostly the Southern Longleaf Pine.

Right now it is 80 degrees!!! It usually doesn't get below 25 degrees. That is very rare. It usually stays very mild. We rarely get snow. The exception to that was the Blizzard of 1994 when it snowed almost 3 feet. That was RARE. We've not gotten enough to mention since.

When it does freeze up or snow a little, everything shuts down! Schools are closed and all non-essential positions are sent home. Most people do not know how to drive under freezing conditions and it's just better to stay home!

The trees usually begin budding in early April although with this warm winter we've had, I saw a tree budding yesterday!!!!

Beth