Maple leaves
How can we enjoy the month of November?
We know it can be a month of dull weather, rain and wind.
Some of the things I really love to do in this month are
Daily walks
Getting into nature as often as possible
Collecting colourful leaves to press
Making hearty warming soups
Inventing new ways of capturing interesting images with my camera
(even when the weather confines me to the home).
Handiwork which means lots of colourful crochet for me!
Despite windy days and some rain, we have had some beautiful sunny days too
in this first week of November.
Walking fifteen minutes down to the park always lifts my spirits.
I see how the leaves have changed since last time I went.
The sun was illuminating the beech leaves in the late afternoon sunshine.
Maple leaves in different shades of orange
dancing against a background of evergreens.
A flowerbed of deep orange Chrysanthemums
with leaves falling from the Tulip Tree above.
Look how the Gingko Tree has turned golden since I last showed you
through the same archway.
I love the carpet of fallen leaves.
Another cascading branch of Maple leaves turning deeper shades of orange.
Walking back home, I noticed the lovely leaves on one of the trees in my street.
I picked several of them up from the ground to make a leaf collage.
Last Saturday, my daughter and I decided to go walking in the vineyards
because the weather was so fantastic.
The wind was blowing and it created pretty ruffles on the surface of the lake.
We started our walk on the steep slopes of a village called Chexbres
It stands at an altitude of 589 metres.
We walked along the vineyards above the lake and a view on the mountains
I never tire of these views, They change constantly according to the lighting.
There is already snow on the higher mountains.
Steep stone steps leading up to the vines.
Notice the red rose bush planted at the top.
The sun was right opposite me when I took this photo,
but the vineyards are so lovely that I didn't mind that big white glare on the lake.
One of the small roads coming up the slopes.
Cars are not allowed here.
Vine leaves changing colour and illuminated by the sun.
We decided to do quite a long walk two villages further on
so that we could take the train back to our homes from there.
It was actually further than we thought and there were very steep parts
to walk uphill!
In the end, we walked 17.917 steps
which turned out to be 12.5 kilometres!
A nice flat part before the climb.
The last photo I took before the very steep part.
I think I was too tired to take more photos!
We had a leisurely drink on an outside terrace at the Auberge de Grandvaux
before catching the train.
What a wonderful outing with so much walking.
The Dahlia are still blooming on my balcony very prettily.
A close-up of one of my geraniums.
Don't you love the little star in the centre and that tiny curl on the petal on the right?
I finished my autumn colours crochet since my last blog entry.
I made a tabletop Mandala. 15cm in diameter.
The two smaller doilies are useful for a mug of hot drink
and my Essential Oil Vaporiser.
The colour of the autumn leaves was the inspiration for my choice of colours.
I may already have started a new crochet project in red, white and green!
I'm an early bird and I like to get up, make a hot herb tea, often peppermint,
light a candle and read.
You can see the Autumn Mandala in place on the small round table next to my couch.
I hope that you are finding lovely ways to enjoy this month of November.
Oh Sandra, your pictures are fantastic. What an amazing walk and autumn leaves.
ReplyDeleteJacquie x
Thanks, Jacquie. It's so lovely to be able to enjoy outside outings in November and to have sunshine too! The leaves are falling fast now on many of the trees. The wind is helping them a great deal!
DeleteCiao Sandra, I was waiting for a post. I must say that I spied different times today... I have breakfast with green tea, that some friends send me from England. Even if we have some problems with packages with brexit new rules. I see that you read in French: search for this book “ La première gorgée de bière”, by Philippe Delerm.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed your pictures and walk around the lake. We are having lots of rain since different days, after months of dry.
Have a nice week full of what you like and the persons you love,
Miriam
Hello Miriam! So nice to see you! Your green tea sounds lovely for breakfast. Yes, I do sometimes read in French and I looked up the title of the book you mentioned. It seems to be rather charming and I have ordered a copy! Thank you!
DeleteWe have had a little rain, but lots of wind and also thankfully, a generous amount of sunshine. We now need jackets and scarves!
Thank you for another lovely calming blog post full of beauty.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Sarn xxx
So glad you enjoyed these nature shots of our surprisingly sunny November during this first week!
DeleteWhat beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing your walks here. As always your crochet work is lovely, thank you for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteChristine
Thank you, Christine. Glad you enjoyed coming on the walks with us! I love crocheting in the colder months of the year. It's always a lovely way of bringing colour into my daily life during the duller grey days of the year!
DeleteGood morning, Sandra! I thoroughly enjoyed your beautiful fall photos just now--each one perfectly captures the beauty of autumn. The vineyard walk looks so pretty--that is wonderful that your daughter lives nearby so that you can take these trips together. It actually has been a lovely November here so far--warm and sunny. I am making a pot of soup as I type this and look forward to pulling it out of the freezer on colder days.
ReplyDeleteLovely crochet and I'll look forward to seeing what your Christmas creation will be! Enjoy your week ♥
Hello Carol! Yes, it's nice that my daughter and I do fun outings together. We plan on going to an Arboratum tomorrow as the sunny weather will continue - even if there's a cold wind blowing!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you're having a similar November to us here. It will make winter feel less long! There's nothing like homemade soups in the winter months!
My Christmas crochet should be finished by December!