Scenes From a September Drive

On Saturday we headed out on the season's first country drive.  We never know quite what to expect, but decided to head south this time, since we hadn't done an aimless wander in that direction before.  We were hoping to find some farm stands and do a little roadside grocery shopping, like we did last year.  Alas, the weather was so lousy this year that most home gardens did miserably, and there wasn't a surplus to share.  Still, there were some other wonderful surprises along the way!

We drove until we got hungry, and then found a farm shop.  We just grabbed some local cheese and cold cuts to eat outdoors, but we had a lot of fun wandering their pick-your-own fields for blackberries, raspberries and runner beans. 

Well, Hello Pretty Lady!

As we were leaving the farm, we saw a flyer for a dog show in the next village!  We went and checked that out, and it was a whole lot of super-cute fun.  When we were there, it was only children showing dogs, which were often as big as their handlers.

I love the dynamics between each child + pet pair.

 Adorable, well-behaved doggies.

After the dog show, we thought we'd stop for a cider on our way home.  We saw this hotel right next to a pond, and thought it would be a nice place to sit a while.

 
 Little did we know that there was a huge nature preserve behind it, with some wonderful walking paths!

And the most wonderful surprise of all was that we could walk into the field where dozens of beautiful, friendly cattle were grazing!

 

  

I love seeing humans and animals out enjoying life and nature together.

 

We walked along a creek and enjoyed more pastoral views and autumn foliage, our hearts full of all the richness we had stumbled upon.

We headed back, drank our ciders in the golden afternoon sun, and made the short drive back home.

And then we pinched ourselves.  Just to make sure it had all really happened. (And it did-- I've got the pictures to prove it!)

 Have you had any Autumn Fun yet?

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