Hi everyone! Fall is here, (at least it will be here in Oklahoma this week, finally!) and you know that old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words?” It’s so true! Today, I have some beautiful pictures I wanted to share with you! These are some spectacular pictures of my second home, the state of West Virginia, taken by professional photographer Rick Burgess, who also happens to be a good friend. Rick is so talented, and he has many prints, calendars, t-shirts, and even a book that features his wonderful photography that are all available to order! This is a just a very small sample of Rick’s work, and there are too many “special” pictures to show them all, of course, but you can go to Facebook here and see more if you are interested!
http://www.facebook.com/Rick-Burgess-Photography-1784107871826356/
Do these pictures evoke a fall memory? I don’t know why, but when I think of fall, I think of realizing “fall is in the air” on the way to my piano teacher’s house one afternoon after school. Odd, isn’t it? I was about 10 or so, but I will never forget how that day smelled as I walked–crisp, clean, and well–like fall!
Gnarled tree at Plum Orchard Lake. The Lord has a beautiful palette of colors in His work–more than we could ever imagine!
The mist at the end of a West Virginia road…wonder what’s down there around the bend?
A Rick Burgess shot of the New River Gorge. There is a bridge that goes over this, and once you’re at the place where you can get out and look down, you are so high you’re level with the hawks that make their home there–they call it “Hawk’s Nest”–and it’s one of the most breathtaking places on earth!
One of my personal favorites, these trees at sunrise with the mountains behind them. I love these colors!
A West Virginia rainbow!
This is one of my favorite pics of Rick’s. A reminder of days gone by.
So many colors! Beautiful stuff, with the leaves on the trees changing to their fall hues.
A gorgeous sunset. Isn’t it beautiful?
The fog lifting in the West Virginia highlands. This reminds me of the Woody Guthrie song, “This Land is Your Land”. When I was growing up in a small Oklahoma town in the 60’s, Woody Guthrie’s sister was our school secretary. We learned many of the beloved songs he wrote about Oklahoma, but also “This Land is Your Land” which was about our entire country. When we sang these songs sometimes before class started, she would listen on the intercom and compliment us. She always said, “My brother would be so proud of you all!” There’s a stanza that talks about the fog lifting:
When the sun comes shining, then I was strolling
In the wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me.
And one last parting shot! Beautiful stuff!
When I was a kid, fall was something we all looked forward to because every month had something special to offer–in September, we started school and got to see all our schoolmates again. In October, of course there was Halloween! (Who DIDN’T look forward to that?) November brought Thanksgiving, and getting to go to my grandparents’. And of course…December was the best of all with Christmas to think about.
What’s a favorite fall memory of yours? I hope these pictures will stir the memories of beautiful fall days in your mind!
Beautiful photos!! My sisters and I jumping in a pile of leaves is a really good memory of fall.
Hi Kathleen! I just love the way leaves smell. My dad was always raking them and using them for mulch–he worked in the yard a LOT when he got home from work–that was his therapy. Good memories! I had friends that I did that with–the jumping in piles of leaves. Nothing better in the fall for a kid to be able to do!
The photos are amazing. I have been to the gorge. It is incredible. My memory would have to be leaves and playing in them
Debby, that place is just breathtaking no matter what time of year you go, isn’t it? But it’s especially glorious in the fall with all the colors!
Getting apples at the apple houses near my family’s home.
Hi Janice! I always envy people like you who grew up in “apple country”–my hubby was born and raised in WV and apples were more plentiful there than they were here in Oklahoma where I grew up. Those are one of my very favorite fruits and there is so much you can do with them! Happy fall!
Gorgeous photos! They evoke the feel of autumn perfectly!
One of my favorite memories of fall is taking a leaf – usually a maple leaf – laying a piece of paper over it, then sweeping my pencil over and over it until the shape of the leaf came through. It was magical! 🙂
Hi Pam! I love these photos and believe me, Rick has got PLENTY more where these came from. He has a natural eye for photography and I don’t believe he has ever taken a “bad” picture! I had forgotten about being able to shade over a leaf and have it come out on the paper like that! That made me also think of something I did as a “BLUE BIRD” Campfire Girl when I was in about 2nd grade. We went out and gathered up the “best leaves we could find” and made a little ceramic dish out of the wet clay, then pressed our leaf down into it to leave the shape. Then we painted it and fired them and had these gorgeous little dishes we had made to set on our dresser, etc. I’m sure mine is long gone. They were very fragile, but I sure did treasure mine for many years. I’m so glad you stopped by today! Happy fall to you, my friend! XOXO
these are beautiful photos. thanks for sharing. growing up in the desert in CA we didnt have the gorgeous foliage. we had chillier days and going back to school. when I was in high school we moved to Illinois during the summer. when it was time to go to school the leaves were just starting to change, by October we had a gorgeous array of colored trees. the first time I had seen this and I was so in love. to this day I love Autumn and what God does with these trees
Hi Lori! I’d grown up in Oklahoma, and had to move to WV the summer before my senior year in high school. We usually have some kind of fall here in Oklahoma, but of course, not NEARLY the beautiful foliage that they have in WV! So that was a really bright spot, even at 17, to get to see such beautiful and DIFFERENT kinds of scenery, as WV is a totally different kind of terrain than OK is–much like you experienced in your move to Illinois from California! I know you can relate, being uprooted during high school years and moving away is really hard on a teenager, but gradually, I appreciated being somewhere new and different, and hey, I met my hubby out there! LOL Like you, I SO appreciate the beautiful colors of Autumn, and I miss seeing that splendor in that part of the country during this time of year, since I’m back in Oklahoma once again and have been for many years.
