I first heard of this meme last autumn via Eliza, but I was too late to take any photos to join in. So this year I was prepared!
Hosted by Robin at Breezes at Dawn, this is a challenge to share a walk you have taken in the beautiful month of October. Since October is probably my favourite month of the year, and this October has been particularly beautiful in many ways, I am happy to share a walk with you that we have been taking regularly over the past few weeks with our dog, Gina. Once the heat of summer subsided in September we started exploring new territory to find a longer walk nearby and found this lovely loop that takes us about an hour. Unless we dawdle. Or meet someone to stop and chat with!
We start off by walking down from our house to the cycle path, but turn off as soon as we can to avoid ‘traffic’ and take this track parallel to the path…
It opens out onto this spectacular view…
We pass this oak that fell in the September storm. It has been partially removed, but the huge canopy remains, slowly drying up. So sad to see such an old tree uprooted. Perhaps the dry summer had weakened it.
We walk across the meadow with berries in the hedgerow…
… and look back across the path. We always walk this way late afternoon and the golden sunshine highlights the colours of the trees…
To our left, a small pond lies behind these trees. The sun is lower now…
Then we cross the path and encounter this wild bee garden that is clearly tended with loving care…
The bee house is home to several colonies of bees and is buzzing, even so late in the day and late in the season.
The next part of the walk is shady, and we speed up a bit to keep warm, but I stop to admire the wild asters…
… and the autumn leaves strewn across the footpath (do you see Gina’s ears?!)…
… as well as this large Euonymus tree/shrub…
… and this lovely old apple tree groaning under the weight of a bumper crop…
Passing an old farmhouse, this tree next to the outbuilding catches my eye. A lovely old lime tree (Linden) with two smaller ones behind it…
We also see a lot of Sumac, an invasive species here but such gorgeous colour in autumn. The German name ‘Essigbaum’ – vinegar tree – refers to the apparent use of its fruit for making vinegar… I have never heard of anyone making it here though.
A brief steep climb away from the village we have passed brings us out on to the top of the world. Well, not quite, but it feels like it! I stop for a breather. Winter wheat has been planted here and is already making the fields look a little green again.
Now we are back down in the woods – dark fir trees to our left, but still some colour from beech and oak.
Did I mention what a great year it has been for acorns? We have been crunching them underfoot since August and they are still dropping from the trees.
Finally I spot this fungus and consider it worth a shot, although it is quite dark in these woods.
Then we cross the little brook that runs alongside the cycle path and we are almost back to where we started. Just one more short uphill stint and we are home and ready for our dinner!
I hope you enjoyed our walk. Why not share a picture or two of one you have taken this month and put a link on Robin’s page by the 28th. Thank you to Robin for hosting!
Words and Herbs 
Stunning photographs! I wish I could have a beehouse where I live!
Thanks Angela. This beehouse is quite lovely, I agree!
Cathy,
Oh my my … this is a fabulous walk – and you regularly walk this? WOW! You captured wonderful colors that are on the way, yet I can see that much green still has to turn. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you. I think the best colour has already gone and the rest of the leaves will just be yellowish and drop quickly as we have already had frosts. But you are right – there is still a lot of green. 🙂
Our colors are starting to appear.
What a good idea to show walks around the world. I really enjoyed yours.
I agree – a lovely idea. 🙂
So very nice to talk a walk with you. You live in a place of beauty. Wonderful colors and what sweet little ears!
🙂 Thanks Laurie. Glad to share my walk with you!
What a wonderful walk. I used to have 3 such walks when I had my old dog, one in woodland and 2 very different ones on the common which is an RSPB reserve. I miss my walks.
So perhaps a dog would remedy that…? I walk much more since we had dogs!
What a wonderful walk, specially now with the amazing autumn colours. It is a great idea to share favourite autumn walks.
I agree – October is a good time to walk, and to share these walks with others around the world is fun!
I really loved this post. Thanks for the tour.
Glad you could join me! 🙂
Beautiful photographs and a wonderful walk. It was lovely seeing some fall colors in the trees (ours are not showing much color yet). Loved the little dog ears in the footpath image. So cute! Thank you so much for joining in! 🙂
Thanks Robin. It is a lovely idea, especially in October. It is a traditional hiking month here in Bavaria. 🙂
The change in terrain, interesting bits of nature all make it wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed your walk.
Glad you enjoyed it Lisa!
I would love to join you1
🙂 Company is always welcome! 😉
Thank you for the beautiful walk in the German countryside, Cathy! I really enjoyed seeing your area and the lovely fall colour, so relaxing. Now I’m ready for a cup of tea. 😉
It has been so prettythis October. Now the weather has changed and we have drizzle, wind and the colours have started fading. But it was great while it lasted! 🙂
Looks like a very lovely walk 🙂 Nice pics!
