Hocus Pocus Tuesday Focus: Five Useful Questions + Five Autumn Photos

/ Ally Bean

And now for something different…

From what I can tell Seth Godin [marketing guru, author, lecturer] is a master at getting people to think about their projects, or their lives, in a new light.

He does this by asking generic questions that nudge you, the self-aware reader of said questions, to answer them in such a way as to frame your project/life differently and go forth with a renewed sense of purpose.

And isn’t that magical, by cracky!

Which brings me to today, a Tuesday, the day on which I plan on publishing a personal blog post, one that answers the most basic of basic question: What up, Buttercup?  

But alas & alack on this Tuesday I’ve nothing in particular to talk about, nor has anything interesting happened that is worthy of a blog post.

However, be that as it may, today instead of my usual flapdoodle and twaddle I shall charm you, my little hobgoblins, by answering the following questions that are perhaps meant for business projects, but equally useful when conjuring a personal blog post.

Seth’s Five Useful Questions 

🔶 What’s the hard part? 

I find that keeping the leaves out of your wine glass is the hardest part. You’d be amazed how many leaves try to jump into the glass.

🔶 How are you spending your time?

Autumn is my favorite season so I’m doing everything I can to enjoy it by going outside to walk, to rake, to sit, to muse upon the meaning of life.

🔶 What do you need to know?

I need to know where the rake is. And a broom, too. Maybe even the electric leaf blower if I can find the cord for it. There be leaves everywhere.

🔶 What is the scary part?

The scary part is climbing on a ladder to get the leaves out of gutters. We only clear the gutter you see in this photo, then in November the window washer guy will remove the rest of the leaves from all the gutters.

🔶 Is it worth it?

I believe it is. I like living among deciduous trees for many reasons, but mostly because I enjoy seeing the leaves change colors in the fall. Besides what’s a few hours of working in the yard, raking leaves, when there’s beauty all around?

~ 🔶 ~

WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU? WHAT’S MAGICAL IN YOUR LIFE TODAY? BEWITCH US IN THE COMMENTS BELOW

~ 🔶 ~

213 thoughts on “Hocus Pocus Tuesday Focus: Five Useful Questions + Five Autumn Photos”

  1. Those are all wonderful and well-thought out answers. I’d have to say that I am as enthralled with autumn as you are. As Anne of Green Gables would say (and I did use it in my post but hey…
    “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it?”
    I actually love raking the leaves, walking on pathways that have a crinkle carpet. The light is so different at this time of year and I cannot help but take out my camera as I breathe it all in.
    Now… if they could just finish with the work on the house so I can actually sit down sans guilt. Oh wait. Once they finish, I star!
    Mind you, I did for maybe five minutes yesterday sit with my book before I spotted something else for me to take car of…
    I so love Seth. I used to get a daily email. I’ll have to re-sign up since I changed my email.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Marian, we only attempt to clean the one that hovers over us while we’re sitting on the deck because one gust of wind and all those leaves fall down on us with a plop. In no way magical.

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  4. I love houses with trees. I often wonder why more people don’t plant shade trees in their back yard. I grew up in a house with a shady backyard and when I walk into a place like that it feels instantly like home. You could get gutter guards but then you’d miss the fun of climbing ladders. I planted two new trees in the spring. One is a sugar maple sporting a yellowish orange hue and the other is a Brandywine maple that is a bright red. So work the leaves.

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    • Kate, I wonder that, too. We live in a subdivision where almost everyone has planted new trees in their front yards, but fewer people plant them in the backyard. Most backyards here are fire pits or filled with play gyms so maybe trees get in the way? I like your choices for the trees in your yard. They’ll look great for decades to come.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I also adore fall, although, living in the Deep South, miss the spectacular leave color. Still, along my creek there is a yellow or burnt orange tree or two. Thank you for your post. Your words enliven my mind this morning.

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    • C A M, I’ve been in the South in the fall and the colors are pretty, just not as showy as what we’re seeing up here in the Midwest. I’m charmed by burnt orange leaves so I’m glad you’re seeing them– not that there’s anything wrong with gold or red leaves. Have a wonderful day, thanks for stopping by to comment.

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  6. The Fall leaves around here have been really beautiful this year – such vibrant varied colors! I am really enjoying them. We have lots of leaves waiting to come down so we haven’t started raking yet but soon… No offense but I really dislike leaf blowers – the noise is awful! Thanks for posting!

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    • Ellen D, I enjoy the vibrant colors of fall leaves and it sounds like you’ve got that going on. Lucky you. I don’t like leaf blowers either BUT we live on a wooded ravine lot and the last time I tried to rake the leaves off the lawn into the woods I lost my balance and fell. Didn’t get hurt, just unnerved. SO I’ve admitted defeat and use a leaf blower in that quadrant of the property. You get older, you do what you have to!

