My weekly exercise in gratitude, or as some of my blogging friends put it, three things that made me smile this week.

This autumn has been freakishly warm—no chilly days and cold nights—and the leaves have not been as brilliant as they usually are this time of year. Nevertheless, fall is here, with its wonderful slant of light. While the days might not be crisp and invigorating, they are still cool enough for a morning bowl of oatmeal.

So, first: Oatmeal for breakfast with a generous serving of Maine blueberries, the sweetest of them all.

Second, the autumn leaves. Although less brilliant than they usually are, the leaves still bring a burst of beauty and color to the landscape and, as pictured below, our backyard.

Third, the look of autumn, which spills over everything, including the memorial bench in our backyard and the little cat I bought to honor my mother, who passed away nine years ago.

A final gratitude, a bonus, if you will: I am so thankful to live in an area that has four distinct seasons that each bring their own kind of beauty.

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Need I say more?

Let’s just say that I’ve been busy. On Wednesday, I took a tumble from my bike, and while I got some lumps—one as big as a large orange—I didn’t break anything or get hit by the oncoming car that stopped for me. For that I am grateful. Very grateful.

Then, on Thursday, with sore legs, it was off to Railroad Square Cinema for a meeting and a movie to screen. Clif and I belong to the Cinema Explorations committee, and for the next month so we’ll be meeting regularly to discuss, watch, and select movies that will be featured at the snappy little film series—Cinema Explorations—which has been showing for at least ten years. So much fun to be a part of this group, and, if I do say so myself, we put together a wicked good film series.

All this is a somewhat lengthy explanation as to why I didn’t post my usual Three Things Thursday yesterday. But never fear. Barring another tumble from my bike, I plan to continue next week.

So, instead, today, I present you with a sunny flower for Friday. This beauty was taken in the little garden at Railroad Square. It might be October, but there are still some flowers in bloom. No really hard frosts yet, at least in central Maine.

And today, I’m off with my friend Dawna to Damariscotta to get some pictures along its pumpkin trail, an annual fall event for this little town and one that I’ve never been to.

I’ll report back with pictures.

My weekly exercise in gratitude, or as some of my blogging friends put it, three things that made me smile this week.

First, the weather. All right, compared with what the poor folks in the Caribbean have had to endure, the weather in Maine is nothing to complain about. However…traditionally in Maine, September has been a crisp month of warm days and brisk nights and low humidity. All that seems to be changing, and I have semi-jokingly began referring to  September in Maine as the “new August.”

This week, with its high heat—over 90 degrees on some days—and high humidity, it has certainly felt like August. Actually, make that the end of July. But last night, the wind came, blowing away the humidity and bringing down the heat. It is still a little warm for the end of September, but it is lovely rather than too hot. Inf fact, the temperature has gone down so much that I might have to shut the windows tonight.

Second, a totally awesome fruit infusion pitcher that I found for half price at our local supermarket. As a rule, Clif and and I are very careful about stuff—new or second hand—that we bring into the house. We are mindful of the energy required to make new stuff, and our tolerance for clutter seems to be dropping precipitously as we age. However, yesterday when I saw this fruit infusion pitcher in the discount bin, I barely hesitated before snapping it up. Our daughter Dee has been singing the praises of her infusion pitcher, and I am a huge fan of all things fruit or berries.

Therefore, it was with great anticipation that we filled the center section with raspberries and lemons, and readers, I was not in the least disappointed.  The resulting flavored water is utterly delicious, has no calories, and no artificial sweeteners. Quick as a wink, I drank two glasses of this lovely  water, and if it hadn’t been so close to bedtime, I would have had another glass. The infusion mixture can be used for a couple of days, and that is what I call a lot of bang for a berry and citrus buck.

Finally and perhaps best of all, Clif at 66. To celebrate his birthday, we went on a thirteen-mile bike ride on the rail trail in Augusta, and even though it was hot, we utterly enjoyed ourselves. I am so grateful to have a husband, who at sixty-six, has the energy and the enthusiasm to go on longish bike rides when it’s 85°. Bike on, Dude! Bike on.

My weekly exercise in gratitude, or as some of my blogging friends put it, three things that made me smile this week.

First, an early birthday card, a flower from her garden, from my blogging friend Judy of New England Garden and Thread. What an absolute treat to get this lovely card in the mail! I will be framing this flower as a lovely remembrance of my sixtieth birthday. Thanks so much, Judy!

Second, The Wave of Time, my husband’s new book, an anthology of classic time travel stories by writers from the thirties, forties, and fifties. (These stories were originally published in science fiction magazines. ) Clif designed the cover, and it’s a beauty, if I do say so myself. If you like time travel tales or know someone who does, then this snappy book would be just the thing to add to a collection.

Third, our daughters, Dee and Shannon, are coming home for birthday celebrations—mine and Clif’s are in September, and Dee’s is in October. Both Dee and I will be celebrating milestone birthdays, her fortieth and my sixtieth. Clif will be sixty-six, not a milestone, but as far as I’m concerned, all birthdays are to be celebrated. Shannon is coming on Monday, September 11, and Dee will be coming September 16, and between the two of them they will be staying for two weeks. Such a treat! Really, the best present.

