Fall Has Fell...Almost

These ARE leaves from my own persimmon tree. Okay, So I take a million of them every year. But they are so stunning in their jewel-like brilliance, that how can I resist????
Don't the persimmons look like luscious apricots? Well, don't kid yourself. If you bite into one of these babies, it will pucker your smucker for sure.

We went in search of Autumn this weekend...and we found her, still alive and kicking...right here in southern Utah. We usually drive up Right-hand Canyon on Cedar Mountain to see the fall leaves, but this year, we didn't make it. So on Friday afternoon, Darwin and I took a little jaunt over to Toquerville to see the ornamental pear trees that line the road. (Delighful little town, I must say...I love Toquerville!)






Doesn't Darwin look cute surveying the town with his cane in hand? Ever since his last back surgery, he's had to rely on the cane to keep him steady. It embarrassed him at first, but now...we're both grateful for it.
















After Toquer, we motored up to Virgin, where we stopped to say hi to the burros. For those in the know, Darwin's nickname through the years has been Burro...or the Big Burro.
Aren't these guys adorable? The funny thing was that as soon as my Burro alighted from our Santa Fe, he started braying. The four-legged burros were clear over at the opposite end of the field. A couple of them started answering back as soon as they heard Darwin. They started coming over IMMEDIATELY, like flies to the honey. They knew the voice of their master!

It was hard to leave the donkeys...but we wrenched ourselves away from the friendly fellas and kept driving up the Kolob road to see if there was any colorful foliage left. The funny thing about autumn in the desert is that you have to take her where you can find her! Tucked alongside the barren hills will be rivers of gold. It ain't Vermont, but it shore is purty!

A couple of miles...well, maybe five or so then, if you want to be picky and exact...up the road towards Kolob from Virgin, there's a pond we always called Delmar's Pond. Darwin and I both have fond memories of swimming in this pond. Note: I said SWIMMING, NOT skinny-dipping...at least for the people I swam with!!! We were so lacking in canned entertainment that an old swimming hole like this one seemed like major excitement. Back in those days, it wasn't all moss-infested like it is now. I don't think Delmar Cornelius was thrilled with having kids swim there...in fact, that was part of the fun, knowing that it was forbidden. We had to watch for traffic and be sneaky.

The day I took this shot, Delmar's son Keith was there taking pictures, too. Isn't this a cool photo? You should see it on my computer monitor and not all squished up on here!


















We headed back towards Zion after Delmar's Pond...because the darn sun was getting low. Oh, my gosh! I was snapping away like a fiend, and I have so many awesome photos. But...I'm getting TIRED of posting them on here. Here are a few more just to whet your appetite.Looky, looky...the light is fading fast. Don't you LOVE the hills of home???

By the time we got in Springdale, the sun was kissing the cliffs goodnight (did I just say "kissing the cliffs goodnight?" Arghhh!). See? A picture IS worth a thousand words!

We liked our tour so much that we invited Kendall and Aaron along on Saturday for the same basic trip, except we went on up to Kolob instead of going to Zion. More photos on that jaunt later...maybe. Hop on over to Kendall's blog and check it out, because we were having camera wars on Saturday. I think he beat me for sheer volume of pics snapped. You win, Chien Po!!!