I recall the crisp smells of the changing leaves and slightly cooler air. Also, memories of putting together our classes float for the homecoming football parade. Such lovely memories.
Oh, gosh, Judy! I’d forgotten about those floats and doing the work on those. Some of those were pretty darn good for high school kids! LOL That cool air is really invigorating, too, and my dogs certainly do love it. They are a lot more playful when fall is in the air. LOL
A fall memory for me is processing apples for pies, apple crisp, and dehydrating them to eat as treats. We just got back from Maine and the foliage was stunning. I even visited Ruth Logan Herne’s pumpkin farm in upstate New York. The pictures you shared are awesome! Thank you!
Hi Kathy, I bet Maine is just beautiful this time of year! And the pumpkin farm was probably just fantastic! I’ve known Rick a long time, and I’ve just always admired his talent with a camera forever. He’s got so many more beautiful, beautiful pictures over on FB and I always “go down a rabbit hole” when I go there and just start looking around to see what’s new.
My hubby grew up in WV and he remembers how he and his siblings had to stand outside and stir this huge pot of what would become apple butter as it cooked over an open fire. He loves all things apple and so do I! LOL
Cheryl, these pictures are stunning! Fall makes my heart sing. I love that the world seems to slow down some and the days are much cooler. Plus the fall foliage creates such beauty.
Hi Linda! So glad to see you! Yes, I love fall too, more and more, the older I get–but for different reasons than I did when I was a kid (Yeah…I had to give up trick-or-treating a while back…) LOL Fall DOES seem more laid back and relaxing. I remember how when I was younger, summer seemed to be the laid back time in my life, but now, things have swung around and times are different. Fall is wonderful, and somehow invigorating! We’re having a few cool days right now, and we’re supposed to get our first frost tonight, but in a couple of days, it’ll be back up into the 70’s and 80’s for a “last gasp of summer.” LOL Hugs, my filly sister! Hope all is well with you!
Wow…. Thank you for showing these to us. Absolute beauty.
I always feel nostalgic at this time of year too and for the same reasons you mentioned with school and Halloween being up there on the list. I never feel nostalgic when summer hits, it’s always in the fall.
I grew up in Northern California and in the fall there was an old man who would drive down out of the mountains with boxes of different apples to sell and our moms would rush out of the house and everybody would be excited and yelling ‘The Apple Man is here’. We were amazed that he’d take any apple you handed him and snap it in two. Idkh he did that. The apples we ate then aren’t like anything I see in the stores although fortunately there are some good ones available over the past decade or so.
Hi Rachel! I wish I had more room to put tons more of Rick’s pictures here, but there are so many more great ones on his FB page. I might do another one of these for each season so I can show more of these gorgeous photos of his.
I remember how my mom was always to thrilled to see the first robin of spring. Seemed to lighten her spirits with the promise of those wonderful warmer spring days on the way. But now that I’m older, I realize how her own nostalgia and “self-awareness” (for lack of a better term) seemed to set in when the first fall days started to arrive. I think I’m much that same way now, too, as I’ve gotten older.
What a great memory about The Apple Man! Kind of like a healthy ice cream truck driving by! LOL I didn’t know anyone could snap an apple in two, either! What a trick. But probably if that was his life and he’d been working with them so long, he learned to do that after so much experience.
So glad you stopped by! I learned something today. Never knew it was possible to snap an apple in two with your bare hands. HAPPY FALL, Rachel!
Awesome pictures, Cheryl. Fall is a beautiful time of year. Love the beautiful trees & going to the pumpkin patch. But, it’s counting down those days to the Holidays.