Thank you. Happy to share. 🙂
Now there’s a walk I would enjoy! What spectacular natural diversity you enjoy and yes, I would love to walk with you. 🙂
I know you would enjoy it Debra. There are so many things I notice on this walk that I couldn’t include! 🙂
What a beautiful walk, and thanks for taking us along! The Sumacs are incredible, aren’t they? Of course, they’re native here, and a favorite–though taken for granted over here. Beautiful photos!
Thank you Beth. My partner wants us to plant some Sumac on our property, but I have hestiated so far as they spread like wildfire. So pretty though!
Cathy, what a lovely walk! You live in such a beautiful area. This was great fun, both for you and all your lucky readers. I especially like seeing Gina’s cute little ears. So sweet. Does she love these long, meandering walks? Most dogs seem to. I’m glad you got to participate this year. xo
Glad you enjoyed it Alys! Gina does love these walks. She is getting old now but she sleeps all day so she is fresh and ready to go in the late afternoon, tugging on the lead and sniffing everywhere!
When I was a kid, I was fascinated by painting of far away places like Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Nevada. They were unrealistic pictures, which sort of made them more compelling. You would think that being able to so easily see real pictures of such far away places would make them less interesting, but the strangeness of the flora is just as captivating as it always was.
I think the personal touch through blogging does make it all seem more real, no matter how often you see pictures elsewhere. I have learnt so much about the world’s flora and fauna since blogging!
Majestic views. Thanks for the guided meander. I love knowing you have daily access to such a rich landscape.
Thank you Susie. I hope you have somewhere nearby for pretty walks too!
What a beautiful varied walk – great photos – i loved strolling along with you. I’m really enjoying these Walktober posts from around the world.
I’m enjoying them too. Such a great idea and so glad I could join in this time!
Interesting to see Sumac there – it has nice fall color, doesn’t it? Too bad it’s invasive over in Europe. Come to think of it, it can be pretty darn aggressive over here as well.
We would love to have some Sumac in the garden but I know I would regret it!
What an enjoyable walk…what I found so interesting was the wild bee house. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.
Hi Karen. I had never seen one before either. Quite fascinating watching the bees fly directly to their own colour-coded opening!
A refreshing walk with you, Cathy. Lovely impressions! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it Dina! 🙂
Oh you are so fortunate to have such beautiful countryside on your doorstep Cathy. I’m most envious and if I lived in such a spot I’m sure that I would be out regularly 🙂
Part of the beauty of this walk is that we rarely see anyone else while out and about, unless one of the neigbours is around!
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Cathy, what a delightful walk — thank you for letting me come along! I’ve never seen a bee house before and found it most interesting. And I’m a September girl — Astor is my birth flower — so it was great to see that, too. Your trees really have on their autumnal gowns; when I walked, ours were barely beginning.
Glad you enjoyed it Debbie. The trees are rapidly losing that autumn glow already and you can hear the leaves dropping! 😉
What a beautiful walk, Cathy. I always knew Sumac as “vinaigrier” in French or vinegar plant… to think all this time it was such a name that I should have known. They do have the most spectacular colours in autumn, don’t they?
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful Walktober.
The colours were really lovely this year Dale, but as always far too shortlived! There are still many trees with leaves on, but the most colourful ones are now bare. Thanks for visiting!
Same here. Seems I missed the red completely with work 😦 Thank goodness for my burning bush, still “glowing”!
Cathy thank you very much for the great photos of the ride. It’s as if I had accompanied you on your walk 🙂 seeing the beauty of the different landscapes you spend and enjoying them with your pretty and beautiful bitch Gina -you have to make a full-body photo and not just her precious little ears- . See the house of bees, the wild Asters, the colors of the autumn in the trees …… Thanks Cathy for the beautiful photos: now that I am in absolute rest at home after the Hospital, my spirits have gone up a lot. Thanks from my heart. Have a very happy Sunday. Greetings from Margarita.
I am glad to share my walk with you Margarita. Wishing you all the best! 🙂
Thanks Cathy, anyway. 🙂 Greetings from Margarita.
What a lovely walk! I’ve never seen a bee house before, is it filled with hives of bees? And loved the path photo with Gina’s ears at the bottom of it! How cute! Thank you for taking us along!
Yes, there must be a dozen openings, all colour coded, where I saw bees entering and leaving, so I assume the hives are inside. I had never seen a bee house before either, but now I pass it regularly I am sure I will learn more!
I enjoyed walking with you… beautiful! 😉
Glad you enjoyed the walk! 🙂