Our year at the lake has drawn to a close. The house is buttoned up for the winter, the car stuffed to overflowing with all the things coming home that we brought up for the summer (and a cat) and outdoor furniture tucked safely into the garage or the house till next spring. Oh, I hate leaving.
It has been an odd last visit. There were so many plans that didn't happen -- road trips that didn't get taken, work that didn't get done. Having pneumonia will do that to a person. I was knocked for a loop and it was a big one. By the time I was well, the weather had pretty much gone from glorious to cold and damp. A good time to be inside; not much good for anything else. But....
. . . But before the weather changed, on the day when I was finally doing better for the first time in a week, Rick and I went on a bit of a color tour. I didn't think it was peak yet -- until we hit the road. I may have underestimated for it was beautiful.
Rick knows every back road from his cycling and so we went on some of his route, seeing some areas new to me.
We ended up at Treetops Resort, which I've shown you here in past years when we've gone to look at color. Treetops is a golf and ski resort and at this time of year the color at the top of the slopes by the clubhouse and restaurants is something special.
I stayed at the top of the hills (I knew I'd never make it back with my breathing!) but Rick went down for a bit of a walk and said the views down there were just as good.
The chair lifts are idle now but in another couple of months they'll be running non-stop. I bet the skiers wish they could see this view!
We were there in late afternoon and the sun was coming in from the west, lighting the trees like fireballs. Looking far afield one could see layer upon layer of color and with each shift of the sun, each view was more dazzling than the next.
It was a pleasant evening -- about 70 degrees -- so we sat on the patio and ordered the Happy Hour special -- three tacos and a beer for $9. (I had the chorizo tacos and they were delightfully zippy.) It was the first day I'd felt really happy in about a week!
After dinner, a bit more walking about. It was hard to tear ourselves away!
But eventually we hit the road and headed back to the cottage, first stopping at Big Lake. I've been north all my life and never knew where Big Lake was. Now I do!
A sunset ride home...
...and more sunset, the very last of it, when we arrived home.
I didn't think there would be be other days like that this year. Not here.
I was wrong... but that's to come!
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61 comments:
Gorgeous color! Glad you are feeling better.
The fall colors are so beautiful in Michigan. I am glad you felt better enough to go leaf peeping!
You also seem to be having a good year for colour. It’s a bit windy today, so we may get more leaf fall than I wold like.
The Autumn colours there are certainly spectacular. We get nothing the like of here. In fact, this year it's worse than ever because of the long, dry summer and the leaves are just brown and shrivelled on the trees, falling and making a proper mess on the drive. I wonder why they don't use the ski chair lifts this time of year. Surely it would give an incredibly spectacular overhead view of the forest like that?
Beautiful fall colours!
Your photos are beautiful, and it's great that you are feeling bettr. Color here is fabulously vivid at the moment. There are some hues of red that I feel as if I've never seen before. The city trees are really at peak now, I think.
best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
The colours are brilliant and beautiful. Glad you are feeling better.
Your color is gorgeous! So much better than ours. I'm not sure we'll get much color at all this year... I'm glad to hear you're feeling better.
I'm glad you are feeling better ~ PNA can really kick your butt!! Gorgeous autumnal colors ~ we've been getting "yellow snow" storms {leaves from our river birches}.
Hugs ~
Beautiful photos! Gorgeous foliage. I am glad y'all had the chance to get out and about.
Too bad you couldn't ride on the ski lift. That would have been a thrilling ride over those magnificent trees! I love your photography.
Wow!!! Those views are stunning! I am glad you got out to see the fall colors. It's beautiful around here but the colors are not as vibrant, I think due to the horrible drought we are having. phil said we've had something like 0.25 inches of rain in the last 1.5 months. It's soooo dry. But we are still seeing some color, just not to the extent you are! This is the 2nd year in a row where we've had a bad drought... the creek by our house is completely dry! It's so sad!
3 tacos and a beer for $9 is a STEAL!!! Holy moley.
Wonderful photos and autumn colours. Enjoy being back home! Hugs, Valerie
Hello Jeanie,
Wow, gorgeous trees and fall colors. You have way more color there than we have here. It will be spring before you know it, time to go back to the lake.