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  7. It’s not leaves that end up in our wineglasses, but bugs. So annoying. My woodworker husband actually made wineglass covers out of oak for us to place over our glasses between sips. (I just grab one of our cork coasters or a napkin, but he wanted to be worky.)

    This Second Summer weather is glorious right now! My walks in the leaves remind me of walking to and from school as a kid. There’s nothing like that sound.

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    • Nance, we get bugs in our glasses, too. I try to not think about that. I’m impressed with your husband’s oak wine glass covers. They put my cocktail napkin approach to shame.

      I agree about how this particular October the weather & the leaves have been reminiscent of walking home from school. *crunch, crunch. shuffle, shuffle. kick, kick*

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  9. Fall is a great time for me, especially now that we have a home where we can look around and see all the fabulous colors NE US trees provide this time of year, without having each and every one of their leaves landing in our property. We used to live amongst a ton of trees, which deposited their wares each Fall upon our porch, roof, gutters, yard, driveway, etc. As much as I love these colorful wonders each Autumn, I no longer miss having them three inches deep in every direction. As I child, I welcomed that kind of situation. As an adult, not so much. All that being said, if I do see a pile of someone else’s leaves during a walk, I may take a run at jumping into them just to show I still think “young” on occasion!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Bruce, I understand your lack of enthusiasm about too many leaves– and yes there is such a thing. We have many, many leaves, but not quite too many. You’re right about being a kid with leaves– so. much. fun. I haven’t jumped into a pile of leaves in years. Seems like I’d get hurt somehow… but you have at it. I’m sure your health insurance will cover any injury you might sustain.

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    • Colleen, of course you’re welcome to come share the wine and the leaves. I’ll ask the trees to not drop any leaves in your wine, but I can’t guarantee it won’t happen. It’s the darnedest thing.

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  11. I think you did a masterful job with those questions Ally Bean. I am still pondering over the fact that you have a “window washer guy” who will also clean out gutters. This is magical and astounding and would be music to my homeowner ears if I still owned a home! What a treasure and necessity. I do have windows though. I need a window washer guy- but I think it will remain just me and my squeegee! We have not had the main drop of leaves yet. Our weird weather has slowed the process. I’m just now able to find places on my walks where lovely, musical dry leaf crunching awaits. I also like the shwooshing sound as you drag your feet a bit in deeper piles.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deb, thank you. I liked answering Seth’s questions in the context of autumnal beauty. I’d probably like answering them in other contexts, but none come to mind right now.

      Yes we have a window washer guy. It may sound pretentious but it’s a good investment in maintaining the house. The current window washer guy is the nephew of the original one who sold his business to his nephew. Nice family, good at what they do, handsome kid, I might add.

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  12. The magic in my life is having grandson David living with me. He was here several years before John died, but now it’s just us two. We enjoy each other, and we are adjusting schedules and habits to make the most of our time together.

    Autumn is my favorite time of year.

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  13. I’m not sure how bewitching I can be on such short notice, Ally! But I did thoroughly enjoy your leafy photos. Perhaps because I grew up on the prairie, with nary a tree in sight, I find leaves much more charming than choreful. It helps, probably, that we pay someone to rake out leaves for us; an excellent use for money, I say. Although I could probably use the exercise.

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  16. I love autumn with the changing of the leaves, crisp, cooler temperatures that call for turtlenecks, sweaters, and tall boots.

    I loved you post today it was delightful. Bring on the Flapdoodle, and Twaddle any day as you do it so very well!

    Here’s to keeping the leaves, and bugs out of your wine glass! Cheers!! 🍷

    Liked by 1 person

  17. We’re having a pretty good autumn this year in the UK – leaf colour-wise – and it’s absolutely my favourite time of year. We don’t have a garden to sit out in, so it’s a wander on down to the little park for us and find a park bench to park our behinds on. I always intend to take my new little camera along with me to snap the odd snap with, but only remember it as I open the park gate. It was the same in the summer when we had the most amazing display of hollyhocks – I only remembered it when they were fading.

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  18. I love the colors of fall, the bright blue skies and the magical shades of the changing leaves. As some have said though, living in the south , we don’t have the brilliant colors that the northern states do. We were lucky enough to have taken a trip back home two weeks ago and got to see the beautiful colors. The only thing I don’t like about fall is that it gets darker sooner, meaning winter is coming!

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    • Beth, some years are less colorful than this year has been. You came north during an especially pretty fall. I know what you mean about it getting darker earlier and it’s dark when we get up now, too. I like winter at first, so I’ll just think of it that way. It’s the Feb/March part that can be difficult to endure.

