home is where the heart is, part two.

over thanksgiving break, i spent some time outside with my dad as he was determined to rake all the fallen leaves. my dad is a very outdoors, hands-on kind of guy who pretty much created our backyard from scratch; building the deck, planting the trees, creating a vegetable garden, making birdhouses, seats out of stones, all the flowers, etc. he treats everything out there with the same love and care he gives his own children.

i'm certainly not the outdoors-loving kind of person he is (hate camping.), but i do love spending time with my dad. i really started to notice how much change had taken place around the house since the last time i was in maryland -- all the reds, yellows, and oranges -- just so beautiful.

when i'm in maryland, the sky looks brighter, trees look greener, and i end up feeling much smaller than i do when i'm in new york. in the city, you're surrounded by tall buildings, no trees, and even in places like the botanical gardens, undeniably beautiful, you can hear the traffic when you near the edges of the perimeter. i always feel so peaceful when i visit home, and this past thanksgiving was no different.

love that my dad uses the branches as hangers when he's outside

this picture makes me laugh because i showed my dad the picture and he said that he hated it!

when i asked him why he said that the leaves shouldn't be up there, and on the ground instead 

(: 

wonder what the backyard will look like this winter