Because my time will be spent with my daughters, I won’t be doing much blogging—I might post a picture or two—and I won’t be able to do much commenting on blogs that I follow. I do plan to read blogs each morning, but I’m guessing a quick “like” is all I’ll have time for. On Monday, September 25, I should be back in the swing of things.

Until then, as Bill and Ted and Abraham Lincoln might say, “Party on, dudes!” And be excellent to each other.

A fun addendum: The items featured in the pictures below just came in the mail today. I think they speak for themselves, and they sure did make me smile. (Yes, Cheryl, we got the idea from you and your son.)

My weekly exercise in gratitude, or as some of my blogging friends put it, three things that made me smile this week.

All right. I’m going to start with the best thing first, and the title, of course, gives it away. Yesterday, we took the long way home from our bike ride, driving in the car along country roads, listening to music, admiring the scenery. As we came to a large field bordering some gardens, I caught sight of four majestic birds flying overhead. They had long necks and long legs, and at first I thought they were great blue herons. But there was a group of them, and generally herons fly alone. And, the birds were brown.

“Look!” I said, but as Clif was driving, he really couldn’t look.

Then birds landed in the field, and “Stop, stop, stop!” I cried.

As Louis Pasteur observed, chance only favors the prepared mind, and in the back seat, tucked in my bike helmet, was my wee wonder of a camera. Clif duly pulled over and stopped. Out I jumped and snap, snap, snap. I had never seen such birds before, but right then I really didn’t care what they were. I just wanted to get some pictures of them, and I was successful. Because of the distance, the birds aren’t as crisp as I would like, but they are recognizable.

All right, readers. Verify my excitement. Are these sandhill cranes? If so, then joy, joy, happy, happy. I have never seen them before, and I didn’t even know they were in Maine. If these are not sandhill cranes, then what are they?

Whatever the case, those birds certainly made me smile. Wowsah, as we Mainers would say.

The next two things that made me smile are far more modest. After all, what could compete with seeing those birds?

But simple pleasures are still pleasures, and here they are.

An absolutely scrummy pizza we made with Portland Pie pizza dough, available at our local supermarket; tomatoes from my garden; basil and garlic from Farmer Kev’s; Cabot’s cheddar cheese; mozzarella; chicken sausage; and olive oil. Clif put it all together, and oh my, was it good.

Finally, the burst of color that the coleuses provide in my shady yard. No, they are not native, but I love them anyway.

Phew! What a week! I’m still agog at seeing those birds.

My weekly exercise in gratitude, or as some of my blogging friends put it, three things that made me smile this week.

First, little red apples. For me, there is something about apples on a tree that fills my heart with joy. Could it be because apples are one of my favorite fruit? No doubt. But I also find them very beautiful—even the small ones, which I don’t eat. I took this picture at Norcross Point, a small park in town, and these gleaming gems have the advantage of being by water. Little red apples by water. It doesn’t get much better, does it?

Second, seeing Clif by the bikes. For our daily bike rides, we drive to Norcross Point right in town, where we park our car and then ride along lovely Maranacook Lake. After I was done taking pictures of the apples, I walked back to the car, and there was Clif, in his bright blue shirt, by the bikes and our little red car. It was such a pleasure to see this colorful tableau. Once again, I was filled with gratitude that we have these bikes and are able to ride nearly every day. We don’t go on long rides, but we are gaining strength as the summer goes on. And by gum, my creaky knees are not as creaky as they used to be.

And third, after a bike ride, what is more refreshing than ice cream? Especially when it comes from Gifford’s, a local company that, as my Yankee husband puts it, makes pretty darned good ice cream. Grapenuts is an old-fashioned flavor made from that crunchy cereal once favored by the famous naturalist Euell Gibbons. (He compares the flavor to wild hickory nuts, and the ice cream does indeed have a pleasant nutty taste.) My grandmother loved Grapenuts ice cream, and back then it was only available at ice cream stands. Therefore, when we went out for ice cream, that’s what she always would get. When I eat Grapenuts ice cream, I think of my grandmother. Here’s to you, Mémère.

My weekly exercise in gratitude, or as some of my blogging friends put it, three things that made me smile this week.

First, second, and third: my August- blooming daylilies. All right. I know this is a bit of a cheat, but after the week this country has had, I really needed a soothing dose of beauty. It makes up, at least a little, for all the ugliness that seems to be always on the verge of erupting.

But back to the daylilies and beauty. Truth be told, my front yard doesn’t receive quite enough sun for daylilies to thrive, yet still I plant them. The lilies don’t bloom profusely, but I enjoy whatever beauty they give me. (Surely there is a lesson in this.) The other day was a bright, overcast day, which meant the light was perfect for taking pictures of flowers. Here are three of my August-blooming lilies.

Just looking at the pictures of these three ephemeral beauties makes me smile.