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  19. I love Seth Godin and these questions. This should be a monthly series, in my opinion. I’m considering starting one as well.
    I’m right there with you on the leaves. My trees have suddenly become naked.
    In terms of Hocus Pocus, I saw the classic Hocus Pocus film for the first time. It was surprisingly anti-witch. I’m looking forward to seeing if Hocus Pocus 2 redeems them in any way.😊

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  20. Love the way that you did this post with the questions and the pictures! Your spammer that wanted more pictures must be happy!

    Leaves out of the wine glass – a big problem and one I’d be happy to grapple with. You are clearly doing a great job of enjoying fall. Nice work!

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  21. You have an electric leaf blower too? I either mow up the leaves or use the mulching attachment to suck the leaves up. My neighbors have deciduous trees but most of the leaves seem to fall in my yard. How do they manage that? I don’t drink wine so at least I don’t have that frustration.

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    • Margaret, we do have an electric leaf blower because our backyard is a hill that goes into a forest that ends in a ravine. One year I fell while raking on the hillside, and the lawn mower can’t go on the incline, so we bought a leaf blower that we use for this one purpose. We are suburban fancy! Yep, a bottle of beer never gets hit by a falling leaf, but glasses of wine are like white on rice. It’s weird

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  24. Before the city cut down seven seventy-year-old trees, I had to sweep the patio daily and clean out the rain gutters before the first fall rainstorm. (Invariably, I’d get spiders in my cleavage.) I don’t miss sweeping, and I definitely won’t miss cleaning out the gutters this year, but I miss those shady trees so much.

    I concur: it’s worth it.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Nancy, Seth has been around for years now. He was a big deal in the world of marketing, but I don’t know if he still is. I don’t follow him, but know of him. I stumbled over these questions and thought they’d make for a good blog post. If nothing else the man asks simple questions that get a person thinking.

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  27. My hardest part right now . . . enlisting the help of the other people who live in this house to HELP CLEAN UP THE HOUSE. How am I spending my time? Doing too much of the work. I’m on a mission. It happens every so often, that I sit up and take notice. I’m doing most of the work here, while working full time. This is not OK. The scariest part . . . well, that’s easy. It’s for the family members who aren’t pulling their weight. They need to deal with my bursts of frustration. There will be lists made. Tasks assigned.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ernie, I adore your last two sentences: There will be lists made. Tasks assigned. Oh I get that and applaud you for getting their butts in gear. You’ve answered the questions beautifully– and shared your frustration in the process. Nicely vented, now go out there and don’t do things that other people should be doing.

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    • Strangely Irid, your approach to writing seems sound to me. I find that I go through phases, enjoy expressing myself in one way, then move onto another way, following my own muse.

      I shall ask the leaves to stay away from my glass. I’ll tell them you said for them to do so!

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  29. October was my favorite month when I lived in New York. Here in Florida, it’s just a continuation of summer. We have leaves falling but not so many and not so pretty. I love your photos. They make me homesick. You have a window washer guy????? I am jealous.

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  31. Just don’t fall for fall when cleaning gutters. What’s new – well the world’s run amok but I guess you know that. I am persona non grata in a couple of circles right now but whatev’s as some say. Fall be gone here as snow snapped us straight to winter.

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  32. If you are so inclined Ally, I’ll take a blog post on best practices for cleaning up leaves. Lots and lots of leaves. Our neighbor says we can put our ride-on mower at the highest setting and it’ll blow them all in rows, after which we can mulch them by mowing down the rows at a lower setting. Hope this works, else I see a ton of raking in my future.

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    • Dave, that’s an interesting approach to getting rid of leaves. I hope it works for you. It makes sense and could save you hours of raking them all by hand. Not to mention it’d be fun. Bye-bye leaves!

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  33. Great answers! I took a couple of those life improvement courses back in the day. Then I realised that they’re all kind of the same tune and that I would rather enjoy autumn. 🙂 My only exciting news is that I’m headed back north (above 60° N latitude, so it’s up there) for work at the end of this week, so my enjoyment of autumn is going to come to a screeching halt. It’s my last northern winter, though, as retirement is coming up. Cheers.

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    • Bijoux, those temps are so out of the ordinary. I get the magic of it. I’ve worn shorts these last few days which is unheard of in October, yet here I am showing off my knees.

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  35. I heard on a podcast today that, in the US (I’m in Canada, but I’ll extrapolate for the whole of North America) that across all age demographics, fall is the favourite season.

    This surprised me, but I agree with every ounce of my being. I adore fall. The colours. The crunchy leaves. The warm days and crisp mornings. The earlier onset of darkness (but not too early – still lots of time to have fun AND light candles for a cozy supper). Eating soups and chilis again. Festive holidays. What is not to love about fall in our part of the world?!!

    I have nothing bewitching to share, but oh how I love fall!

