My Favorite Season + Photos You Must See!

[nightfall8705]

Hi ya'll!

 

Here is yet another one of my epically long posts! (You know you love em' though!)

 

I'm in a really good mood because my favorite season is among us. The Fall/Autumn season has always been my favorite. I love everything about it. The cooler weather, the changing and falling leaves, the hay bales, the pumpkins, the hot and cold apple cider, the hot cocoa, the bonfires, the fairs, the festivals, the sights and smells... everything.

 

And not just because Halloween is coming (also known as Samhain, the new year!), there are many reasons why I just love this time of year. October is my favorite month. It's the best month on tv (as you know, I am a horror movie junkie and a strange/scary/paranormal show aficionado.) It takes a lot to scare me, so I like the kinds of things that make others uncomfortable.

 

The food seems better. The decorations are fun. Hay rides and corn mazes are fun. Haunted houses are fun (except the one I got kicked out of for being too scary!) and so are all the folklore, urban legends, and documentaries.

 

My favorite things come out in the Fall season: I stock up on the scents of the season - cranberry, pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla, gingerbread, pecan pie, mulled apple cider, fresh baked cookies, cinnamon buns, candied maple, apple cinnamon, mulberry, pumpkin pie, caramel apple... all of those are candle scents by the way! My favorite pumpkin snacky cakes come out (in apple and pumpkin this year!) and my favorite seasonal soda comes out. Let's not forget the apple festival my town is famous for and all of the fairs happening at the fairgrounds!

 

There's just so many things that make me happy. Which really is something because I'm pretty down most of the time. Where I live (in western South Carolina, near the Georgia state line) is no exception to the Fall fever. My small town is quiet... almost sleepy even, with not a lot of crime, and lots of natural beauty, and my county truly shines during this season.

 

I thought to gather some pictures* I found that was taken of the sites around my county (Oconee) to show you how truly beautiful it is here.

 

_{* These pictures are not my own. I do not claim them, they are only shown for observational purposes only.}

 

Now, on with the pictures!

 

My county has three major lakes: Jocassee, Hartwell, and Keowee. All of which are gorgeous any time of the year.

 

This lake is known as Lake Jocassee.

 

 

 

This lake is the grand Lake Hartwell.

 

 

 

Here is a morning mist floating over Lake Keowee.

 

 

Here is one of the largest lakes in the area, Lake Keowee, in the day time!

 

 

Something else about where I live: my county has over 25 waterfalls! Half of them are near where I live! I've been to a few of them, and let me tell you, they are gorgeous up close! Here's a few for you to see:

 

Here's the beautiful Chauga River, where each year, our townsfolk go white water rafting!

 

The Chauga River goes into the Chauga Narrows, which is the picture below.

 

 

This waterfall, called Long Creek Falls has to be my favorite out of all the waterfalls here.

 

 

This waterfall, called Lower Whitewater Falls, gets a lot of attention, especially in the Fall/Autumn months. I think you can see why.

 

 

Not only do we have great lakes, waterfalls, and foliage, we have gorgeous mountains too! The Blue Ridge Mountains to be specific:

 

 

Where there's mountains, there's foliage!

 

 

And where there are mountain foliage, there's usually a secluded mountain lake as well.

 

 

As if that weren't enough, we have many, many farmer's markets around town, with fresh fruits, vegetables, and grass fed meats for sale. There are many farms around obviously, but some of the best sells organic milk and handmade cheese! There's a farm (called Chattooga Belle Farm) that's around 12 miles (19.3 km) from my place that is almost too beautiful to be real! You can pick your own fruit there, and you can shuck corn, pet the farm animals, go on hayrides, play disc golf (whatever that is), visit the barn or the farm store, or even eat lunch at their bistro! You can visit the fields, and try the cider (and the six housemade wines if you're old enough!) There's a farm store, a lake you could go to, a cabin you could rent (if you could afford it), and something called the Lomax Circle, where you could sit your telescope on a clear night and possibly see Venus!

 

Here's a look at one of the fields at Chattooga Belle Farm.

 

 

Fresh picked, plump, sweet, and juicy farm berries? Yes please! And no dung like in Meridell!

