Showing posts with label Autumn in Maine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autumn in Maine. Show all posts

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Still Autumn





Even though we had 'insta-winter" it is still technically autumn.  Though after last weekend I feel it may be time to bid this season of golden light farewell.  The light is changing, the leaves have left, and the gardens are put to bed.  I took these photos in October.  What amazing clouds!  I think October is my favorite month, though, I really don't like to choosing a favorite.  It was a good Autumn.  Now I am ready for a good winter!












Immortal Autumn



BY ARCHIBALD MACLEISH
I speak this poem now with grave and level voice   
In praise of autumn, of the far-horn-winding fall.

I praise the flower-barren fields, the clouds, the tall   
Unanswering branches where the wind makes sullen noise.

I praise the fall: it is the human season.
                                                                  Now
No more the foreign sun does meddle at our earth,   
Enforce the green and bring the fallow land to birth,   
Nor winter yet weigh all with silence the pine bough,

But now in autumn with the black and outcast crows   
Share we the spacious world: the whispering year is gone:   
There is more room to live now: the once secret dawn   
Comes late by daylight and the dark unguarded goes.

Between the mutinous brave burning of the leaves   
And winter’s covering of our hearts with his deep snow   
We are alone: there are no evening birds: we know   
The naked moon: the tame stars circle at our eaves.

It is the human season. On this sterile air
Do words outcarry breath: the sound goes on and on.   
I hear a dead man’s cry from autumn long since gone.

I cry to you beyond upon this bitter air.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Pause & See ~ Morning Light


I love the shortening days and the opportunity to see the sunrise at a reasonable hour.  I have to admit I was a bit grumbly this morning.  I awoke to the sound of rain.  Somehow my forecast hadn't included rain for today.  You see, I did 6 loads of laundry yesterday thinking this would be my last outside line drying time for a while.  I had thought it would be dry today...oh bother.  Guess it is going to get a few rain rinses.  When I went to take Runa out I saw this beautiful sky!  Grumblies were all gone!  I ran and got my camera.  Wearing my robe and muck boots I ventured out into the cold drizzle to get a better view across the field.



It was breath taking~~~





I stood there just soaking it all in and watched the light come on.  There was a soft drizzle and I was getting a bit chilled.  I started think about my morning coffee and turned to head back to the house.  This is what was behind me ~~~ A spectacular rainbow!







I no longer felt the cold.  It was just so beautiful!  I took a stroll down to the pond to see.....







My camera does not do the sight justice.  The sun shone on the autumn leaves at just the perfect angle to create a burst of golden light.  Longfellow's Poem speaks to this moment so very well...


The Rainbow

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky;
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.


Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 


I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  


"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha



Friday, October 10, 2014

--- Shop News --- Chaos

 Autumn's Chaotic Splendor

 Things are winding down in the gardens so things are winding up in my Etsyland.  Yesterday, while scanning my FB feed I came upon an article that claimed the most creative folks are messy.  I prefer to call it chaos.   I will, openly, admit that my work spaces are chaotic to the neater minded.  This may date me but, my relationship with DH is like Felix and Oscar...can you guess who is who?  It has created a good balance for both of us.... as long as the house is neat and DH stays out of my office, sewing room, & attic.  I won't want my chaos everywhere but, I do find it comfortable in my messy work spaces.

I always wonder about those perfectly neat studios that are featured in magazines and on the web.  Are they for real?  Even if I spent a week tidying my spaces they would never look like those bastions of orderly creation.  Time is one of my arguments that is pro Chaos.  Should I spend time whipping things into shape or making?  I do occasionally clean things up... a bit ...when I am in the mood and usually late at night with music.

Another point in favor of chaos is Nature.  Everywhere I look in Nature there is chaos and messiness.  We humans, for some reason, feel compelled to put things into some sort of order.  I know there is orderly Nature like the bee's honeycomb but, have your really ever tried to get your ducks in a row...not going to happen!  More often than not, one will find chaos in Nature.  I am very much at home in/with nature.  My chaos feels like a kinship.

So how do you roll when it comes to creating? Are you neat as a pin or do you like to mess around?  


 Yesterday ~ My Chaos


Moose Puppets in progress... Coming soon AGAIN to InJoyEcoCutie


Chaos in my Office ~ Posting New Items to InJoyTreasures  EVERYDAY!



Nature sets a good example!  Chaos is beautiful!






Ok~ I planted these Sunflowers... go figure!?

And a poem about Chaos::::

Repetition
Repetition, repetition, repetition
A dancing circle...
Round, around, round
Sun, rain
Sun, sun, Rain rain, Rain, sun.
Repetition
Life- Death, Death-Life
All as part of one.
Repetition...



~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun
Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys
Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 
Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Monday, October 6, 2014

Vacation for Real!