That's just me wishing winter was over already. Take care, enjoy your day!
Oh what beautiful colors you got to see. I am glad you are feeling better and bit out and about!
It’s always hard to say good bye to the summer home…
Enjoy being back at home. And continue to feel better.
Gorgeous colors (and beautiful photos)! So glad you were feeling better and didn't have to miss out on this awe-inspiring experience.
So sorry to hear about your latest bout with pneumonia. Glad, though to see the painting you've been doing. And the new haircut looks very pretty, too! Hope you are enjoying it (and the new dishwasher, too). (And, apologies for posting responses to two posts in a single reply... am catching up with things after a weeklong media fast.)
Jeanie, I'm so sorry you weren't feeling well. Glad you are better and got to see those sights. It would be such a shame if you had to miss all that beauty. California is one of the beautiful states, but we don't have sights as pretty as that..Stay healthy and enjoy the rest of fall..xxoJudy
Stunningly beautiful photos! I hope you keep feeling better and better each day.
Sheer beauty in the colours!
Hello Jeanie :=)
I am so glad you are feeling better. It was such bad luck to get pneumonia whilst on holiday. Your photos are wonderful. The fall colours of the trees are stunning.
All the best,
ps Thank you for your lovely comment. :=)
Look at these glorious Autumn colors! How beautiful this area is. You get all three - the oranges, golds, and reds. Our Fall is a bit slow this year, but I have seen some of the trees changing color. Chorizo tacos sound delicious. You know, my dear mom used to make chorizo and eggs for all of us growing up. And they also had it at the Mexican restaurant in my hometown. A different taste, but I do like it. You and Rick had a lovely color tour. I know how much you miss the lake every time it's time to leave. Thank you for sharing your Autumn with us, Jeanie. The lake area truly is a pretty place to live.
~Sheri
You have some lovely photos Jeanie. Fall colors are such an amazing sight, even after seeing them before. They are just so pretty. I'm glad you got out to see some views. But isn't it sad closing up for the year? Last weekend my MIL got moved and the dock got pulled. It's a good thing autumn is such a pretty time, it does help make up for summer ending. Have a great rest of your week. Hugs-Erika
The trees are spectacular.
Glad you had a happy day.
Stunningly gorgeous!!
I'm glad you are finally feeling more yourself. Pneumonia can take such a long time to recover from. Can't get over the color there! Breathtaking! :)
The colors are amazing this year!! Up here too.
Those colours in the trees in your beautiful photos are just amazing. Thank you for sharing.
I hope you've recovered from the pneumonia. You share some stunning photos of the last days at the lake. The autumnal trees are beautiful. Take good care of yourselves.
That photo of Big Lake is splendid! I always steel myself for your autumn photos, trying to keep my color-envy to a reasonable level, but I can't help being a little jealous of scenes like that. No travel for me outside of Texas this year, but maybe-maybe by November we'll have some color, too! I'm glad you were able to get out and about to enjoy at least some of it!
The colours here have been spectacular too. Glad you were able to enjoy them, Jeanie.
Jeanie, these are beautiful photos of the magnificent fall colors. I am so glad you felt well enough to get out and take a ride or you would have missed this gorgeous display! Take care and hope you will be one hundred percent soon!
Wonderful clics and I’m happy you are feeling so much better!
Wow - that first photo takes my breath away. Glad you're feeling better. Take care of your self.
Michigan and upstate NY have the most beautiful colors of fall that I've seen in a long time (thanks to people like you who shared their pictures!).
That is a lovely adventure.
I've been so preoccupied with the gun club, I just haven't been able to focus.
You look marvelous, you must be feeling better. The tree colors are absolutely gorgeous!
Hi. Glad you are feeling better. Thanks for all the beautiful Michigan fall trees. I love seeing them in all their splendor
Enjoy more fall colors when you get home. 🍂🍁🍁❤️
Jeanie, The leaf colors up north look perfect. There are patches of beautiful leaves where we live, so we’ll wait a bit for a sunny day to take our annual color tour. We take back roads from where we live all the way out to Grand Haven. I’m looking forward to it. Mr. Cottage needs to go up to our cottage at least one more time to have our water off. Everything else has been taken care of.
