November Takes a Bow

A pink rose in my neighbourhood.

The first half of November was warm with blue skies

and many flowers continued blooming

for our greatest joy!

Leaves started to turn golden and orange and the red berries were plentiful

Falling leaves decorate the cars in my street

These Lantana flowers were still flowering down in the park.

The graceful white Cosmos too.

Probably one of the most beautiful leaves in the autumn

are the Maple, especially against the blue of the sky.

This tree is in my neighbourhood

The fallen leaves create a carpet of red and orange stars.

Some of them get caught in the fence

Golden leaves and generous blue skies for the month of November

I often pass a whole fence of Morning Glory blooms

when I walk home from the metro stop which brings me up away from the town centre.

American Oak leaves down in the park

right at the beginning of the month when the beech trees in the background

still had green leaves.

Now the autumn chrysanthemums have been planted and these were joined

by a fallen Tulip Tree leaf.

Pretty cloud formations dance in the sky

The wind coaxes them into different shapes continually

My daughter had her birthday at the end of October and she came to celebrate it

here at the beginning of November and we all ate birthday cake!

I made this one with dark chocolate and ground almonds.

I recently heard about something called Fika.

Fika is an important part of Swedish culture where people meet mid-morning,

or mid-afternoon for a 'fikarast' or 'fikapaus' for a coffee (or drink of one's choice)

with preferably a cinnamon bun, or something similar.

This was taken on November 7th, when I started crocheting squares

to make a winter blanket!

Here are some of the different stages

I chose the colours to represent frost and snow and snug winter days.

Can you recognize the squares that make you think of holly and red berries?

I hope to finish this blanket by mid-December.

I also crocheted some lightly stuffed hearts to give as gifts.

The pattern is called Sunburst Hearts and is from a pattern by Bunny Mummy

Since there will soon be no more flowers or colour in nature,

I wanted to end this blog entry with a collage of colour.

The days are still getting shorter and the temperatures are going down.

We'll soon be getting zero Celsius at night

and then there will be snow!

I hope that you're enjoying the season and using these long evenings for occupations

that you really enjoy!

How to Enjoy November

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.

The Vibrant Colours of Autumn

 

Not long ago, the leaves started to change from green to 

hues of gold and orange.

Some leaves turn pink and then red

Just walking in my neighbourhood, I can enjoy the daily changes.

Bright and shiny in the sunlight

Beautifully shaped.

Falling leaves get caught in branches and enjoy the sunshine

before falling down to the ground.

I love to walk down to the big Mon Repos Park in Lausanne

and it only takes between fifteen to twenty minutes from my home.

It's my way of getting into nature despite my town environment.

I love the colourful leaves of the oak and to see the ripening acorns.

The pond is always beautiful to contemplate and there are still some lily-pads.

The blue sky and trees are reflected in the water.

The big American Oak leaves have already taken on a burnished look.

Acer leaves in vibrant red brighten up darker corners.

Another fallen leaf, resting in an evergreen tree, backlit by the late afternoon sunshine.

The Chrysanthemums are filling out the flower beds.

I particularly liked this colour which blended so well with the colour of the fallen leaves.

The leaves from my strawberry plants have changed colour.

I have had a really good crop of fruit this year!

The Beech leaves are among my favourites against the soft dappled background.

I have taken so many photos this autumn

 that it would make this blog entry far too long to add them all here, 

so I'll make several entries during this month of November to include the most beautiful ones.

We are now in our second wave of Covid-19,

we are told to be very careful and follow strict hygiene rules.

Restaurants and cafés have closed,

but shops have remained open.

It's best to avoid crowds and enclosed spaces and to wear a medical mask.

One day, we shall be free of all these strict rules,

but in the meantime, we find joy in the wonders of nature.

I hope that you are well.

Take care!