    Oh, and I saw at least one commenter recommended mowing in leaves. We also do this each year. We rake some of the biggest piles, but then the rest get mowed into tiny pieces which has seemed to work well and saves a lot of time. It’s nice exercise, I suppose, but I’d rather go for a walk and look at the beautiful leaves than spend hours raking them.

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    • Elisabeth, I didn’t know that fall was THE most highly regarded season for so many people but I’m glad that it is. I agree with all you said about the temps and the food and the crunchy leaves and the candles at night. After summer’s heat and humidity [around here] it’s easy to relax into crisp autumn weather.

      We sometimes mow our leaves into bits, but when we use the mower we usually mulch the leaves which requires disposing of the leaves when the bag gets full, putting the mess into the ravine behind the house. Still that approach is faster than raking leaves. There may not be one perfect way to deal with fall leaves, other than to reward yourself in some way when they’re all properly tended to. 🍷

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  36. Great questions and photos! I keep having to brush yellow leaves off my car. My parking space is beneath an oak tree. Sigh.
    I still await the word of the agent who has two of my manuscripts. In the meantime, I keep plugging away at a third.

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    • L. Marie, at least yellow leaves are pretty. I love oak trees, especially in the fall. I hope something magical happens with your manuscripts. Soon. It would be frustrating to just have to wait…

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  39. Around my place it’s the pine needles. No sooner do I rake them up but there’s another pile. But I don’t mind – it gives me an excuse to ignore the dusting and the vacuuming and spend time outside.

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    • Jan, I’ve never had to contend with pine needles, but I like your attitude about them. I’m with you, any healthy activity that precludes dusting and vacuuming is a good one. Suzy Homemaker I am not.

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  40. Equinox is my favorite time of the year. I get to enjoy it in spring and fall when the light is even. I love that. Maybe that’s why life began at the equator and the ancient cells in my dna long for balance. Or I could be making that up.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Robin, I like how our natural light is now, too. I hadn’t thought of it as balance between daylight and nighttime but that’s what it is. As for you and your DNA, whatever you say about it, I’ll just reply with “I believe you.” How could I possibly not!

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  41. That was cute and creative – esp. the wine glass! These are such beautiful fall days enjoy them while you can. Nothing too magical here but I’m going to (hopefully) buy a new camera tomorrow, a point and shoot with a 30X zoom and an old fashioned viewfinder for sunny days. I say hopefully as I’m going to look at it at a specialty camera shop, and I don’t know how much help they will be able to give me, as I am hopeless at figuring out new tech stuff, like how to get the photos onto the computer. My cell phone camera is a piece of crap and my old digital is from 2005 and on it’s last legs so I need to do something, although the price was more than I wanted to pay.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Joni, I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a point and shoot camera with a decent zoom. Using my cell phone camera limits me. I understand about your concern about getting your photos into the computer. I like using a wire cable connecting camera to computer, but that’s old-fashioned now. I haven’t priced anything, but I’m sure I’ll be shocked… still might be worth it from a creative point of view. I look forward to finding out what you buy– or not.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Ally, I struck out today, as when I went to the camera shop, (in the pouring rain so I was drenched by the time I found parking and in no mood for general stupidity) and I couldn’t even check out the camera as the guy told me it wasn’t charged?? He called the day before and told me it had come in and I said I would be up Wed. pm. Did he think I was going to buy it without taking it out of the box and trying it out?? He said it would take 3 hours to charge, so I just drove home fuming, waste of time and gas…will try and go back tomorrow. I’m not keen on that camera shop as they mostly cater to professional photographers and can’t be bothered with amateurs like me. It’s a Lumix SZ60 Point and Shoot with a 30X optical lens and a viewfinder. So when I went to look up the specs tonight the online manual is almost 400 pages, so I think it might be much too complicated for me. Plus it was $359 (although I saw it adverstised for $499 online), so not exactly cheap. It’s hard to find a cheaper point and shoot now that BestBuy and Staples don’t carry them – they may have them advertised online for better prices but they always say out of stock. I’m not even sure how to use an optical lens – you have to set something up in the menu. I have a 12X optical lens on my 2005 Olympus, so maybe I’ll ask him if there is anyone who could help me out with a tutorial, as I’m sure that’s not part of their customer service! My other choice is to upgrade my current cell phone to a $2000 Samsung with a 30X zoom but the Telus rep said that would require a two year contract and the online reviews were not great on the zoom lens. I just have a cheap $150 cell phone with a talk and text plan and no data plan as I seldom use it. I hate technology.

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        • Well that camera shop guy doesn’t sound sincere about helping you buy a camera. He knew you were coming in to look at the camera so he should also know what means you want a demonstration of how it works. I don’t go into camera shops any more because they are filled with arrogant halfwits. I’m sorry you got drenched for nothing.

