Oh Autumn..Why must you tease me so?

Hello friends....happy to see you here.

It seems the days are going past me at such speed lately.

I am trying to savor the last of

 Autumn's beauty

before it is gone for another year.

This past Sunday

Mr. Secret Agent and I

went on a kind of 

'Date Day'

We headed out in search of 

Autumn.

We drove down Rt. 211 towards the quaint little village of

 Sperryville, Virginia.

Looks like someone installed new golden wall to wall

 or should I say curb to curb

carpeting.

Doesn't 

Mother Nature

have a great eye for color?

This carpenter has been crafting the most wonderful tables

for as long as I have lived here.

His store sign always makes me smile.

We took a few less traveled side roads and guess who we found?

Aren't these guys 

Adorable

The little one on the left ran right up to me.

We chatted for a while and

he told me that he loves living on this farm

with his friends.

He invited us for lunch, but we gracefully declined.

we had more adventures ahead.

He was sad to see us go

We drove towards Old Rag Mountain 

and found some lovely small settlements nestled at the foothills of

The Blue Ridge Mtns.

 

The Shenandoah Valley is really a spectacular

place to live.

Every season brings a new beauty.

I think you would be hard pressed to find another state with more 

miles of  wonderful

horse fencing.

Mr. Secret Agent was in his element when we

discovered this tranquil waterway.

Dreaming of Fly-fishing

We found posted signs on trees that declared it a public fishing

area.

The state stocks the Rose River with trout and opens it to the public.

Mr Secret Agent liked this.

Take a good look guys

this is most likely the last 

sighting of

Mr. Secret Agent

We stopped by the Sharp Rock Vineyard 

and walked around a bit.

They have a very serene spot to sit and daydream.

I wish you could hear the calming sound of the rushing water.

This water is so crystal clear

We could see every pebble and rock at the bottom.

In some areas the color is intense 

and in others it is very subtle

and fading fast.

Just when you think all the leaves have fallen...

Bam!

You come across a beauty like this.

So after three hours

looking high and low for 

Autunm

we headed home

Only to find great color was right in my own 

backyard.

My lollypop Cleveland Pears

in all their glory.

My own Japanese Maple trees are glowing with a golden/russet color.

The Maple tree I planted 10 years ago

 is dropping her 

golden leaves

to carpet my lawn.

The Bradford pear trees along my driveway get more intense

every day.

Soon the birds will be snaking on the berries.

After spending most of the day
hunting down
Autumn
We drove up our driveway
only to realize
We had it all along...
We just needed to look.

Until next time...be kind and stay creative.