Waiting for Lady Autumn

It seems so many bloggers are celebrating autumn's arrival or eagerly, anxiously awaiting her coming. I read about school children elsewhere wearing winter coats to school. Really? I'm sure it must be so. And people buying pumpkins and picking apples and enjoying the trees in their color. Here in the Deep South, we've learned to be patient while Lady Autumn contemplates visiting us.
Here are some photos that were sitting on my camera. I love these fluffy grasses! The sun made them gold and silver.

Different grasses, same sun.

I love the flavors of red and peach in this:

Such stillness. The water is calming.

Why paint shrimp boats a perky bright red and name them fun, romantic names? I don't know, but it seems whimsical to me.

This tree is the first to call out the coming of winter, the first to lose leaves. I notice it on every bike ride. Every bike ride leads me to the river. Why shouldn't it? Where else would it lead, in such a place?

Tiny hints, merest whiffs of autumn, are around, if you look. This tree has some turning leaves, some bright berries.

Study this photo closely. Do you see, in about the middle of the photo, a patch of dark on the water just in front of the trees? Just a line, really, but in the water it would be a dark, slightly-churning patch. It's not current, like the other dark lines are. It's a school of shrimp, and you can see them lightly frothing the rivers and creeks in little patches like this. The river is truly teeming with life.

I have no idea what this fruit is. It looks like fruit, but actually that outside is more like the soft outer covering of a pecan. It splits and reveals some sort of nut beneath. I'll have to keep an eye on it and let you know what the nuts look like when all the hulls split, dry, and fall.

Another fabulous sunset looked to be in the works this evening, but I had no time to hang around waiting for it. I'd already stopped and chatted and photographed, and it was time to be home.

These massive anchors lie around town in various yards, but this may be the only yard with two! Don't they look like gymnasts, doing some swirling move on the floor, trying to be in sync, each with an arm up in the air?

I came home and made a weak attempt at autumn in the house, a candle. This is a Mrs. Fields candle, a chocolate chip cookie smell, I believe. Dollar General Store had a shocking sale on all their summer stuff. I found two of these candles on their clearance aisle for 75¢ each. What a deal!

For a glimpse at a real autumn blog post from somebody living in a cooler climb, here's Posy Gets Cozy's fall food post. Yummmy. I'm thinking of baking bread or some such festive activity tomorrow morning. Click over and be inspired.