Autumn in Northern Michigan

October is one of my favorite months and autumn is my favorite season. I have so many fond memories of this season and the beautiful trees changing color in my small hometown of Grayling, Michigan. Grayling is located about 60 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. We have beautiful forests all around us. When autumn comes to Michigan it comes with the gusto of beautiful colors of red, orange, purple, yellow, and rust.

This reminds me of the forests by my grandparent's resort

One of my great memories was walking in fallen leaves in the woods. At my grandma's resort, my cousins and I would rake up the leaves and pile them as high as we could and we would begin to jump in the pile. Those piles of leaves were so soft and smelled so good!
 

Gorgeous colors!

Love Michigan fall colors

Fall was also a time that we begin to bring out our warmer clothes like nice warm sweaters, we would drink hot cider and hot chocolate, and have baked banana or pumpkin bread. Homemade soups and chili were also part of the fall.

My mother would buy large pumpkins and we would carve them out for jack-o-lanterns. She would put a large candle in them and would light it at night. Then she would make pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie is still my very favorite pie!

Our pastor owned a farm and he had a big barn he would convert into a haunted house on Halloween. I remember our youth group going out to his farm. I never like the haunted barn it was dark and scary, and I screamed my way through it.

I love autumn so much that a few years ago I began to buy some fall decor for my house. I have this touch of autumn in my house from the middle of September until after Thanksgiving.

Giving thanks is what it is all about!

In my entryway

Part of my scarecrow collection

Great place to serve pumpkin bread!

The only thing I didn't like about fall was when it was coming to an end. I remember the geese beginning to gather and fly overhead in their V formation and honk goodbye. That honking was a sad reminder to me that my favorite season was wrapping up and the season I liked the least was on its way...cold, long winter. Brr Brr! 

This is on the AuSable River that runs through our town

 
(I want to thank Jan Seator Gill for the wonderful pictures she took in the Grayling area. She definitely captured the beauty of the autumn in northern Michigan.)