softer, wiser.

Fall is North Carolina's Glory.

It is spectacular here.... breathtaking.

Sometimes I get caught up in the grandeur of other places. Colorado... I've made no secret of this... is my favorite place on earth. It is enticing, alluring, seductive. Colorado is exotic and young and fresh and ruggedly, almost sinfully, magnificent.

North Carolina is beautiful too. It is not an attention-grabber. It does not have the tallest mountains or the most sophisticated beach towns or the wildest cities. It does not immediately lure you in with sharp, snow covered peaks or crystal streams bubbling through valleys or views for miles and miles or city lights boasting of prestige and power.

North Carolina is softer around the edges. It slowly and wisely unveils majesty and wonder. Hidden beneath every tree or through a thick forest, pure, aging beauty is gently revealed. The seasons fade in and fade out, shocking us in the middle with breathtaking scenery. North Carolina cunningly, and quietly, seduces her residents into falling deeply and loyally in love... making it very hard to leave. North Carolina is not the fresh youthful glow of Colorado... She is the serene, gently powerful, welcoming, and calm land of wisdom.

Sometimes I feel compelled to raise my children somewhere with more flash... with steeper mountains... or stronger oceans... with better this or more of that...

And then we take a walk in Autumn.

*Pictures taken last week... the current explosion of colors is splendid. I think we'll stay awhile :).