Hello, Dear Friends, I hope that you are enjoying the sweet
and simple pleasures of this special time of year...
The soft warmth of a favorite sweater.
A steaming hot mug of your favorite brew
with a buttery muffin.
The crunch of leaves underfoot
in the brisk, fall air.
I really do love Autumn.
It's my favorite time of year.
xx
I love the way the sunshine filters through the misty
mornings and golden leaves.
It's soft and hazy and somewhat melancholy,
like a bittersweet song of days gone by.
Dancing shadows in a golden light.
Time takes on a certain quality this time of year.
Suspended in a magical vortex of brilliant hues and swirling leaves,
time moves dreamily along.
We can almost forget the cold, harsh days ahead,
while we dwell in autumn's blissful amnesia.
Every morning we have this sweet little visitor.
A young Douglas squirrel who enjoys the
wingnuts blown onto the deck from the nearby
big-leaf maple.
I watch him from the warmth of my living room, as I drink my morning coffee,
gathering his breakfast to eat on the playhouse roof.
The forest awakens to a misty, watercolor world.
Pretty flowers, still blooming, from my son for my birthday.
Now that I am officially a 'Golden Girl', I enjoy
lazy mornings filled with quiet contemplation and gratitude.
The busy years of raising children and long hours of endless toil
are behind me, and now I am free to take this time for myself,
to gather my thoughts and plan my day.
Of course, there are always obligations in life,
but I have more options. :)
xx
And floods my kitchen with gold.
Kai's bed is here.
One of them...
He has one in every room. :)
My happy place.
I added kitschy turkeys to celebrate Thanksgiving.
We are going to my son's house for our family Thanksgiving.
I am bringing the apple pie.
xx
Sunbeams sneak in on low, slanted rays reaching all the way to
the far end of the living room as I grab my flannel
and head outside.
Kai is way ahead of me as I check the bird bath
and hummingbird feeders.
The hummingbirds are almost tame.
This is an Annas hummingbird. They are year-round
residents here in western Washington state.
We have relatively mild winters, although we do
get the occasional fierce snow-storm. On those
occasions I take the feeders in overnight to keep them from
freezing, and wake up before dawn to put them back out.
One of those 'life obligations' that I willingly do
to have the privilege of sharing my world with
these amazing little creatures.
In a sea of green, my Japanese maple is the star of
the season.
Today I will plant spring bulbs in a big, galvanized tub.
The Mr. drilled drainage holes for me and put a
base of gravel in the bottom.
Daffodils, blue allium, and crocus.
I use cactus mix potting soil along with
regular potting soil to provide good drainage
in our very wet winters.
These give me something to look forward to this spring.
The strange, purple hue of beauty berry
peeping out from under the big cedar tree.
My wild evergreen side garden.
The tall shrubs were once tiny Cypress 'Christmas trees'
in 10 inch pots. They are now 15 feet tall!
My bench holds potted herbs.
Sage, rosemary and thyme.
xx
"Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was the true love of mine."
- Simon and Garfunkel -
Today is a good day to harvest my tansy
from my wildflower gardens.
Tansy is a pungent scented herb that I use
in moth-repellent sachets.
I have a good harvest.
You can see my blue shoe to use as comparison.
I strip the leaves from the stems.
I always wear gloves as the plant can irritate
bare hands.
I save the dried seedheads to plant in the gardens.
Tansy is a long-lived and hardy perennial,
but it is rather tall and rangy.
The yellow, button flowers are pretty, though,
and can be dried for arrangements and wreaths.
I ended up with two big baskets and a bucket of seed-heads.
I will dry the leaves in the baskets
in a dark, warm room - turning the piles
twice a day until they are dry.
Then I will further strip the fronds off their stems
and store them in an airtight plastic tub
until I'm ready to make some sachets.
After lunch, Ramblin' Man and I take a little walk.
Kai leads the way.
It's been a beautiful, dry week with mild temperatures,
and I've been able to catch up on my outside chores.
I've filled wheelbarrows and tarps with
overgrown brambles, dead flowers stalks and weeds.
Everything is almost done.
Ha-ha, everyone knows what a joke that is!
I haven't even begun to rake the leaves!
Time to go inside - the days are short
and I need something hot in my favorite mug.
Thank you for spending this beautiful, golden day
with me!
Before I say goodbye, Dear Friends,
I'll share a few scenes of the countryside
on a recent drive.
and color are their last days.
- John Burroughs -
