This fall I have experienced a renewing of my spirit through simple gifts that nature has bestowed upon me.
I've watched trees don brilliant gowns of orange, red, and yellow. Though rain fell heavy and the wind blew hard I found pleasure in watching leaves soar high before finding peace on the soft earth. There's been backyard hot dog roasting over an open fire and sticky s'more eating. Then for one evening the world turned magical as children came a knocking for treats.
I found myself lost in writing, once again, as I continue working on my first fiction novel determined to submit it to be published...somewhere...somehow.
How easy it is to take for granted the simple gift of walking until a knee is injured and walking from one room to the next brings tears of pain and frustration. And what elation when that knee bends with only a twinge of discomfort.
I am grateful for these small gifts and like diamonds on a leaf each one holds a treasure trove of wonder and possibilities.
Throughout November I'm planning gratitude posts much like the gratitude journal suggested by Sara Ban Breathnach in her book Peace and Plenty. She says, "The gratitude journal is a polite, daily thank you note to the Universe." Although I won't be posting daily gratitude thoughts, I will at least once a week.
Have a wonderful fall day and a may you find grace in your November days!
I love what's happening outside right now. I love how nature slowly creates an autumn masterpiece that reminds me to show gratitude for the simple things that add up to a life.
Today is Texture Tuesday over at Kim Klassen's Cafe The inspiration for this photo was gratitude. I kicked it up a notch by using two of Kim's textures, Nature's Beauty and Portrait. I flipped portrait and used it twice for added texture. If you're fascinated by the use of textures and want to see more head over to....
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
A mid-size house project is underway, so I don't have much time. I wanted to share with you two photos from one of the many fall celebrations that went on over the weekend. It seemed every small town in nw Ohio honored the autumnal equinox with a street fair. Even though the day was chilled with sprinkles and gray clouds hung overhead, my sister, sister-in-law, and I chose to walk the streets of Fayette in search of fall. We found gourds, mums, flea market items, home-baked goods galore, and one store selling retro bottles of soda pop just like when we were kids. (more on the soda pop in another post)
I found a few things I was looking for....mums
Yep, there were chrysanthemums 2 for $5.00. What a great price. And of course colorful gourds and mini-pumpkins, 6 for $1.00! Decorating for song.
A hear the call of a paintbrush so I must run. I hope you have a wonderful fall Tuesday!
Ohhh how good it feels to be back in the cottage. I see the cobwebs have gathered and there's some sprucing up to do and I'm getting right on that. In a few days I'll have my little corner of the blogosphere looking good again.
OUCH!
Being laid-low by a tiny nerve for nearly a month provided ample time to think while lying in only one comfortable position on the sofa. I have no desire to go into great detail how pain consumed my life these past weeks, so I’ll keep it short…those meandering muscles in the upper right quadrant of my back radiated pain across my shoulder, squeezing the pectoral muscles, then snaked down my right arm clear to my tingling index finger. The numbers three and four became my obsession…three Tylenol every four hours. Some days I bemoaned the fact that I was missing colorful autumn as my camera gathered dust and my fingers idled. Oh, there were the tearful, poor me days followed by a bull-headed attitude that I’d just go ahead and try to do the things I’ve always done. In between frustration and attempts at being the little train that could, I pondered life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as the TV spewed political ads filled with the ugly side of life, the world series came and went, Halloween marched forward dressed in black and orange and I missed Blog Action day with the focus of the world and water. I had such plans for that post…sigh. As the pain continues to diminish and the stiff, ache quiets, I’m slowly returning to me and all the things that enchant me including The Cottage on the Corner and the amazing blogs that inspire and delight me.
CHANGES!
During my absence stats have appeared on the Cottage. I had no idea…
I’m switching things up and going with my current flow of increasing energy and optimism. I can’t wait to hear from you, read what you’ve been up to and leave a comment or two along the way.
