You can see autumn coming today in the color of the leaves on the trees at the park down the street from where we live, Mittineague Park. And you can see autumn coming here in our backyard in the color of the lace hydrangea leaves.

You can also see autumn in the fading flowers, mostly zinnias, in our garden.

Where did summer go?

I have a record of sorts; a list of the everyday routines.

I wake up when Freddy jumps out of bed. This happens between 5:00 and 5:30. Sometimes, but rarely 6:00 or 4:30. I give him a snack and then we wait for a glimmer of sunlight to appear in the eastern sky so we can safely go for a walk. This morning it was chilly. Forty seven degrees. It was still dark and I carried a flashlight.

The day is a poem.

A few years ago, days before or days after the first day of autumn, I wrote:

Without incident we walked
The paths in Mittineague Park.
And every few minutes I talked.
Good dog, Good dog.
On we went through the park.
All the time my dog here
There, everywhere
A scent sensation.
And when I wanted
To stop to photograph
This late September early morning
I said, Freddy, sit, and he sat
And he waited and when I said
Okay on we went
Our way past Meadow Trail And Beaver Brook.
This is my path. Our path.
We came to a hill.
I huffed and puffed to the top.
And my dog wagged his tail to the top.
We made our way Home.
I cut zinnias.
Red, orange, yellow, cream
And purple cosmos
For a vase that rests on a table
Next to my garden.
Soon I will be dead-heading
All the cosmos and zinnias flowers.
There must be thousands!
Still bright and bold and colorful In the garden. I change
The water in the three bird baths.
I prune the rose bushes and I am
Not sure at all of what I am doing. I water
The potted plants. So many bumblebees!
They fly from zinnia to zinnia
To cosmos to cosmos.
They do Their job.
Never I imagine
Thinking I am so busy today.
They follow their path.

These lists, this poem, of my everyday life are, in fact, my gratitude journal. I am grateful. I am very grateful. I have a smart and loving wife. Two smart and happy children. Two happy grandchildren. A beautiful home. Our dog, Freddy. My gifts, from photography to cooking to finding and sharing beauty.

Drawing on a degree in Art and English, inspired by Nature, a passion for telling stories and years working as a writer and photojournalist helps me to follow my heart–bringing a heightened sensitivity to all my photography: portraits, nature, documentary, food, interiors, furniture.

I believe I am making the world a better place with beautiful photography.

Happy Autumn!