Oh, Jeanie, how gorgeous. Reminds me of my parent's cottage in mid Wisconsin---Columbus weekend was always peak season for color. Here in Burbs of chicagoland---color is most apparent where expensive homes have been landscaped. But, we will head out to the Forest preserve this weekend and maybe Moraine State Park---which is full of hardwoods! HAPPY FALL! Sandi
Gorgeous fall colors. We don't see that here. So glad you are feeling better.
Sono bellissime queste foto e la natura ha dei colori stupendi, non ho mai visto dei panorami così coorati. Tizyana
My heart beats with joy for all the lovely pics and words of your adventures. Life/Nature is good and your love of nature resonates with me -- always! thanks and keep well as you continue to recover. Hugs, Sharon
So glad you are feeling better! Thanks for the beautiful tour. xo, V.
Your trees are lovely..This is certainly the most beautiful time of year...Sad that "lake time " is over for the year...
I love fall color, and I think y'all are having an exceptionally beautiful season this year! I enjoyed all your photos (except maybe the sign, lol). Do you not go to the lake in the winter? Have you ever skied there?
Lotsa lovely leaves!
I'm sorry to hear you were so sick and had to miss out on doing a lot of what you planned. But ending your stay at the lake with such wonderful, colourful views is a beautiful way to say goodbye to the lake house until next time.
What beautiful colours. I hope you stay feeling better. My reaction to my latest Covid vaccine has knocked me out, fever and tiredness. At least I hope it’s the reaction to that and not another bug!
Hope you are recovereing from your pneumonia by now Jeanie. What a pity you didn't fulfill all your plans due to being sick.
Those Autumn colours are just stunning!!! Sadly we don't get that in Perth, or very little of it...
What a pity that chair lift doesn't run this time of the year, the views from above would be fabulous.
Wow Jeanie, the colors are stunning!! I know it must be hard to say goodbye to your lake house for the winter, such a lovely get away spot...I'm sorry you've been so ill, hopefully you're getting your strength back everyday. That road trip was a great way to wrap up the lake season!
Jenna
If it looks this good in the photos, it must have been glorious in person! So glad you're feeling better, Jeanie!
I'm so glad you're feeling better, even if not quite yet up to par. Those leaves are AMAZING! They remind me of an autumn-themed jigsaw puzzle I used to have. :)
oh that autumn foliage jeanie. how wonderful! so colourful. i remember it well from our times in Philadelphia; driving around the countryside, the autumn leaves falling and halloween pumpkins everywhere.
What glorious fall colors, Jeanie! Thanks for sharing them! Pneumonia will knock the stuffing out of you. I'mglad that you've recovered from it. It was good of Rick to take you around to see the fall colors. Lovely photo of the two of you ~ You both have great smiles! Take care. Stay warm and dry!
Wow! The fall colours are so pretty!
I really enjoyed your BEAUTIFUL captures.
So glad you are feeling better, Jeanie.
Hugs and blessings! 💐
Great colors and views, but the happy pic of the two steals the show! xxx
The Fall colours are beautiful in your area. Glad you are feeling better. Get plenty of rest.
Your photos are stunning, Jeanie. The autumn colors in your area are truly amazing and something we don't have here in such glory. I can understand that you hate to leave the lake house, it's the end of the season and also a certain maybe lighter way of life, more ease - although when I think of what you went through, "more ease" might not be the right word.
WOW! WOW! WOW!
What fabulous colour in your beautiful photographs.
So pleased you are feeling better.
Take care.
All the best Jan
What a lt f comments!! 🍁🌾🍂🍄🌽🌻🍀🧡💋
I love seeing your part of the world and all the color. Have you ridden the ski lifts on a clear day when there is not snow? I wanted to do that on our mountain this summer, but wasn't sure I could jump off quick enough without killing myself. So beautiful.
Sounds like a beautiful day. Glad you were feeling well enough to enjoy a day like this.
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