Autumn's Fading

Every day is one day closer to winter. That bone chilling, dreary time of year when I am stuck inside more than I would ever chose for myself.

Isn't that a cheery way to start a blog post? Unfortunately it is the truth. It is the truth that propels me out the door and into the world every day that it isn't raining or snowing. I want to capture as much of Autumn's fading beauty as I possibly can.

You will know by now, if you happened to read last week's curiosity post, that I have a new adventure companion. Scout, my youngest golden retriever. The week after we lost Riley and everybody had returned to college or work, Scout and I were alone. It was sad for both us being home surrounded by memories of Riley. So I decided to get us out of the house and go do some exploring. That first day we did a nice long hike, the weather was a balmy 75 degrees. Almost too hot for hiking but being the end of October I really wasn't going to complain.

We were gone a couple of hours. It was the perfect start to our exploring. A couple of days later we went on a longer trial run. I wanted to see how he would do going someplace and having to sit and wait while I took some photographs. I chose a Covered Bridge and Park a little over an hour from our house.

This park also had a great historic barn. This was where Scout's patience and sitablity was tested. He still did great, although he never wanted me too far away from him.

We had lunch at the roadside park which inspired last week's post. Then we did a little more back roads exploring and returned home. Four hours out and he still did great.

So this past week I decided we would go big and be gone for most of the day. We left the house at nine in the morning. I figured to make the day the best for him we would need to break it up with some hiking and some car riding. Our first stop was a nature preserve that is about a half hour from our house. It has nice hiking trails and a beautiful boardwalk over the water.

We worked on our selfies. We still have some work to do on these.

A little tired out now, Scout laid down on the backseat. We then set off for our destination, a road side park in New Era about an hour's drive from where we were. Once there I took the photos I needed for my story while he rooted around under the outdoor grills searching for any possible leftover delectables. Since there wasn't any place near by to get something to eat for me, we continued on with our exploring.

We found ourselves in Fremont for lunch. I knew of a nice little park next to Fremont Lake where we could eat. I stopped at Subway on our way there. It was a little chilly by the lake but we (I) was dressed for the weather. He was so happy to finally eat his lunch then he sat patiently beside me while I ate mine. I was hoping to get a few selfies while we were there, but it was a little too windy and cold to linger long.

After leaving the lake I knew the exact back roads route I wanted to take to get us back home. I had done this adventure last year and knew there was an old abandoned schoolhouse where I could stop and get some photos. I was so glad to see that it was still standing. You just never know with places like this.

I had debated about taking this shot because the light wasn't coming from the best angle, but I am so glad that I did. It is my favorite from the day.

I decided on one last stop before we went home. Eastmanville Farm which has some lovely hiking trails and some glorious red outbuildings.

After hiking those trails, Scout was plume tuckered out. Back in the car he promptly laid down on the backseat and fell asleep.

We arrived back home about four in the afternoon. A full day of it for sure. He was one tired adventure dog that night.

This week has potential for snow to be falling so I doubt we will get out, but I am hopeful for another adventure or two before the end of the year.