          As for buying online, if I get a new point and shoot that’s what I’d do. The one I was thinking about getting is a Canon Powershot SX70, but I don’t remember why I liked it. I did my research last winter, but then never bought it. Very pricey. As for learning how to use it, are there any YouTube videos showing you how to? Or maybe on TikTok? I do better seeing someone mess around with techie things than reading about how to do it.

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          • Well I went back today and bought the Camera. It’s a Panasonic Lumix ZS60….I had the numbers mixed up I think earlier. I was swarmed by two clerks (one the owner) as they were not busy so at least the service was better than yesterday.
            I wouldn’t exactly say they were overly helpful but adequate. I must remember to go on the days Chris and Dave work and not Steve! After a short tutorial my mind was befuddled. I got a basic instruction manual and cheat sheet with it, and will try youtube if I get stuck. I did like that 30X optical zoom and the viewfinder so it was an easy decision as soon as I held it. And the price was good $359 when it retails at Bestbuy for $499. Of course by the time I bought the picture card (why doesn’t it come with that?), the storage case and some rechargeable batteries plus the 13% tax we pay here in Canada it was over $500, but I had Birthday and Christmas money from several years burning a hole in my pocket. I’ll let you know what I think when I figure it all out. I decided to not even look at it tonight, buying it was enough for one day…..baby steps.

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            • I’m pleased you had a better shopping experience on your second visit to the store. I’ve found that when it comes to buying anything techie, it’s never the listed price. There’s alway something more that you’d think would be included, but isn’t. Like buying a belted dress, but having to buy the belt separately. Once you get the hang of your new camera I’m sure you’ll love it. Snap on, my friend

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  42. The first comment had so much cruelty in it I couldn’t bring myself to read any others. “It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it?” Yeah, Anne, it would–so best keep your autumn-colored tresses far, far from Portland, Oregon, where last week we had temperatures in the 80s and such terrible air quality (worst in the world one day) that we couldn’t go outside, and now we have nothing but rain and temps in the 50s as far as the weather forecast can see. The leaves haven’t all turned (probably too much sun for too long), and now it’s so rainy. We had one afternoon (at least it was a Saturday) with sun and crisp temperatures. So glad we got outside and did some work in the yard that day. That might have been the sum total of true fall days for us.

    Everything is discombobulated as can be.

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    • Rita, ok, for you there will be no conversation about Anne’s optimistic opinion about October because you’ve been deprived of a glorious October. I get that. We don’t always have great ones here BUT not because of terrible air quality. You got that horror nailed. I watched on the news as your region got hazy and weird, for want of a better word.

      I agree that discombobulated is an apt description for your region, for this country, for just about everything this year.

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      • October is usually one of my favorite months. I will try to be more thankful for the many glorious ones I’ve had than for the current one I’ve complained through. (I will admit to worry that late wildfires/terrible air quality/high heat is becoming a pattern.) Agree about the aptness of discombobulated. It’s a wonderful word for things that aren’t.

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  43. All things fall are all right with me! I get to wander the in-town neighborhoods full of wonders tomorrow while my new windshield is installed. I think it will be delightful though on the chilly side. We really have only one pathetic deciduous tree.

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    • Eilene, I hope your walk in town while you wait is pretty and that you stay warm enough to enjoy it. Only one deciduous tree, you say? That’d explain why you don’t see all the fall colors in all their glory.

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  44. You wrote a beautiful blog post from those questions. I loved it. One quibble: If you can, avoid climbing ladders. My neighbor had a serious ladder accident, and months later, he’s still recovering.

    When we were overseas–20 years of living in the tropics–I heard Americans and Europeans talking about how much they missed the seasons. I didn’t understand. I suppose I have a tendency to accept things as they are and just enjoy it. But after we moved back, I realized once again how beautiful fall was and wondered why I hadn’t missed it.

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    • Nicki, I take your point about climbing on ladders. We only clear the one area because when a strong gust of wind comes along all those wet moldy leaves in that particular gutter plop on top of us while we’re sitting on the deck. It’s icky when that happens, so we try to avoid it.

      I suspect that if I lived somewhere that didn’t have fall color I’d forget about it, too. I’m like you in that I enjoy what is. Interesting how you realized that not missing the fall colors was a bit peculiar once you saw the fall colors again. We human beings are nothing if not confounding. 🤔

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  45. I miss the fall colors as we don’t get much of that around here. On the positive, it’s mild year-round, so it never gets too hot or cold.

    What’s new with me? I’m happy to resume some normal activities after a fairly intense couple of weeks. (Blog post to follow soon.)

