The heavens declare the glory of God;  the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

I don’t often get to include people in my photography.  I mean to get braver about that.  This is of my niece, with Halloween lollipops on her chin and in her hair, and a fresh autumn wind unfurling her spirited outlook on life.  What a girl… I love her!

Just two days ago in seventy degree weather, this bug outlined itself on our patio door long enough for two pictures, one auto-focused on the trees in the background before I took the camera off auto-focus for the second.  Today, it was thirty-two degrees with snowflakes on the glass, just as fragile, just as translucent, just as fleeting.

Many commuters see the sunrise every day… I’m rarely out of the house before 9 so to catch this beauty from the driver’s seat was a pleasure.  I’m ready for daylight savings time to end tonight so I can wake up with the sun again, as we head toward colder days.

Changeful skies
Autumn winds buffet
and blanket
sounds of leaves
whispering their way
to soft earth
to the lake of blue
to sodden layered graves

In the cleansing breath of earth
lie hope, renewal, strength
giving life to coming spring

Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.
Albert Schweitzer

I took a bit of pse license with this photo to show you what I saw in my mind as I walked past this tree-full of birds on my walk tonight.  Leaves are long gone, leaving room for traveling birds, who, with the cooler weather coming on, are leaving, too, looking a bit like leaves in the wind as they go.

Abandoned strength
Towers resolute
Pride deliberate, lingering, intact
Beauty remains

Evening whispers
Memory of place
Of time, opportunity, usefulness
Phantom grains.

May your joys be as bright as the morning,
And your sorrows merely be shadows that fade,
In the sunlight of love.
May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet.
Enough trials to keep you strong.
Enough sorrows to keep you human.
Enough hope to keep you happy.
Enough failure to keep you humble.
Enough success to keep you eager.
Enough friends to give you comfort.
Enough faith and courage in yourself to banish sadness.
Enough wealth to meet your needs.
And one thing more: enough determination to make each day a more wonderful day than the day before.

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Fresh from a “bonus” sunlit day… a rainy cool forecast that held off for a few more hours. I’m still basking in the glow of yesterday, even though it’s gloomy out my window today.