Pete now has his Private Pilot's License

Pete is now a Private Pilot! Passed the check-ride on Saturday (that was the last hurdle)... now to find a plane! :) Otherwise, he's a pilot without wings, kinda like being a driver without a car. We are certainly looking forward to all the possibilities that having a pilot's license brings... like being able to go back home and visit without a 12 or so hour car ride, or making a day trips to places that might otherwise be weekend excursions. I am proud of him -- it is quite an accomplishment to get his license, especially with only 40 hrs of "behind-the-wheel"... most people who pass the checkride (kind of like the behind the wheel test for drivers ed) have ~60 hours of instruction/practice time. Although I have yet to go up with him solo -- I am looking forward to sitting in the frontseat and helping him navigate/watch the world pass by below!

What happened to fall?

This morning started out like any other, a cup of coffee with breakfast, a walk with Hondo, check the mail. However, somewhere in the midst of our morning tour around the block... I realized that the leaves were gone, the skies are grey (ominous for snow or other precipitation), and there is frost on my car windshield. What happened to the bright sunny days of fall made even more golden by light filtering through yellow leaves, crispness in the air, hay rides and apple cider?

One of the benefits to living in an area where seasons change, is the ability to watch in the spring as the land again comes to life -- trees growing buds first then leaves, little buds of flowers and other plants coming out of the earth; spring makes way for summer, and summer gives way to fall and with it crunchy warm-colored (tans, oranges, yellows, reds) leaves, fresh apples, and the slow retirement of plants and animals. And now, it seems fall is making room for winter's white blankets of frost and snow, glistening icicles, and little red berries that remain on the holly plants. 

And while I am starting to get anxious for winter's first snowfall -- the one where the world looks white, clean and pristine -- if only temporarily... I am missing the lovely golden days of fall.