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    • Pete, I don’t know if I could groove on mild year-round temps, I’ve lived with four distinct seasons all my life. BUT it does sound rather nice, especially the idea of NOT needing lots of clothes just in case the weather goes extreme on you. I’m not a clothes horse, yet I have so. many. clothes.

      I look forward to reading what’s been up with you. ‘Tis rather pretty, but dull, around here, I can tell you that.

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  46. My favorite part was, “I need to know where the rake is. And a broom, too. Maybe even the electric leaf blower if I can find the cord for it. There be leaves everywhere.” 😆 Fun!

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    • An Audience of One, thanks for supporting me in my plan to get raking once I find the right tools. I love the colors the leaves bring to our yard, but they have to be tended to once the leaves drop. You understand

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  47. I love seeing all your leaves. I do not wish for them in my yard, however, as raking all of those leaves isn’t something I look forward to. You captured beautiful scenes of them. I can see why you enjoy this time of year. I enjoy Seth’s book Start With Why, so I find it interesting that his 5 questions don’t have a WHY in them. WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU? New appliances and a reconciliation of the feelings of parting with the old ones in a not-so-fun way. WHAT’S MAGICAL IN YOUR LIFE TODAY? My hubby will have his vehicle back. My small bouquet of marigolds is hanging on to remind me of the vivid colors of fall. BEWITCH US IN THE COMMENTS BELOW…I don’t think I did that, but I did play along! I hope you have a wonderful time watching the trick-or-treaters enjoy your skeleton!

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    • Shelley, I accept raking leaves as the price I have to pay for having them in all their glorious colors surround our house. I like deciduous trees, what can I say?

      I’ve never read any book by Seth, just know of him via his blog that I don’t follow per se, just pop in on once in a while. You’re right that it does seem odd that there is no WHY in this list of questions. Maybe he assumes you’ve figured out your *why* and these questions are to refine your thinking further?

      New appliances are great, but they also aren’t. I get that. There’s an adjustment period. Our marigolds are long gone, so please enjoy yours for all their worth. I feel bewitched by this comment, so you done good, as they used to say where I’d of come from. 😜

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  48. Oooh such beautiful trees!! I confess, I actually really love raking leaves. It just feels like such a fun outdoor job! We have had a gorgeous fall, but there is a lot of snow on the ground right now, so goodbye fall! The snow is melting, sort of, but you know, winter.

    What’s new with me? Well, Rex LOVES snow, so that’s pretty fun to watch. I think that gets filed under magical things, as well. It’s Wednesday, which means it’s grocery day, so that is the exciting thing going on today! Maybe not so exciting, but you never know.

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    • Nicole, I don’t mind raking the yard once. But with all the trees around us, fallen leaf management becomes a weekly activity for about 6 weeks. I begin to wonder when winter will get here so I’ll be relieved from raking duty.

      I saw your photos of Rex in the snow and he looks too happy for words. He is magical, in all that he does. I like grocery shopping and agree that it has the potential of being magical, like when you find some produce that is difficult to come by [fresh spinach] or your favorite crackers [sesame water] are on sale!

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  49. I enjoyed your autumn pictures and thoughts. Life wouldn’t be the same without Octobers and the chance to be outside working or walking in the fresh, crisp air, surrounded by all those lovely colors. I’m there with you, enjoying every minute of it.

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    • Barbara, somehow I knew you’d be onboard with the idea that October is great. It’s our reward for surviving summer and all that heat. I enjoy being outside and in autumn it’s easy to do– and I like easy.

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  50. I’m taking a writing class and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a solid combo of really good teacher, the class is in person, and I’m working on something that think has potential. It’s magical

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    • Lies Jack Kerouac told Me, I’m glad you’re back to writing. I’ve missed you and your wit, will stop by soon. Definitely add wine to your autumn, a glass of Pinot Noir sets all things right. 🍷

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  54. I love your answers! (The leaves in the wine glass one especially.) As for your gutters, try getting a gutter guard of some sort. We finally did that and it was so worth the effort and money. Especially since my husband was in the habit of climbing up an aluminum ladder in the middle of a thunderstorm to clear the clogged gutters. I’d tell him to stop, but he didn’t listen, so instead I began dragging out his life insurance policy to see how much I’d be left with as a widow……..

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    • Ann, your approach to husband management is brilliant. I’m laughing here, but realize there’s something empowering when you finally get your husband to think about the ramifications! Well done, will look into gutter guards, thanks for the idea.

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  56. I enjoyed reading all of your answers. Fall is fantastic in your neck of the woods, but man, that’s a lot of leaves to rake. Shovel. Broom. Blow.
    (you need a battery-operated blower; it’s life-changing!)
    I also prefer to have my vino leaf-less.

    What’s new here? Ummm, just trying to get through all the busyness of the last month. One day soon, things will be everyday normal. (or not. who knows?!)

