November is showing off its colors in our area as we hit the peak this past week. Beautiful russet and gold adorns the view from our veranda. The colors are not as vivid as they have been in the past. Mainly this year was too dry in the late summer, and the winds picked up blowing off many leaves before they could change fully. Still, there is beauty here in my favorite month of the year.
Wildlife has been coming by regularly. This small herd of four female deer was busy with the acorns on the driveway.
The resident black bear was here, too. I’m not sure, but he may have been eating some acorns as well.
I encouraged him to move along. Last thing I need is for him to go after the bird feeder again.
Later, two more deer were grazing.
They were calm, and didn’t mind getting their picture taken. I carefully and slowly went back inside so they could eat in peace.
Of course, we had to take a drive with a car club to see the gorgeous foliage in the mountains to the west.
Mountain scenes with meadows were all along the route. The colors here were a bit dull, but still some pretty golds were among the browns.
A little higher elevation, and the colors were near peak.
Here and there, brilliant color shone in the sunlight.
More mountains with maple trees show some burgundy shades.
Pastoral farms with grazing horses and old barns are always wonderful to see.
Lunch was delicious! I had a burger with a big disc of fried goat cheese. It was scrumptious! Yes, that is bacon on the bottom with the lettuce and tomato. No, it wouldn’t fit anyone’s mouth for a single bite, but a knife and fork made short work of it.
Back home, a chickadee shares the bounty of a full feeder with a hairy woodpecker. Here, you can see the back of the head with the best identifying mark. Hairy woodpeckers have a black bar vertically bisecting the red patch. Downy woodpeckers do not have this.
A different small herd of 3 deer came by just a couple of days ago. More leaves are coming down on the meadow and driveway.
Inside, my Thanksgiving Cactus has burst into bloom with several jewel tone colors. The yellow is a lovely topaz color, the reds and purples are intense.
Every year, when I show this plant, inevitably someone says they have one but call it a Christmas Cactus. Well, those are actually different plants. The key is in the shape of the leaves, spiky points are Thanksgiving cactus. Softer, rounded points, and blooming in later December is a Christmas cactus. There is also an Easter cactus that blooms in the spring. All are very similar. See the difference on this site – Thanksgiving or Christmas Cactus?
Another difference between the Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti is the pollen on the flower anthers. Thanksgiving cactus has yellow pollen, while Christmas cactus pollen is pink. You can see the yellow pollen below on the open red flower.
There are so many blooms on this plant! It is just lovely. You can see the yellow pollen on this one, too.
So many gorgeous blooms!
The trees along the driveway are changing, but the leaves are coming down too fast with the windy days we’ve had recently. The mountains to the east next to ours are becoming visible again. There is still some green to be seen with the pines and evergreens, along with those trees not fully turned. Some of the tulip poplars haven’t finished turning yet. Mostly the oaks and maples are in full fall regalia.
Tomorrow is going to be bitterly cold, with the high predicted to only get to 28ºF (-2ºC). That should shock any remaining deciduous trees to finish their fall color change. I’m going to hunker down at home, do some sewing in my warm basement, and dig out the slow cooker for a big pot of Ham with White Bean Soup.
What are your plans for the week?
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From My Carolina Home 
I used to have both a Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus but never knew the difference. Thank you for sharing.
Love your cactus! Mine died, so guess I did something wrong. Sewing is on my agenda today but the Pressure Pot is coming out to make some Split Pea soup with some leftover ham and Cornbread.
We’re in a suburb but the deer have been very active lately coming up from the local creek/park. Thankfully no bear!
Last weekend we made a quickie trip to see our grandsons in SW Virginia (near the NC border). I agree, the colors were not as vibrant, but there was enough to enjoy along the drive.
Happy sewing & have a great week.
Your scenery is beautiful, even if it’s not as colorful as some years! Love seeing your wildlife, too. I was looking up the hairy woodpeckers and it appears they live in our area, too – I’m going to have to pay attention to the back of their heads when watching the feeders. We thought we only had downies! I have both my book club and quilt group meetings this week, so that will fill up some afternoons for me.
I did not know the cactus would produce different color blooms in the same plant, pretty. I enjoy seeing your scenery photos on your car club drives.
Carole,
Your pictures are beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I believe Spring and Fall are the loveliest of God’s world with the Fall colors being my favorite. A lot of my quilts I make are in fall colors.
Have a blessed week.
