Fall Pictures... in a Cemetery?

About 2 weeks ago Dustin and I took the girls up to Central City to gamble for a few hours.
HA...just kidding. But there is a grave yard up there that is actually very beautiful and a couple years ago we took some pictures up there with Alivia so we decided to head back up this year and get a few of all of us. We were heading up on our own so we had to get creative with taking a "family" picture but we did manage to snap two. And keep in mind this is using a cell phone so quality could be better.

This cemetery dates back to the 1860's and has beautiful old wrought iron gates, marble headstones and beautiful aspen trees. One of the saddest things we notice while walking through here is how young so many of the "occupants" were when they died. Some merely months old, most small children. And possibly even more sad is that you see a lot of young siblings together there.

If you're ever in the area and have a chance to drive around this is a beautiful place to get out and explore a bit. Keep in mind you are in a cemetery and please be respectful of the area.

Here are the photos we took this Fall. Hope you enjoy!

The sun had just come out and was right in our eyes!

 

The smell of Autumn

Today's prompt on NaBloPoMo;
Which smell lets you know that it is autumn?
 

Hands down, the first thing I think of is cinnamon. Remember two days ago when I said Fall wasn't my favorite season? Well this goes right along with that, and the fact that a lot has changed for me this year. Cinnamon, I hate the over powering smell of cinnamon when you walk into a grocery store this time of year. Honestly the second you walk in there is this big 'ol draft of cinnamon and there's no escaping it. I guess they must dip an entire bag of pine cones into a huge vat of cinnamon and then I think they place a fan underneath the pine cones to make sure you are bombarded with the stench smell. I'm obviously not a fan.

Why are they dipped in pine cones anyway? I assume that's what they are. I never get close enough to them to really look.

For some reason, this year, it doesn't bother me as bad. Maybe it's because I'm really liking fall this year. Is it a pregnant thing? Maybe it is now that I think about it. 2 years ago I was pregnant at this exact same time and I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving. Actually...that was just about the food lol. What pregnant woman doesn't want Thanksgiving to hurry the hell up and get here?!

Back to my original thought though. Any time of year if I smell cinnamon it makes me think of fall right away. While I still don't particularly appreciate the stores tactic of attacking me with it, I am starting to appreciate it more.

And, since we're on the subject. Do you know how good cinnamon is for you? Apparently really good. My mother has told me about many remedies over the years and almost all of them contain cinnamon. To name a few potential aliments that might be helped by cinnamon;

• muscle spasms
• vomiting 
• diarrhea 
• infections 
• the common cold
• loss of appetite
• erectile dysfunction (interesting?)

Cinnamon may lower blood sugar in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. (From Medical News Today)

There are also some out there that say it can/may help with fungal infections, Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's.  There may be something to this, I think a lot of this is still in the research phase but you have to start somewhere right?

If you're still interested in this lovely tree bark and want to learn more about it's potential uses here's a great website I found with some good info.
http://www.learnvest.com/2012/09/20-unexpected-uses-for-cinnamon/

Oh, and apparently the scent of cinnamon can help sharpen the mind and make you more focused...maybe King Sooper's just wants us all to be smarter shoppers?

Favorite Autumn Sound

I've been thinking about this one all day. Autumn brings upon many different smells, sights and tastes, certainly different feelings as the weather starts to change. But what does Autumn sound like? And what's my favorite of those sounds?

When I was younger the sounds were different this time of year. I'd be starting school again, getting ready in the morning with the birds chirping, listening to other kids in the neighborhood piling into their cars, the school bell ringing and lots of talkative friends.

I don't hear those sounds anymore. Someday, when Alivia is starting school I'm guessing those sounds will come rushing back to me. But now, as an adult and a married woman and a mommy? It's the crunching of the leaves under my little girls feet. The sound of her little voice saying "Mommy crunch!" and her shoes running across the pavement or sloshing through the wet grass as fast as she can go to crunch the leaves on the ground. It's the sound of her giggles and smiles as she looks up at me while stomping her little feet in the leaves and looking around for more to chase.

The sound of  leaves blowing down the sidewalk in the wind is also quite nice. It's a little unsettling as it usually reminds me of some scary movie but it's also calming when it's the only thing you hear.

My favorite sound of fall has changed over the years, that's for sure. My liking for the season at all has changed, and that's a good thing.