A Walk on the Chisholm Trail (with My New iPhone 11 Pro)

Well, I was wrong about the leaves being blown off by this weekend. While we did get a lot of rain, the winds were slight and the leaves remained in place for the most part. Yesterday, they were super bright. Today, they still were, but Toby and I both think yesterday was the peak day. 

We got out for a morning walk on the Chisholm Trail in Plano today and tried to soak it all in. We are just so very fortunate to have so many places to go and walk and be outdoors near us! We are no more than 20 minutes from just about all the best places to walk up here. The trees were just spectacular and exactly what I wanted to use as test and learning material for my new iPhone! 

Yes! I got one. A new software update came out that was supposed to fix whatever bug was there that was making the hardware break. I don't understand how that's possible, but whatever. It was happening and we wanted no part of it. Toby said it was now OK for me to get one and that's just what we did last night. I got the midnight green one. I did not even know it was a possibility. The guy at the store only mentioned the black, silver, and gold. Toby asked about it. (He knows me so well.) The guy brought it out and I thought it was great! 

I love it! I also had no idea - until just right this moment when I was looking for a link to post so you could see it (because I can't take a picture of my phone with my phone, unfortunately) - that there were such strong negative reactions to this color. People these days. They get exercised over just about everything but the most important things. 

But, if you've read this blog for more than a few minutes, you know I love green. All shades of green. I'm not sure there's really any shade of green I can't appreciate at some level, though, of course, I have my favorites. (It does beg the question of why I chose blue for the theme here; I just thought it fit. I do love blue as well and it just seemed to work better for the photos and the banner I have of me on the beach on Oahu. In time, I may change it.) 

The iPhone midnight green is sort of a spruce green. It's subtle, a little silvery, but that's OK. Really, since I use a wallet style case (which I found made traveling by air so much easier when you need your license and ticket on your phone at the same time, etc.; also I'm concerned about radiation protection, which this case does not have, but I'm hoping an option will come out some time like my last case), only I know it's there, but I know it's some shade of green and that makes me happy. 

So, how does it work?! I think pretty well! Toby and I played with it last night and we got some pretty decent low-light shots. But the real thing I wanted to show were the pics I got this morning of the trees in their fall foliage prime. 

This was immediately after we got out of the car. The garbage that is omnipresent along the pretty nature trails where there are creeks that flood has always annoyed us. 

I always need a few pics with me taking pics of Toby taking pics.

The golds and reds were really popping in the morning light.

❤️

If you look closely, you can see a Blue Jay. At one point, there were 4 or more in this tree. We saw numerous Blue Jays, the most I've ever seen at once. They, like the other animals this morning, were very, very busy.

Even the crane in the distance was the same shade of golden yellow as the trees. 

I like bridges. I think we crossed 4 or more this morning. 

Taking pics of each other taking pics. ❤️

This is a Chinese Tallow tree, also known as a Chicken Tree. In Louisiana and East Texas, they call them "trash trees." Why, I cannot fathom. They have some of the best fall color of any trees in the area. They will go from a beautiful green to yellow, gold, almost orange, then red into a burgundy purple. I first learned of them while in college in Louisiana. I loved to watch them progress through the seasons. There was a large grove of them at an exit I took every morning to get to school. I could never understand why people didn't have more appreciation for them. I guess I rather felt like John Muir when trying to get his fellow shepherd to appreciate the ferns. 

I liked how coming out of the shaded darkness of the bridge, you were met with bright golden leaves and sun.

I particularly like the blue sky here.

Must everything be political? 

The squirrels were busy, too. I told Toby that I've never been out and seen the animals so extremely busy. We have quite a strong cold front coming in Monday. They must have heard. All the birds and squirrels were just frantic with busy activity and all were very vocal about it as well. 

Even the "leaves of three" Poison Oak were showing off their color.

A creek runs alongside the trail.

The crepe myrtles were a very dark red, burgundy color. 

These were golden to orange to red. I love that! 

The light was spectacular. 

I was trying to capture a woodpecker. While not successful there, I really like the way the blue sky shows through the branches and yellow leaves illuminated by the sun.

I took about 8 or 10 shots to get the Robins where you could see their breasts. I always thought they were just spring birds,  but I've noticed them a lot this fall. 

The trees along this trail are just massive. I learned today that the trail was first established in 1978-1980. That was very forward thinking. 

Pretty sure this is Poison Ivy, which like its Poison Oak sibling, is also very beautiful in the fall. 

I liked this bright little red tree (another Chinese Tallow) amidst the yellow on the banks of the creek.

I like to look up and take pics. Here, there were still many green leaves left, but some reds popping out here and there. 

I can even appreciate the cypress trees going from green to brown. 

I love the sun, the varying shades of yellow or orange working to red and the crisp blue sky.

After such a walk, we needed a hearty breakfast. Toby made us, as we call them, "Gordon Ramsay Eggs." They are great. I seared some ham and made some toast and we assembled our breakfast over some Havarti cheese. (This is why fasting in Orthodoxy is so hard for us. 😥)

Our weekend is off to a great start! Toby and I plan to make Confession and at least the Vespers portion of Vigil tonight in preparation for Divine Liturgy tomorrow. I'm well over due for Confession but a variety of things have made it hard to get there and the last time we tried, there were too many ahead of us. After that, we'll head to the market and get groceries. I need to make a menu for the week and get that planned out. I see hearty, hot comfort food in our future.

Toby is cleaning out the garage in preparation for taking down Halloween and transitioning our fall decorations to Thanksgiving. I have a growing turkey collection and really think that we should not overlook Thanksgiving as a proper holiday to anticipate and enjoy. It's not just the meal before the Black Friday shopping frenzy (which we never partake in; I'm actually quite against businesses making their employees work on Thanksgiving. I was happy to see this today). 

I hope your weekend is going well and you're able to get out and enjoy some nature!

Thanks for reading!