Beverly
Thank you so much for your beautiful blog. I don’t always comment, but should. You put so much work into sharing your beautiful home and surroundings. I love when you show the wonderful wildlife, and I pass my iPad to my husband so that he can enjoy too. We both love the car club drives in the Blue Ridge mountains. We used to live in Virginia, and both of us miss the mountains. You are so generous to share your recipes and sewing/quilting patterns. So even though I don’t always comment, but should, I appreciate the efforts you put into your blog so that people like me can sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy reading it. Thank you thank you thank you.
Thank you, Becky, your kind words mean a lot to me!!
We’ve had an extended explosion of fall color this year. First the sugar maples turned, then the oaks and more deciduous trees and now the Norwood maples. It’s been impressive color. I like trying to identify the leaves when walking and collecting the super pretty ones like they are prizes.
The challenge is clearing the leaves before the snow comes to keep the grass and other plants underfoot healthy and to prevent the roads from being super slippery. We’re expecting snow next week so we’ll be busy with the leaves: mulching, collecting and spreading on the garden.
Butternut squash soup is on the menu today! Nothing like soup on a cold day!
Carole,
that ham with bean soup. Makes my mouth water just looking at that photo. num num!
Loved the road photos on your meander through the mountains. Our leaves are essentially done, however the beeches & some oaks retain their leaves longer. The beeches in particular are often highlighted when the sun is rising & low on the horizon. That is especially pretty when they’re glowing against the dark cloud bank of an approaching storm. I just finished pin basting my first November quilt, time to go quilt it. We’ll be having the beef vegetable soup I made yesterday. A treat as I generally don’t cook much beef.
The cactus blooms are beautiful. The view from your porch is so pretty and the critters are an added bonus. The sunny drives and lunch with friends makes up for lack of colour this year. It’s all good! Thanks for sharing.
Alexandria
I love all the scenic pictures even if it tears at my heart to be so far away…….thanks for sharing!
Your pictures of autumn in Western NC are beautiful. Thanks for sharing them!
out here in the Central Valley of f California we’re getting beautiful fall colors. It’s been a mild fall so the bright get reds and golds are now. Can imagine a neighborhood bear!
Such lovely photos of the trees changing colour and wildlife visiting your property. Here in New Zealand our native trees are evergreens so it is only in Parks and gardens that exotic trees put on a colourful show.
Carole, you are such a great photographer! I loved the tour of your area, the animals, and info on TG and Christmas cacti. Very interesting. Thank you for all you do. Hugs, Melanie from Oregon
All your pictures are beautiful! Like yours the weather is going to be cold here for a couple of days. I’ll work on my mother’s afghan. It is getting big enough to keep me warm while I work on it. Hope everyone has a great week!
The mountains are so beautiful this time of year! Love seeing all the adventures – landscape, wildlife, and outings! The cactus is beautiful….and lovely to see those gorgeous blooms.
This week, actually for a month, daughter Lise is with me. We are having a ball.
Love the pictures! I miss NC🙁
The colors still scream fall. Very pretty.
Beautiful pictures! I am loving the colors here in SE MI too. My Thanksgiving cactus getting ready to bloom! Enjoy your week!
Lovely pictures. Thanks for sharing. No autumn colors here in Florida. I do miss them at times. We do have bears, however. My daughter has a frequent visitor to their neighborhood.
what a spectacular view you have! And wonderfully hungry wildlife neighbors. The photos are terrific! We’re in an early Polar Vortex here. Rick had to make an emergency trip to the lake to get some heat in the house, since the water was still going till pipe repair is done tomorrow! Or Wednesday, I guess. Time’s flying!
Great photos!
I’m a couple of days behind commenting. Our colors are not vibrant either. My husband thinks it is because we had a dry summer. I’m on the fence. I just love your wildlife photos! I’d be a bit aprehensive setting foot outside knowing a bear could be just “round the corner” of the house or garage. Hopefully the bird feeder will remain safe. Thanks for the lovely views of your mountains.
Hi Carole,
Lovely photos of the leaves turning.We live in a much warmer climate and never really get to see that – most of our trees are evergreens. We also don’t get the spring leaves coming onto bare branches. On the up side, it is currently Jacaranda time, and there are wonderful patches of purple interspersed amongst the trees in our area. The flowers are falling now too, so there are carpets of purple all over the place. A pest if you need to walk through it,but gorgeous to look at.
Also interested in your woodpecker. I was in the car yesterday and heard part of a conversation with a researcher who was studying woodpeckers. Their beaks hit the tree and a ferocious rate, and the study was on why they don’t get whip lash etc. Unfortunately I only caught a part of that conversation so never found out what the end of the story was.
Take care,
Dasha