 

 

After lunch at Chattooga Belle Farm's bistro, you can sit out side on the porch in the rocking chairs. Lunch AND a spectacular view... there's nothing quite like the beauty you could see here.

 

 

If you're really lucky, you'll get see a beautiful rainbow, where at the end, you will see the great barn!

 

 

Where I live seems to really come alive in the Fall/Autumn months, much like myself. There's so much beauty everywhere you look. And at most places, you could visit them for free!

 

So bring on September, October, and November! Bring on the changes and the longer nights. I'm more than ready!

 

^{*Just as a warning, Monday will have another long post from me! My Sydney Bear's second birthday is on Sept. 15, and I hope to share that with you all then!*}

 

I hope you enjoyed these pictures I chose for you to see. Tell me what your favorite season is and why! Include pictures if you want to.

 

Thanks for reading! :)

[Ranaki]

Those pictures are stunning o.o

 

I'm an Autumnal Equinox baby, so of course Autumn is my favorite season. It's not to hot or cold (~72-75 degrees fahrenheit), which is my preferred temperature.

[nightfall8705]

They really are stunning. The photos don't do any justice to seeing it in person though. I guess I am lucky that I get to be around this beauty all the time!

 

I'm a spring baby really. I was born on the first day of spring, but I was born on a cusp, so I am considered equally to be two signs (Aries and Pisces). I'm very, very hot natured,so anything over 63F with the wind blowing is near too hot for me. I love the cold weather though, except for when my arthritis acts up in my arm. Fall weather is perfect weather to me! I especially love the Fall thunderstorms!

[passiflora]

Beautiful pictures!

 

I also love autumn, and especially all the celebrating that comes with harvest. I'm cooking so much squash lately it's ridiculous, but also delicious. The only sad thing is that it means winter is coming soon (we are already getting below freezing temperatures! :( ).

 

I'm not a photography expert, but my favourite fall-time photos that I've taken are below! ^_^ We get lots of nice colours here but like you said, photos don't always do it justice compared to seeing it in person.

 

 

 

 

[gingerew]

Autumn is my favourite season by far. Just the beautiful colours alone, and I love it when the weather starts to get cooler (but not too cold :P). I'm recently engaged and was really hoping to have my wedding in fall, but for various reasons it just didn't work out :( Still I'm hoping to have some fall inspiration in my spring wedding haha.

 

Nightfall, my absolute favourite picture you posted is the one of Lower Whitewater Falls. Something about the way the orange, yellow, and green trees frame the waterfall is simply breathtaking. You're so lucky to live close to all those beautiful places!

[mariaelise]

Wow, you live near some breathtaking nature! I've grown up in concrete jungle suburbia in California, so there is basically no natural beauty left. South Carolina is always some where I wanted to visit.

 

My favorite season is Fall as well, for all of the reasons to mentioned... no season has as much sensory stimulation as Fall!

Except I don't like the scary part - I get scared pretty easily. xD

[blowupthesun]

Wow, those pictures are gorgeous!! I'm from the Pacific Northwest, so we have a lot of beautiful nature here as well. I'd love to put together some pictures of my favorite places like you did.

 

That lake is absolutely stunning, we don't have anything quite like that here! And so many waterfalls - that looks like an awesome place to go exploring.

 

I also love fall for many of the same reasons. Summer is really lacking in all the fun festive stuff I like - I'm ready for it! :woot:

[nightfall8705]

Aww, thanks everyone!

 

Passiflora, your photos look amazing! I wish I could get back into photography. Maybe with my iPhone I can take some more photos. Oh, I have two photos I took of my rose bush this year!

