“Best I love September’s yellow,
morns of dew-strung gossamer,
Thoughtful days without a stir,
Rooky glamours, brazen leaves,
Stubble dotted obr with sheaves –
More than Spring’s bright uncontrol
Suit the Autumn of my soul.”

-from The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

We set off to the Pedernales Falls State Park today and enjoyed the slightly cooler temps. I can’t believe I hadn’t been here before after living in Austin for so long but I guess sometimes that happens. There weren’t a lot of visitors so at times we felt like we were the only ones there.

We did a lot of walking and caught sight of butterflies, lizards and even a fox. He was a bit too quick for my camera but it made my day. One thing I would love to get are some binoculars for our upcoming hikes. I think it would be great to have to have a pair of binoculars and hopefully learn more about the birds and other animals around. I know some of you enjoy nature and birdwatching and if you have some recommendations for binoculars please let me know.

This was a wonderful way to welcome the fall season. I’m looking forward to cooler temperatures and getting back outdoors. What are you excited about?

I mentioned in a recent post that I was reading The Crying Child by Barbara Michaels for R.I.P. XVI and that turned out to be a perfect read to kick off the spooky reads season. It had an old house with a turret, a graveyard and the eerie cries of a child in the night.

I wasn’t sure what to pick up next and I know I had made a list of some potential reads but you know how that goes. I have a hard time sticking to a list and while looking through my shelves I found The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James and guys, this is fabulous.  Wait until you get to chapter five.

Anyway, I was thinking that for those of you who may still be looking for some suggestions I wanted to share some of my favorites from recent years.

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter. This another story involving ghosts and the ties between mothers and daughters.

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons. Colquitt and Walter live in a charming, peaceful suburb. Life is made up of enjoyable work, long, lazy weekends, and the company of good neighbors. Then, to their shock, construction starts on the vacant lot next door, a wooded hillside they’d believed would always remain undeveloped. Disappointed by their diminished privacy, Colquitt and Walter soon realize something more is wrong with the house next door. Surely the house can’t be haunted, yet it seems to destroy the goodness of every person who comes to live in it. This was such a great read.

Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay. Late one summer night, Elizabeth Sanderson receives the devastating news that every mother fears: her thirteen-year-old son, Tommy, has vanished without a trace in the woods of a local park. I thought the author captured the relationships between young kids so well but there is certainly evil lurking in this story.

The Whisper Man by Alex North. I finished reading this one last month and it would have been perfect for R.I.P. After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. But the town has a dark past and there are whispers at night.

Let me know if you’ve read any of these and if you liked them. I’m close to finishing The Haunting of Maddy Clare and I almost don’t want to finish it’s that good but at the same time I’m looking forward to more spooky reads. I’ll keep you posted on what else I read.