Tapping the heels of my warm, wooly socked feet I whisper, "There's no place like The Cottage..."
The days of September whisked by with speed that rivals flapping hummingbird wings making their way over ripening fields of soybeans in an Ohio sunset toward winter warmth and light.Tomorrow begins the frightful month of October with Halloween and long leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night, but today it’s still September.
In September...
Pink hollyhocks twirl about tall spires
Zinnias in pink, red, orange, and cream find the autumn light
Herbs continue scenting the fall breeze
Gaillardias remind of south of the border places
While family and friends create hundreds of tamales on a single, September Saturday
A gift of bittersweet for fall decorating
And lobsters, fresh from New England waters, find their way to an Ohio dinner table
Yes, September is a fine month and I shall miss it as leaves turn, Jack Frost paints pumpkins with frost, and ghouls and goblins take over the night.
The scene outside my window has noticeably changed over the last month. The two trees that I gaze at when words elude me went from green to golden yellow with tinges of orange to become a colorful carpet on the neighbor’s lawn and finally raked into a pile along side the street. A study in simplicity, dark limbs stretch toward the sky creating outlines and negative space. I may be in the minority, but I believe the beauty of trees in late fall and winter continues. Gone are the garments that covered long thick branches. Maple, oak, beech and birch reveal the strength of character that houses birds, squirrels, insects, and sometimes hold a swing for childhood glee. Again, I may be in the minority, but I look forward to the time when snow frosts the trees bringing yet another magical moment outside my window. It’s Mr. Noodle The ferocious black cat in my Halloween post was none other than Mr. Noodle who had a hard time playing the part. What he wanted to do was roll onto his back so I would scratch his belly. Out of five shots he was slightly spooky in one.
"I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its tone is mellower, its colours are richer, and it is tinged with a little sorrow. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and its content."
Dave at The Home Garden began the Fall Color Project in 2008. Bloggers are invited to post links to their photos of autumn color at its peak. Last Sunday, I believe northwest Ohio reached the apex of autumn color. I'm delighted to share what I found and viewed through Fuji, a most worthy camera for a novice photographer.
On Sunday Fuji and I went for a quiet walk. The fall color in northwest Ohio is reaching its peak and begging to be captured and held fast. The first stop, Goll Woods, a 321 acre state nature preserve in Fulton County, offered a pleasant walk. The deepness of tall stands of trees creates a sanctuary for wild things…birds, animals, plants, moss, fungi, and a humble walker. The light filtering in... made me ponder how much brighter the woods will be after the fall of leaves, but with light the dark mystery of a wooded area lessens. Often walks in the woods are quiet sojourns with plenty of time for reflection and introspection. The laughter of children, with adults tramping close behind, and the cries of blue jays punctuated the cool October day, yet there were times when stillness gathered round giving me moments of just being. On any excursion finding treasures presents excitement and delight. In the fall nature tenders fists full of flaming red, burnished gold, nut brown, and glowing orange leaves collected and preserved by treasure hunters. Gathered acorns with jaunty caps, buckeyes, and nuts retrieved and pocketed become a remembrance of the day. Then there are the feasts for the eyes that can only be captured through a camera lens…the rich browns of shelf fungi thriving on a fallen limb, tiny colorful, leaf canoes navigating the Tiffin River... deep blue berries picked over by birds and overhead leaves in shimmering yellows and earthy browns creating a canopy of color against the soft blue October sky.
After traipsing about the paths in the woods, we headed for a picturesque setting in Williams County, George Bible Park. What we, Fuji and I, found were trees on fire... and liquid reflections softened in a mirror of water. The small park differs from the forest primeval of Goll Woods. Instead of ancient 400 year-old towering trees, a gentle idyllic setting invites visitors to rest for a spell, breathe in the crisp air, and soak up glorious vignettes awash with fall color.