Oh, yes, Lois! I agree–and I remember when I was little and Mom and I would be shopping, and she’d say, “Oh my goodness. They have already got the Thanksgiving things out and Halloween just ended! Pretty soon they will have the Christmas decorations out before Thanksgiving is even over!” If she could see the way things are NOW! SHE WAS RIGHT! LOL They have Christmas stuff alongside the Halloween stuff, almost. LOL That makes me laugh every time I remember it, because she wanted to savor each holiday for what it was before moving on to the next one. I’m like that, too. I’m sure it’s hereditary. LOL
As a kid, receiving that Sears catalogue was just THE BEST, because then you knew it was really coming! LOL I think I wore that thing out every year, just looking through at all the Christmas decorations and toys.
Lots of good fall memories!
I enjoyed your pics of West Virginia… my second home, too! I miss it especially in the fall, as the colors are just spectacular there & Fall is my favorite time of year!
I remember singing “This Land is Your Land” in music class there when I was in 4th grade. 1982… wow, that’s been awhile back! 😉 A friend of ours from church was the music teacher at the little elementary school there in Green Bank. She taught me & another girl in my class (also a friend from church) to sing the accompaniment while the rest of the class sang the song… it overlaid the chorus. “This land is your land, this land is mine, from Maine to Montana, desert to the shore. We sing that this land is your land, this land is mine, yes, it’s made for you and me.” Good memories!!!
I remember you saying that you’d lived in WV! It was so odd to me when we came back to Oklahoma after living there, that people would think we were saying we’d lived in the WESTERN PART OF VIRGINIA! OMG!!! That was an eye opener. LOL
Isn’t it great to have a person in your life that sees your potential and encourages you to do learn to do something with it, like singing a different part of the song to make it more lovely? My mom was a very talented vocalist, and she grew up soooo poor in the Depression, but she taught her younger sisters to sing “parts” and they performed a lot just locally. She had no one to teach this to her. She just “knew”–she never was taught to read music. She had a wonderful ear for music, and I’ve always thought what a great gift she gave her sisters to teach them the different harmonies. That’s such a special thing to do, because you can use that all your life.
It’s always so good to hear from you! HAPPY FALL!
Love the pictures Thank you for sharing My oldest daughter lives in West Virginia and it is Beautiful there!
Sarah, you are so welcome. It was my pleasure. We need to see all the beautiful things we can, don’t we! LOL That is very beautiful country out there–and…I will say it also prepared me for knowing how to drive on ice/snow when the occasions arise! LOL
I don’t have any special memories from childhood for Fall, other than my birthday.
We always took our kids to the pumpkin patch. And I have those memories.
Denise, I don’t really have anything that stands out especially. It’s more of a “feeling” about that time–more of a nostalgic feeling about things that come along during that season. Like you, I have more actual memories of the things I did with my kids when they were young. They are now 36 and 33–I took a lot of pictures, of course, and I have so many good memories of all the things we did like the pumpkin patch and lots of Girl Scout activities with my daughter, and of course “fall ball” with my son. LOL I miss those days!
I remember the crispy night air at the high school foot ball games, jumping in the raked up leaves in the yard, the feeling of a cozy sweater, and mom making fall cake and pies.
Sigh…Connie, you reminded me of those days of being in the high school band and those ball games we played at every Friday night. Our house was older and we had floor furnaces to heat it with, and those gas stoves in the bathroom. I remember how my dad would light those when he got up to get ready for work and HOW GREAT that warmth was on those cool mornings. Great memories!
Love the pics! When I started working, I started taking my vacations in October. It was cooler then in NW GA, and I loved going up to visit family and it be cooler and see the leaves changing. FL rarely participates in Fall, so it was nice to see a change!
Trudy you made me laugh about Florida “not participating in fall”–isn’t that the truth! LOL I do like having four seasons. I just wish fall lasted longer than it usually does here in OK–some years we have about 2 weeks before we launch right into winter temps! THAT is not cool! LOL
Hi, Thank you for sharing the pictures, they are beautiful! I remember coming home from school and my siblings and I would go outside and play while my mom fixed dinner , when dinner was ready she would call us back in and as I stepped inside the door, I could smell the hot cocoa on the stove. My mom would make us hot cocoa on the stove in a big pot to go with our dinner, I will always remember and cherish this beautiful memory, it seems like whenever I remember , I can smell the hot cocoa. Have a great week.
Alicia, isn’t that so strange about how smells come to us even when we know they are “not really there”–it’s just a memory. And that is a wonderful one to be able to call up! I love the smell of hot cocoa, and another one I really love is fresh-cut grass in the summer time. I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures–He’s got so many gorgeous ones, I’d like to have prints and just cover my walls with them! LOL So beautiful! HAPPY FALL!
Gorgeous pictures! I ‘ve always loved the smells of fall, dry leaves, fall asters, corn silage as it is harvested and of course apples in the kitchen or on the trees. When we were kids one Sunday in October my dad would say lets go for a drive. We would drive on back roads of Northeastern NY and Western Vermont enjoying the beautiful colors and stop at a road side stand for apples and cider to take home. Great memories.
