... Japanese Gardens

 

Today we went to Gibbs Gardens, and it was a really pleasant excursion.  Mom and I stopped at the little place to eat and picked up some chicken salad and then found a table over by the flowerbeds and a fountain that was pretty nice.  Perfect weather today, nice and serene.  After that, we were walking down towards the Japanese Maple area, and the colors were pretty overwhelming for the camera, but wow, what a really nice garden area.  We spent a good deal of time here, resting and taking pictures and just breathing in the atmosphere.   

 

And that's when the deer just walked in.  He was wanting some foliage, and just walking along the path alongside everyone else.  He even let you pet him like a good pet, the only problem came when he was wanting to give you an appreciative nudge with his forehead.  The one with antlers!

 

But he was nice and he left us after a bit to go munch some other places, and say hello to other visitors too!  It was a fun little trip over there, and the leaves there were really nice.  Here are a few pictures from our afternoon there.

This morning I got all the nutcrackers up, so each day there's a little more and more we're getting set up, and super early this year.  Nana and Ye-Ye came by to visit, and we enjoyed some of that seasonal coffee, and they dropped off some souvenirs from their trip to the Northeast, including maple syrup and Sleepy Hollow stuff too.  It was really nice spending some time with them!

 

Maddie left this afternoon to go with Nate's family to a wedding - and it's tomorrow, and it's a good way off.  So she's spending the night up there with them, and I just know she's going to have a wonderful time.  Of course, that means no trick-or-treating or Halloween fun here, but that's somewhat died down over the years anyway.  

 

Tonight, I'm typing this as I watch trick-or-treaters go by.  I'm on the porch, greeting everyone that comes by with my cauldron filled with candy.  It's a perfect night, perfect weather tonight - nice and cool, and really busy too.  Tractors going by with colorful lights, so many crazy costumes.  Shadow sitting beside me, a nice night!