Carolina Towns and Trails: Autumn

Autumn is waning, and yards and forests are now sporting bare trees and carpets of dead leaves. According to several of the locals, eastern North Carolina saw more color this year than in years past. We took a few photos of the squash, apple, and pumpkin-tinted tapestry at its peak.

Soybean ripe for the harvest:

Harvest time! Typical traffic jam this time of year:

Reflection in Blackwaters:

Color in my own front yard:

I've always said autumn is the best time to explore the Carolinas. Not just because of the colors, but because crowds have thinned, and with leaves falling, views are even better. And with the colder weather, the migrating swans and geese will soon arrive. Nothing could be finer. Hope to see you around a Carolina town or trail soon.

It's autumn! And while the leaves on this side of the state stubbornly refuse to dress in fall colors, days are turning crisp and nights, cold. In the mood for hot apple cider, hearty soup, and anything that celebrates the season, we went to a local farm for a hay ride to a pumpkin patch. Which? I'd prefer not to say for reasons you'll soon see.

My husband quickly noticed the pumpkins were spaced fairly evenly, and were concentrated near the road.

Then he noticed they'd been cut from the vine. How convenient!

We learned something. As silly as it sounds, before we went, we should have called and asked if the owners grew the pumpkins directly on the farm, or if they'd been imported.

Oops! I half wonder if the bloom we found belonged to the pumpkin family:

No matter. We enjoyed the hayride, finding a pumpkin, and watching the smiles and laughter of several children on board. The time together and enjoying a cool autumn day on a pumpkin patch was worth the three dollar per person fee. And yes, we bought a pumpkin.

Pages

The Last of Autumn

The Pumpkin Patch