A PROJECT FOR KIDS OR YOURSELF AND A MOUNTAIN FRONT PORCH POST FROM MT BALDY, CA

This is something I might enjoy trying...  (Thanks Cheryl -saw it at your FB site)

And speaking of leaves - ...This is my second favorite stage of a tree (bare) - first is fall leaf color...  I have a tree right outside the window near the table where we eat.  I can see so many more birds in the trees and this activity/hobby/passion of watching birds takes on a whole new dimension.  I love it.

When walking by this house one day five plus years ago - I knew then that I would love to live in the mountains.  Of course I remember that  - all conditions came together to form... a  perfect day - the chill in the air but the warmth of the sun, the house, the absolute cozy feeling I had when seeing it - the scenery around it - a mix of mountain but also some desert plants, a feeling of a totally different lifestyle than the one I was living at the time.  This just suggested "Peace" to me - in my world which felt a little chaotic.  I can still remember the day and my feelings when I see this pic - AND I hadn't run across it in over five years but's it a vivid memory.

UPLAND FOOTHILLS

I use to love to walk in the foothills of Upland when we lived down the mountain.  There were a lot of hills to walk up and it was always good exercise.  This particular street we would walk on - was the hwy we would take to go up to Mt. Baldy (which we did at least once a month).

I always loved the mountains so it's no surprise I ended up living in them.  Mr. Baldy is a small mountain community (very small) but we enjoyed hiking behind the old ice house and then a visit to the Lodge for lunch or dinner.

When hiking up at Mt Baldy I use to like to go to the top as far as we could drive (one could go to a higher elevation only by ski lift)...  which use to be the area for the Zen Center and some old cabins but what I loved most was the scenery.  I made a few visits just to see this tree.

We would then stop in at Baldy Lodge where we always sat where that couple up at the bar is sitting on the right side of the photo.  Almost always I got a turkey melt and a drink (we needed refreshment after hiking)...

(I neglected and want to say - these two Mt Baldy photos aren't mine but what I found on the net.  I have basically these sames scenes but didn't want to go searching for them in my files).  From what I remember it was a "Bob G" who took these photos.)

What was so nice about Mt. Baldy was it was only 20 minutes from our house.

UPLAND CALIFORNIA - FRONT PORCH -

I use to pass by this house all the time on my way to Mt. Baldy - it's a beautiful house and just feels good looking at it.  The whole area is really nice.  This is more likely called San Antonio Heights - above Upland.   It's been one of those days where the clouds move in front of the sun - then move out again and it warms up, get chilly again and breezy again as it clouds over and this goes on all day.  Really beautiful.  So much rain poured down on us - at least 3".  It was great and looking at future reports the same pattern is setting up next week - basically the same days of rain - after our little warm up over the next few days.   Fall is pretty unpredictable and El Nino will be affecting us quite a bit I believe.

Sometimes a phrase will strike me and I want to remember it.  I think it was Paulo Coelho who wrote the  "Alchemist."  I'm posting this to remind myself to check at our local library for more books by him (he wrote quite a lot).

I saw this on Tumbler and by the time I see something on Tumbler it's been reblogged so many times that once in awhile I can't find the original source, such as now.  Anyway - here is a peaceful scene to enjoy.  I would love to walk on that path.