Thanks to all of you who took time to wish me Happy Birthday! It was a lovely "day off," and even today has been very relaxed, with less than the normal amount of time spent here at my computer. Cousins from Barre visited - as close as they are, we don't get together often, so it was very nice to see them. And I've had a couple of phone calls that were unexpected and very welcome. Now it's almost time for supper and the news!

We were in Littleton yesterday. I had an appointment with Dr. Hammer, my dermatologist, and we had lunch, got an oil change for the car, did some errands, and really made a day of it.  We had expected to see some wonderful foliage, but actually it was kind of disappointing. For whatever reason, it seems to be dull this year. And no, I don't think it was my eyesight! When we got back to Joe's Pond, the trees were definitely showing brighter color, and around our house, it's been beautiful, even on rainy days. We could only conclude that Vermont has the best color, and at Joe's Pond it's even better!

I'm posting proof! The first picture is what we saw, generally as we drove along the interstate. It was sunny, but still the leaves didn't show up as well as I'd hoped. Probably if we had been able to get out into the woods and be close to the trees we would have seen better colors.

This morning I went out into our yard and took the other pictures pictured here. It's all around us, on every side. Unless we get a stiff wind, it should be wonderful for at least a few more days. The picture below is part of what I see from my office window. We get so used to seeing the colors, some days I forget to really pay attention, but still, when I do really LOOK, I'm amazed at the beauty of it all. This has been a very good year!