Ah...Fall...so...well...dazzling!  It is a pleasure to live in the country and lift your head from ones work and find beauty all around.  But, a body needs a rest now and again, beyond those moments of head lifting.  If you know us or follow this blog regularly you have probably become aware of the fact that DH & I, just, might be workaholics.  I am not a real fan of that term but, I will admit that we need a bit more R & R in our lives (Rest & Relaxation for my foreign friends)  Just as we scheme the latest project we also scheme for ways to have more fun.  Three or four years ago we had a very wet year and the gardens drowned.  I gave in and called it a bust year for vegetables.  It turned out to be one of the most fun summers ever.  We started going out in on our canoe almost every weekend!  At the time we had an 18 foot lake tracking trekking canoe.  Before we had our son (& gardens) taking week long canoe trips was a big part of our summers but those days seem to have passed.  So we got the bright idea of selling our big canoe and downsizing thinking that it would be much simpler to transport a smaller canoe in our truck for a quick day trip.  Well, we got the smaller canoe, an Old Town 13 footer.  But the next couple years were busy garden and building years.  Last year we never went out once and this year it nearly didn't happen.  We analyzed the problem.  The conclusion was at the end of a day or even the second half of the weekend were just plain pooped.  Solution::: small, quiet, electric motor!

We bought ourselves a Minn Kota Motor for vacation instead of a camping trip.  The maiden voyage was in our own pond.  DH loves it!  I stood and watched him go around and around as long as I could take it.  I had canning to do..... 







A few days later we went to a local lake that is only 15 minutes from our home, Branch Pond.  Maine is blessed with many lakes.  There are quite a few we can explore with in 45 minute drive from our home.  I made a sandwich and grabbed a couple of water bottles and away we went.  Branch Pond is long, narrow, and shallow.  It has only a few homes and camps on it's shores.  It is beautiful and quiet.  Lots of wildlife around.  We saw and Osprey this day.  I didn't get a photo of the Osprey but, here is some of the autumnal splendor we experienced on this day.


Love those hipster sunglasses!  Matching the life jacket was NOT by design! ;)







This is the old mill at the end of the pond.  It was a, totally, lovely ride!  We paddled a bit but, mostly, we let the Minn Kota do the driving for us.  Definitely, a relaxing afternoon.  Packed the canoe away for the winter now.  But next year things should be different!  DH is even threatening to get a fishing license!  This could be a whole new chapter in our lives!


Yes, we have matching hats...too cute!  
Mine is the original..after years of hat envy he got himself one too!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Vacation?


Three weeks ago from today my DH started a 2 week "vacation".  I use quotes because we both had pretty long to-do lists.  I always joke that I am either always on vacation or never on vacation.  I, definitely, feel like I need a vacation after my husbands time at home!  So to keep things from being to workie I made a Fun List for the time off.  We got everything except the 3rd lake checked off our fun list.  DH finished his work list...I am still trying to get mine done...never on vacation?



The next couple of blogs I will share bits of our mostly stay-cation.  We did go out a few times but never further than a 45 minute drive.  These will be photo rich blogs...We have a lot of far flung family and my blog has been a great way for them to keep up with our lives.  Very efficient too!



I did some more canning, dehydrating, and giving away of tomatoes.  Finally, I had enough and pulled the plants.  8 hours to plant them ~ 6 hours to clean up the patch. Final Tomato Tally still to come...


I pulled a lot of stuff and my DH hauled it away for me.



As a matter of fact, DH spent a lot of time working with his tractor.  I lovingly call it his Tonka Toy.  It's real name is Agent Orange...when he first got the thing he had a bit of buyers remorse and didn't really want to use it...or get it dirty?  So I called it Secret Agent Orange waiting for his mission...the name stuck and DH got over the getting it dirty thing.  One of the jobs he got done was brush cutting our fields. He does this every couple of years.  We just want to keep the fields, fields.  It is amazing how quickly open land wants to turn to forest here in Maine.




A work and play thing we did was to go down to DH's folks lake place.  They didn't make it up this year so we have been checking on the place and mowing the lawn.  They have a year round house on the land but, we decided to have a sleep over in the old camp part of the property.  It is right down by the water with a view of the lake from the bed.  Pretty sweet!  I packed a picnic dinner and a couple of bottles of wine.  Runa came with us...we left Vern and the Ducks at home!





We had an evening paddle...



A misty morning~~~ I took a swim...very quick swim!


We had a nice old campfire at our place.  We cooked dinner on the fire and ate outside.  We would have had another fire but the weather became hot...in the 80s!  Crazy!





A rare moment when DH grabbed the camera and caught me in the act of having some fun!  He made me this swing at my request last Mother's Day.  It is a wonderful way to release stress and strain.  I find it to be a nice stretch after doing something like digging carrots.




That's enough for today...more to come...I hope to be back tomorrow.  Time now for me to finish the Garden Beet Borscht I am making for dinner.  Until~~~