A touch of fall, another good bye

While we were a little sad that we didn't get at least one booming thunderstorm while Barbara was here, we did enjoy mild temperatures and the peculiar golden light that is so unique to autumn.
On Tuesday morning I made Lovella's friend's blueberry scones for breakfast, and Bernie, Barbara and I lingered over breakfast, knowing our time together was drawing to a close.

It was a relaxing visit; Barbara had been here before, so we were not in a rush to see all of Houston or go do much of anything.
A Christmas fund raising craft show, a few sights around town, a couple of DVD movies and a bowl of pop corn was just the ticket for all of us.
Mostly it was a time for a Mom and her son to be together as friends, to talk about family and adventures, and life in general.
And to learn a few new tricks on a new computer. Barbara is learning computer skills like a champ.

Tiggie and Barbara are dear friends as well. He provided lots of laughs, as he always does. Here he is blending in with Autumn.
That is what faithful orange cats love to do best.

(Be sure to take a moment to click on the picture above to enlarge it. Tiggie's expression is priceless.)

He even managed a pose on his Stump of Consideration, where he sat and considered the meaning of autumn and his relationship with Barbara.
(By the by, the tip of his tail is resting on a large fungus that has sprouted out of the side of the decaying stump. The stump is a remnant of a hackberry tree that was harmlessly felled by Hurricane Rita.)

I really, really like taking pictures. The world has so many visual displays that delight me. It is like having hidden jewels scattered about, just waiting to be found.
I've learned that even tiny things, like spiders and flowers often have special beauty that I can not see until I take a picture and enlarge it.
The smaller than an apple seed sized spiders that spun such lovely orbs in our front garden proved to be one such surprising beauty.
The comical leering smile that I found on the back of the spider was such fun; having the same spider turn from ghostly white to pumpkin orange was a trick that I would never have noticed if I hadn't paused to take a snapshot.

A few weeks ago I decided to take up the suggestion to post pictures online to share with readers of our local section in the Houston Chronicle. I posted two pictures. Each week the Chronicle staff selects one or two pictures to publish in the paper; last week it was the picture I took of a slumbering dragonfly by Lake Houston.
Today I read the whole paper before remembering to look at the local section.
And was both surprised and delighted to see yet another of my pictures on the front page.

As Bernie said after my first picture: "So when do you get paid?"
If happiness was the pay check, I think I just cashed the check.

(Click here to see the spider picture as it appeared on my blog awhile ago. Click here to see the spider while it was white. The spiders have moved on now, there are no more webs in the front garden. And the big yellow spiders in the woods? There was only one was to be found to show Barbara. I never thought I would miss having spiders around, but somehow, with these guys, I do.)