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    • Suz, I like your idea of a battery-operated blower and will look into it. Finding and managing that electric cord is annoying. As you can guess.

      As for wine free from leaves, as of yet no commenter has suggested I’m being unduly fussy about that. Just wait, I suppose…

      Hoping you get back to a normal that works for you. What a mess you’ve had to deal with.

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  57. I adore this post, Ally. Autumn is my favorite season as well, and you captured it delightfully in your photos and your Q&A. Good luck with those leaves! Enjoy!

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  58. I’m not sure my wine glass would be away from my hand and mouth long enough for leaves to jump in but I appreciate your problem. Thanks for the autumn colours. Definitely my favourite season. We’re at the opposite end so spring flowers are magical to look at if it ever stops raining.

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    • The Travel Architect, I hear mixed reviews on Leaf Guards. Some people love them, others tell me the wet leaves adhere to the outside of the guard so that water no longer runs off the roof and into the gutters. Instead the water pours off the gutters, puddling on the ground around the base of your house, where it causes damage. I suspect whether the guards work or not has to do with the slant of the roof.

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  60. What gorgeous colours! Wot a lot of leaves! Many years ago a friend was sweeping my patio – she said she enjoyed sweeping. Something about sweeping out the old, allowing the new. But always I guess many moments of admiration of them. Have a great weekend Ally Bean. Soon we’ll be ‘leaving’ October –

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    • Susan, I agree with your friend about sweeping out the old– and I do like that aspect of raking leaves. At first. Then about the third time raking the yard in as many weeks I’m tired of it, but the trees don’t know that and keep dropping their leaves. Nature, as you know, does what she does!

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  61. Oh my goodness, Ally Bean! I am so thankful you posted these photos. My childhood dreams of Charlie Brown poking his head up or jumping into the pile of autumn leaves have been re-ignited. We don’t have such things here. There is rarely any deciduous trees that “fall” like this in huge numbers. I was totally ignorant of the leaves entering the wine glass!
    What’s magical in my life. I lost my wallet last week, the day I was presenting a story I wrote to my writing class about losing my wallet (and finding it) 4 years ago! As luck would have it I found it again with everything intact just as I did four years ago. Today we were walking with a friend who lost his phone and he has a diabetic app on it monitoring his haywire blood sugar so it was important that he found it. Eventually he did. A great outcome.
    What did you end up naming your skeleton? I must have missed the final decision.

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    • Amanda, falling leaves are beautiful as they colorfully drift down from above BUT they go everywhere. Over the years I’ve had enough leaves hop into my beverages to know it’s best to take preemptory measures with a napkin.

      What an amazing story about your wallet, then and now. It is magical on many levels– and on a more pragmatic note, I’m glad you found it both times. I worry about losing my phone more than my wallet. I’m glad your friend found his with the blood sugar monitoring on it. That’d be awful to lose permanently.

      We’ve decided the skeleton dude’s name is Earl. I’ll make sure to tell everyone officially on my next post. You have the insider news, though!

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      • It was indeed lucky to find it both times. I know that my luck has to run out soon so I am hoping there won’t be a next time.
        I had been contemplating getting one of those phone wallet combinations, so I am glad I didn’t do that. I think everyone’s life is enmeshed in their phones now, so losing a phone these days would be like losing a limb temporarily.
        Cheers to Earl! I hope you all enjoy your Halloween night.

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  62. Thanks for sharing these great pictures. Leaves in the gutter, although they need to come out, still look pretty. I love fall and although we have no trees in our back yard, we have 2 big ones in the front that provide plenty of beauty, and leaves to rake. I even like seeing them on the ground – all those colors. Good luck keeping them out of your wine glass, Ally! 🙂

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  63. Ally, I am also dealing with leaves, leaves and more leaves and today those leaves leave me peeved and with little time to enjoy my afternoon as I deal with a three-hour leaf-raking job out front, then in the back. This morning as we have have very thick fog for the second day in a row.

    I also feel I shouldn’t complain about the leaves because my October has been blessed with every weekend being sunny and filled with long walks and many photos to enjoy the beautiful Autumn hues. Like you, Autumn is my favorite season. What I am not looking forward to is dealing with at last 12-14 yard waste bags of leaves today and likely another 10 or so next weekend – not one of those leaves comes from my only tree, a Japanese Lace-Leaf Maple, which is only up to my shoulders, despite having been planted in 1985. Its leaves drop straight down, if they drop at all – I sometimes have to pull them off for new growth come Spring. Not one neighbor on Stewart Avenue rakes or blows leaves – sometimes my next-door neighbor blows her leaves, from her big Maple tree, which is on the edge of our property line, into my yard or into the street. I despair that when the seedling was growing there and the first-time homeowners 20+ years ago put a jar over it the first year and then a fence around it, that I didn’t just pull the stupid thing out when they were at work one day. It was a seedling, nothing more and now it is a monstrous tree with roots encroaching onto my City property. If we will have rain tonight I will rake, otherwise do I worry that idiot kids will come along and set the leaf bags on fire, something that happens occasionally (though admittedly not in my neighborhood – yet)? It is an all-day rain tomorrow and yard waste pick-up is on Mondays. Maybe I’ll leave them there til next week. The grass is not in stellar shape anyway.

