Brrr! I'm posting from my screened porch this morning, where it's a chilly 59 degrees, and the breeze is making a roaring, rushing sound as it passes through the treetops. The grass is looking like the lawns in southern California, a mixture of greens and browns (of course, we don't water it here; God takes care of that) and the daily rain showers stopped a few weeks ago. During my twice-weekly drives to Seneca, there are an increasing number of fields that have been harvested, as the farmers "get their crops in" and begin preparing for winter Currently, the trees are just as leafy, although the leaves are beginning to turn yellow and red. The forests are still thick, hiding animals, creeks, ravines, and other mysteries in their depths. A friend told me that in the Winter, there are just bare trees everywhere, that winter here isn't a pretty season. However, I think it will be satisfying, as I often wonder what the fairytale forests are hiding And I'm sure that there will be the anticipation of all the new life that will come in the spring.

Recently, I found an excuse to drive into Honea Path, a nearby community. My go-to activity while driving is to take note of the names of the streets that branch off of the two-lane highways (see earlier posts for explanations of the quirky names). Here are two of the photos I took in Honea Path, of the historical downtown area, and of a house that I thought was particularly appealing. Here is a list of some of the street names that made me smile: Due West (which I later learned is also the name of a town), Nabors (well, goll-ee!), Tribble Road (was that a Star Trek or a Twilight Zone reference?), Higgins Garment, Henry Thomas Road (wasn't that the name of the boy from ET?), Transylvania, Butterick (perhaps a seamstress was the first resident), Lickville (yuck), Tripe (yuck again), Cannon Bottom, and Chucka Luck Drive. I have also driven past the entrance to Harris Psychiatric Hospital several times. It's away from the city, and buildings are not visible from the two-lane highway, obscured by the forest. From the Facebook group, "Life After Califoria," I learned to leave behind every unneccesary item that could, so I am slowly replacing things through Facebook Marketplace. This entails driving all over the local cities and towns, and I absolutely love it. Driving here is a feast for my eyes, drinking in all of the colors of trees, fields and waterways. My only regret is that I can't take pictures while I'm driving.

This is what I'm talking about! When I drive anywhere near my house, this is how close I am to the lakes. I cannot get over how blessed I am to live here, and I hope that I ever take it for granted. Just as I hope that I will never get used to the blessing of being able to walk without pain (which I have not yet acomplished, but I'm hopeful that within the year, I will be back to walking easily), things that we do or see daily often cease to astonish us. Being abe to see these huge lakes every day, even if I can't swim in them daily, does my soul good.

At our little house in Anaheim, the neighborhood wildlife consisted of sparrows, pigeons, and the occasional seagull or opossum. When we moved to Orange, we added hawks, coyotes, and bats. Now, we have deer, muskrats, vultures, eagles... spiders, lizards...