Autumn in NY

Kathleen, and my dear niece, being good kids and raking for me.

*Note Madeline with the heavy garden rake...lol. They did trade off, so Kathleen's not ALL bad. ;)

This picture was taken from the road in front of my house, looking out to the main road.
Don't forget, you can click to enlarge!

I took this out my rear kitchen window the other morning. This picture doesn't begin to do justice to how pretty it really was in the early morning light:

I took these on a back road near Athens the other day
on my way home from an installation in Catskill. So pretty!
I just had to pull over and pull out my camera!

Kitty Mixed Media

I did these little mixed media pieces a while back, and thought I'd list them on Etsy. (http://fiddleheadstudios.etsy.com ) I just love how the kitty came out, and I don't know what came over me....in one he's flying a butterfly like a kite while he holds down a fish with the other paw. In the other he's watching butterflies alight on a trellis of morning glories. I was in a silly mood that day I guess! I think they are adorable, and of course Kathleen thinks I should give them to her, but that kid has more STUFF in her room that she knows what to do with. I don't want to be responsible for adding any more to that collection.


Here's another autumn shot or two, just to cheer me up, since it's rainy and gray here today.

Get a load of that hedge, will ya'? It was huge, stretching in both directions. I would have loved to have seen the house it was hiding!

This was a beautiful shrub in the woods on the trail we found. There were a bunch of them. The colors were gorgeous....almost inspires me to paint them!

Happy Hump Day, y'all!

Another Gorgeous Weekend

I feel like such a slacker...no posts since Thursday! I had a very nice weekend, and it seemed to seep over into today--hence my delay in posting something new and interesting. Saturday morning was an early one for me...had to bring BF to the airport at 4am to catch a plane to TX, where he'll be for the week. So I came home and went back to bed and slept too late on Saturday morning. Kathleen and I had a lazy morning--me making sweet potato puff for my friend Kelly's dinner party, her playing with her new Webkins stuff online. Then she was off to Madeline's house to play, I delivered some window treatments, and then off I went to Kelly's party. It was a fun time...old friends, good food, reminiscences....I'm glad I went. Whenever I get together with these friends, it reminds me how great they are. I'm glad we still hang out after all of these years (it's been 23 since we graduated!) That table arrangement up top was on the buffet table. Simple, and pretty. Here are her front doors:

I just love those witchy boots!

Sunday was spent lounging around in the morning with Kathleen, until we decided it was too gorgeous a day to just lay about, so we took a drive to Massachusettes. We drove out to Pittsfield, then down to Lenox, and Lee. We discovered the CUTEST little shop, whose name completely escapes me right now, but I can remember her Etsy site! It's http://crispinastudio.etsy.com/ . That site is nothing compared to her store, though. Kathleen and I walked in and were both like "WOW, if we opened up a store, THIS is what it would look like!" It was fun, clever, whimsical, colorful, and crazy. We loved it. I bought a few little gifts, Kathleen got some great ideas for her bedroom decor, and I'm thinking we'll have to go back. We also found a great shop full of vintage metal signs, and another dusty little antique place with a wacky guy sitting outsidetaking in the sun, manning the shop.

The only thing more beautiful than the leaves yesterday, was my gorgeous Kathleen. She's growing into a lovely young lady, and I really enjoy spending time with her. Our car time is the best, because we talk about everything under the sun. She's a great kid. I don't know what I did to deserve her! We found a beautiful trail on our way home, and the sun was setting, so I got some great pictures of her. The leaves were beautiful...the whole day was a gift, really.

Isn't she cute?! :)



She's standing next to the lake that we saw from above, as shown in the pic on the right. It was breathtaking. There are more leaf pics, but I guess I'll wait til tomorrow to post them. I'm tired!

Autumn Joy

I took a drive yesterday...got lost for about two hours. I had no idea where I was. Thank goodness I can navigate my way home with the help of the sun. It was gorgeous here...a bit windy and nippy, but the sun was shining, and I couldn't believe some of the breathtaking views I found on the back roads of Albany County! Look at those horses! They just stood there perfectly still, and stared at me while I snapped their picture. That necklace there is my latest to be posted on Etsy. Check it out at http://fiddleheadstudios.etsy.com/
Christmas is coming! I'm sure you have gifts to buy for your mother, best friend, sister, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, not-so-best-friend, lol, etc. This one was particularly fall-like, so I had to post it this morning, to go with my fall mood!

Yesterday I had the living room window open for a while in the afternoon. My phlox are right outside that window. Well..I was just sitting there, looking out the window, breathing in the fresh air, and I kept hearing these little snapping noises...about every 8 seconds or so. It was my phlox, which have gone to seed...the seed pods were snapping open, and shooting their seeds into my garden. It was fascinating. I love to watch and hear nature at work. The other sound of autumn which keeps catching my by sweet surprise every day, is the sound of the Canadian geese flying overhead in large flocks. Their calls are very distinctive, and herald the coming of winter. I can't believe it's almost upon us. I heard about the snowstorm in Colorado yesterday! Yikes! I don't even want to THINK about snow yet. Fall is my favorite. But as Robert Frost said, "nothing gold can stay." *sigh*

Happy Monday to all!

Shades of Gray

Shades of Gray

As fall creeps in this moonless night
Bright colors dim to shades of gray
My thoughts are thin
My heart can't stay
Within the confines of this day.

Reflection peeks upon my soul
Of days long gone, and
Souls once known.
I seek to find the one whose touch
Made parts of me as hard as stone,
And others soft as brittle bone.

I hide sometimes, behind this smile
Seeking knowledge--thoughts a pile
Rich emotion in your gaze, your words, your thoughts, your style.
Sit with me, we'll talk a while,
And ponder shades of gray.