The ephemeral beauty of fall passes by in the span of a deep sigh. The trees now clothed in ornate gowns will soon drop the colorful covering and stand naked to the world, but that’s another story for another day. Stop before the show is over and if only for a few minutes live the gift that nature presents each fall.
“It is only when we are aware of the earth and of the earth as poetry that we truly live.”—Henry Beston, Herbs and the Earth
All in all, I took nearly 200 photos on my walk. I've selected what I find to be the most interesting photos and if you're up for more fall color, take a look at the Flickr slide show.
The frost is on....creeping thyme, the peppers still turning red on the vine, and yes on the pumpkins. A veil of white covered the grassy field across the way creating that tell-tale fall sign that winter smirks just behind the vibrant skirt of autumn. According to the Farmers' Almanac, this area should have had ten more days before the first frost, but after an abnormally cool summer who could be surprised at an early frost?
Every frosty morning in October has a colorful leafy lining. Soon, the world around those of us fortunate enough to live where vivid seasonal changes occur will be showered in colorful leaves. I checked out a couple sites that update when to expect nature's grand show to begin. Weather.com gives regional maps along with an explanation of why leaves change color. The map of the US on GORP's Fall Foliage Guide offers an approximate time when you can expect the leaves to change in your area. For northwest Ohio...sometime in mid-October, yellow, orange, russet, and red leaves reach the peak of color before cascading into a free fall to the ground.
Bring it on autumn! I'm ready for brisk walks down country roads, trees decked out in fancy fall frocks, crisp apples, grinning jack 0'lanterns, gourds, corn shocks, goblins and ghosts, hot apple cider laced with spices, succulent turkey, geese honking overhead, a harvest moon, "...O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best...When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.*"
align="center">September’s been a busy month with two weddings, school for Redding, and the end of summer. It’s also been a month of surprises when my son and his girlfriend showed up for a wedding, when I thought they were not going to be coming. In between the joys of family and friends, there’s been a little time to seek September scenes.
align="center">September is falling into October, but before the transition month from summer to fall completes its journey take a look at the beauty found in the ninth month of the year.
One morning I’d planned to meet with my friend Mary Jo for breakfast in Archbold. I left early, providing time to take a few photos of the Fulton & Williams landscape.
align="center"> Goldenrod looking bright on an early morning in September.
The covered bridge in Williams County always presents fascinating photo opportunities. The morning light filtered through the trees created a magical moment.
Colorful small leaves looked like confetti dropped at the gnarled roots of this tree standing on the edge of the Tiffin River that runs beneath the covered bridge.
While heading for a wedding outside of Bowling Green in Wood County I stopped to photograph a windmill rising from a ripening corn field with arms swinging in giant circles and whooshing in the wind.
Who can resist the bright red and greens of Asian peppers ripening in the garden? The colorful heat of the peppers makes fall seem warmer.
One Saturday, Redding and I headed out early in the morning to find September. We came across expanses of yellowing soybeans creating a patchwork of fall across the landscape.
The same morning we stopped at a small wildlife preserve outside of Montpelier. Redding ran along a small dock looking at his reflection while his shadow chased him from behind.
I call them tiny sweet autumn wildflowers, others call them weeds; no matter what you call them, autumn asters brighten the roadsides.
This photo was captured at the wedding of my niece Carrie to Tom Cloutier. The edge of lace on Carrie's train caught a fallen leaf creating an exquisite fall moment during a beautiful late afternoon wedding.
Five apricot pink roses were courageously blooming in the front flower bed this morning. I tried photographing them outdoors, but the wind blew so brisk I decided to cut them and enjoy the last roses of summer indoors.
Scenes from September can be found everywhere...in yards, gardens, along roadsides, and at weddings. As the first frost approaches, leaves will color and fall changing the landscape once again into something old, but oh so new. I'm looking forward to finding the grandeur of October.
Colorful small leaves looked like confetti dropped at the gnarled roots of this tree standing on the edge of the Tiffin River that runs beneath the covered bridge.