Oh, Alice, that is a wonderful memory to be able to call up. When I was growing up, we did very few “drives” like you’re talking about because my dad worked in the oil fields and he was gone (on the road) a LOT. So he was just so relieved to be home and not having to go anywhere else. He was on call 24/7 for those wells if they got into trouble. So he cherished his time at home. But we would take a vacation about every other year, and I remember a lot of those. Oddly enough, I don’t remember so much about what happened when we actually GOT to where we were going as I do the driving part. I loved that–the driving. He was always game to stop by roadside stands for fruits and vegetables, and Mom and Dad both loved to stop by those roadside “junk” places to see what they could find. Sometimes, he’d take me with him out to the oilfield when he had to go check on a well. We did a lot of that during the fall–in the summer in Oklahoma it was way too hot. LOL
Cheryl, thank you so much for sharing Rick Burgess’ pictures with us. He really does beautiful work. I grew up in the Adirondack Mountains oaf Northern New York nearly on the Canadian border. From our house on the hilltop looking across Lake Champlain, we could see the Green Mountains of Vermont and the high peaks of New Hampshire. One of my fondest memories was driving through Canada to Northern Maine (it was shorter than going through VT and NH). It was October and the colors were still near peak. We had just gotten engaged and I was visiting the base where he was stationed before he left for Vietnam. The entire area is heavily wooded and there are vast vistas of the mountains, lakes, and glorious woodlands in full color. We now live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The views around here are similar to those Rick Burgess has taken pictures of. I have always loved walking through the woods with the fallen leaves crunching underfoot and the special scent of freshly fallen leaves. I still have a clear image in my mind of an afternoon walk in the woods with our two young daughters and our beagle. My husband had gone ahead grouse hunting and was walking down the path towards us. We were surrounded by golden leaves. Our dog planted herself in front of us with a low growl as soon as she spotted my husband. She stayed planted there growling until he was about 10 feet away and talking to her. As soon as he recognized him, she was up with her tail wagging. We never did need protecting the 17 years we had her, but it was nice to know she was fully ready to do so.
Have a wonderful rest of October.
Patricia, I went to visit my niece a few years back when she lived close to the Adirondacks–they are sooo beautiful! I love Rick’s photography ( you can probably tell! ) I love the story about your dog. They are so loyal and I love that they are so prepared to take on anything to protect their loved ones. Dogs are wonderful! My two are the friendliest things ever, but I think if they were uncertain they would put themselves between us and the “danger”–they did that for a while when we hired the lawn guy, but he was used to dogs and just let them get used to him and then petted them a little bit and now they know him. They still bark when he first shows up, but I always say, “That’s just Michael!” and they will stop and kind of go, “Oh…okay.” LOL
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your memories with us. I love hearing about the things people remember and their stories they have to share with us! I hope you have a wonderful rest of October, too, Patricia, and a very wonderful fall!
I am an only child. My Mom was one of eight children. The family minus two of the brothers would come for Thanksgiving. We would have a house full for Thanksgiving dinner. There was laughter, conversations as well as wonderful food. My Mom is the only one left of her brothers and sister. We cherish the memories. Thank you for sharing the wonderful pictures of West Virginia. She was born and raised there. I white water rafted on the New River for my senior trip. I love the area. God bless you.
Debbie, I was like you–I was NOT an only child, but I kind of grew up as one since both my sisters were older and out of the house by the time I was 8–off to college, married, and starting their adult lives. I remember those holidays with such joy, because we always went to my grandparents’ and had just so much love, laughter, and FOOD! LOL And of course, I had some cousins I looked forward to playing with since Mom came from a very large family, with her being the oldest of 11 kids. What a wonderful gift to still have your mom and be able to remember together and relive those wonderful times! My hubby was born and raised there, too, near Charleston, and then after we married we lived in two or three different places in small towns nearby, as he worked for the FAA at the airport there in Charleston. What a great senior trip! WOW–I would love to have done that in my younger days! It is a beautiful area–that whole state is so gorgeous! Tell your mom this “adopted Mountaineer” said hi!
I love the pictures. Used to go to WVA that is where my husbands family were from. He was a coal miners son. The mntns and valleys were beautiful
Hi Emma–my hubby’s dad was a coal miner for a good while, too, and he died of black lung. :(((( I’m so glad you enjoyed the pictures! Hubby and I have not been back to WV for probably about 7 or 8 years now. We both would like to go back to visit, but I’m not sure if we will make that long of a trip at this point. There really is “no place like home” and that is where my hubby was born and raised–I know he misses it, even though he’s spent more than twice as long here in Oklahoma.