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    • Linda, I remember when we had to deal with yard waste bags. It made everything more difficult. I get your situation. Now we live on a wooded ravine so all yard waste goes back there to become eventually dirt again.

      I know that I read about troublemakers setting bags of leaves on fire, but I can’t imagine doing that. For one thing leaves, even the fallen ones in the bags, are still dampish so I don’t know how there’d be much fire. Just annoyance I suppose. I’d make a terrible hoodlum, much too practical.

      Hoping that you and your leaves, whatever you decided to do about them, had a lovely weekend. It’s Monday now, Halloween in earnest is upon us. BOO!

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      • When we converted from plastic bags to garbage cans or bags, I went to paper bags. I didn’t want the grass smell for when it was humid in the Summer. The yard waste bags fill up pretty quickly. I have a plastic tube to put into the bag to make it go more quickly – but still. I should have pulled that seedling out when my neighbors were fawning over it 20+ years ago.

        That’s great you don’t have to pick the leaves up. I have a friend who lives in a rural part of New York, and homeowners in her neighborhood use huge tarps and rake their leaves onto the tarps and the yard waste truck comes along with a vacuum and whisks the leaves into the truck.

        Monday, Halloween and mostly a rainy day and more fog tomorrow morning, though not as heavy as the weekend which was like pea soup. Boo back at ya – I’ve survived so far without anything spooky going on here.

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        • When we lived in a place where we had to bag the leaves we had to use very expensive paper ones available only from the trash hauler company. It was a bit scammy. I’m glad you have a process for collecting your leaves that works for you and that nothing spooky happened on Oct 31.

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          • Wow – I wouldn’t like that at all. Thankfully nothing happened, likely due to the rain. Maybe I worry too much, but too much vandalism is going on right now which is worrisome to me. I’m glad I can park in the garage.

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  64. Ally, you did a great job answering very important questions. I appreciate the warning about leaves in adult refreshment. Considering the huge amount of leaves I helped a friend rake and blow from the yard over the weekend, I will remember that next year if we decide to take our brandy old fashioned outside in the fall. Can’t be too careful…

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    • Mary, I like these questions, they are applicable to many situations. By all means be proactive if you take any beverage outside during the fall if you are near deciduous trees. In fact be especially careful with a brandy old fashioned, which is sounding especially good right now.

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  65. While there are many things I love about living in Florida (shorts and flip flops on Halloween!) I do miss the color transformation of deciduous trees! I’ve been looking too much on FB for the hiking picks from friends up north…or gardens full of yellow and orange leaves. I actually enjoyed fall raking and the cool crisp mornings of Autumn. Maybe my scary part is I’m kinda looking forward to still putting on shorts and flip flops in November!

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    • Pat, I like the cool crisp temps of autumn days. I like raking leaves… at first, but the novelty wears off the third or fourth time. I like shorts and sandals, who doesn’t? But I realize I won’t be seeing mine again until next spring. Enjoy yours in November. Not jealous!

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  66. Yes it’s worth it! Even if defensive measures must be made to keep leaves outta the drinks.
    Any excuse for going outside in the fall is worth it
    Those crunchy leaf sounds …best outside…the dog seems to keep dragging some in but leaves just don’t crunch well inside.

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    • philmouse, yes I’ve learned to not trust falling leaves. They go straight for adult beverages. I like the crunchy sound of leaves, have heard a lot of those sounds lately as we’ve been raking. I know what you mean, inside leaf crunchiness isn’t as melodic as outdoor crunchiness.

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  68. I realize I seem to see the world in mom-glasses now lol speaking of leaves, every time I see them on the ground I just see Charlotte slipping on those slippery suckers and busting up a lip or something! My husband just raked 6 bags full of leaves the other day and today it looks like he never even touched it lol… but you’re right, this time of year is beautiful and I tend to take it for granted so thanks for the reminder! I love your answers to your questions 😛

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    • Jenn, I see your point about Charlotte slipping on leaves. Some commenters have mentioned jumping in a pile of them, but I’m past that age. I see that as a way for me to break something, end up in the ER.

      Same problem here with raking. We get all the leaves off the grass, then wake up the next morning to see a yard covered in leaves. I love the colors of autumn, but REALLY?

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