Autumn Leaves And The Hodgepodge Please

Hello Autumn, and hello Hodgepodgers. If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger there before you. Here we go-

1. Fall officially rolls into the Northern Hemisphere on Monday (9/22)...what's your favorite thing about fall? 

I like how thoughts turn reflective and home feels warm and cozy. I like the comforting foods and comfy clothes that are part of it too. 

2. What's one thing on your real or proverbial autumn bucket list? 

A drive into a nearby mountain town for lunch and leaf peeping. I posted my very simple fall bucket list in Tuesday's post if you're curious (Grading On The Curve)

3. Apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and cranberries are some of the top fall foods. Which one is your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Any on the list you don't eat? Which one have you had most recently? 

I love them all but I guess apples would be my favorite, and that's the one I've had most recently. I like them all ways...right off the tree, in a pie, a tart, a crumble, applesauce, baked with a little cinnamon and butter. There are none on the list I wouldn't eat. 

4. 'Fall is proof that change is beautiful' is a popular sentiment. Would you agree or no? Elaborate. 

I think I'd be more inclined to agree if it read '...change can be beautiful'.  Changing seasons I think are beautiful, but there are times in living life where change is messy and unwelcome. In my personal experience I have found change to best be assessed in hind sight. It's often in looking back at a change we didn't ask for that we're able to find the beauty in it.  

5. Is there a spot near you where people go to see the leaves change color? Will you try to leaf peep somewhere this fall? Lonely Planet lists the following ten places as the best for leaf peeping...of those listed which would you most like to visit? 

Stowe, Vermont~Shenandoah National Park, Virginia~Columbia River Gorge, Oregon~Zion National Park, Utah~Tennessee/North Carolina border~West Virgina~Northwestern Wyoming~Wisconsin Northwoods~Northern Nevada~Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway, Arkansas

There are a lot of great spots nearby to see color, because the Blue Ridge is just a hop skip and a jump from here. I want to take a drive that direction one day soon and we'll make that happen I'm sure. As far as the list goes there are many there I'd enjoy seeing. 

I have been on the Tennessee/North Carolina border many times and it's a beauty...

This wasn't taken in the fall obviously, but it's beautiful in every season...

I also think the Shenandoah National Park is one of the prettiest places in America. I've been to New England, but never to Stowe and that one definitely sounds appealing this time of year, so I pick Stowe. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

This time of year I always like to pull out some pictures from my yard in New Jersey. 

We lived there before moving south,  and while the outrageous taxes and the seemingly never ending winter could get old...

...the glorious color in my own backyard never did. Happy fall y'all!