 

Here are my roses in the early spring (late April/early May):

 

 

Here are my roses in mid summer of this year (late July):

 

 

Gingerew, I'm looking forward to Fall/Winter. I just love the cooler weather! You should come down to see us someday. See Lower Whitewater Falls for yourself! Aww, if you were here, you could have your wedding at Chattooga Belle! The farm holds weddings all the time, and they handle everything, even catering and photography! :)

 

Mariaelise, you come on down too! My little town loves visitors! I wish I could get scared like you. I'm basically fearless. It gets boring sometimes! XD

 

Blowupthesun - Go right ahead! I would love to see your pictures too! Which lake did you like best? I personally had the luxury some years ago of driving across Keowee to go to work. When I got off in the afternoon, the sun would make the entire lake sparkle like diamonds. I love the Chauga and the Chauga Narrows in the summer. I go swimming in the Chauga in the summertime. Gotta watch the currents though, this river is pretty long, and it'll carry you away if you aren't careful. You also have to watch for the random little fishes that nip at your toes sometimes. Last summer, I was lucky enough to actually see a beaver family build a dam near where I was swimming. (Thanks beavers, your dam kept me from going with the current!) It was really cool!

 

I don't really care for summer because it's so hot, but I think the best parts of summer is the swimming and the food. Hello grills! There's something about charred meat in the summer that make me happy. :D

[lizzyjane101]

So beautiful <3

 

I'm a winter baby myself and I love overcast, cooler weather. I have pale, Irish skin and sensitive eyes, so I'm not a bit fan of sunlight in general. Living in Australia is hard because the sun shines so brightly here and everyone love beaching and stuff during the summer.

 

We don't really celebrate Halloween down under, but it's starting to emerge because of American influences and because we just can't resist an excuse for a costume party :P

[nightfall8705]

I wish I could go to Australia. I've always wanted to go to Australia, but unfortunately, I am pale with Irish skin too and I burn very easily. I like the peacefulness that Winter seems to bring... Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday!

[lizzyjane101]

I wish I could go to Australia. I've always wanted to go to Australia, but unfortunately, I am pale with Irish skin too and I burn very easily. I like the peacefulness that Winter seems to bring... Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday!

 

It can actually get pretty cold during winter, especially if you go to the mountains. The snowy mountains during summer still get about -2 degrees at night. My dad had a gig up there for the Harley Owners' Group a few years ago in November and I almost got hypothermia.

[nightfall8705]

Wow, you're so lucky to live in such an amazing place. I really don't mind cold weather. I've gone swimming when it was near freezing outside before. My body temperature didn't stabilize for three days. It felt like I had an icicle for a spine. It sounds painful, but I found it refreshing to not be so hot natured for once!

[lizzyjane101]

Wow, you're so lucky to live in such an amazing place. I really don't mind cold weather. I've gone swimming when it was near freezing outside before. My body temperature didn't stabilize for three days. It felt like I had an icicle for a spine. It sounds painful, but I found it refreshing to not be so hot natured for once!

 

Ouch, that does sound painful. It's pretty good right now just going into Spring. It's been raining on and off for months and it's a little cold, but nothing a nice scarf wouldn't cure :P

[nightfall8705]

That's right. It's the opposite here. We're going into the Fall. I can't wait for pumpkin everything to come out! :D

[DESO]

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

— John Ruskin

[nightfall8705]

That statement is very true, DESO! Especially about the rain, my favorite kind of weather!

[brynchilla]

Oh wow, those pictures are amazing! All the different colors are simply breathtaking!

 

What are the waterfalls like? Are there any that you can climb? Climbing waterfalls = love.

 

Lake Keowee looks like the best one. If I were there, I would pack up canoes or kayaks and spend all day going from little island to little island exploring and swimming.

 

The Farmer's Markets sound like a dream come true! I love fresh corn and berries, and I don't think I could ever grow tired of them! For a while, they were selling corn at a 20 cents an ear, and my family went crazy buying corn! (We live in north west Indiana). Are there any schools that have field trips there? I bet they would be amazing!

[nightfall8705]

I'm unsure if there are any that you can safely climb, but lots of these waterfalls around here have a long hiking trail for you to enjoy. Chattooga Belle farm sponsors field trips for the kids at the farm. They get hayrides and other educational bits. The owners of the farm are very kind people, and the kids love it. Once a year, they have an annual farm to table dinner. It's very expensive, but worth it if you have the money, as it goes toward helping the farm. We have so many farmer's markets here! I'm probably related to half of the farmers here and don't even know it!