Black Friday and people stuffed with turkey, weary of family, anxious to get started got up as early as 5:30 to start the shopping frenzy.... but Princess and I stayed home and cozy and shared the chair!
It's so good to be home on this holiday. I drove nowhere today, never got out of my PJ's and still managed to get stuff done in the house, take a nap, pet the kitties. Thank you God for homebound holidays!
I wonder how many years it took this tree to consume the hidden drive sign? Hopefully the new sign has been posted far enough away from the tree to keep it from disappearing as well.
Speaking of signs, here's one we can all get behind. I'd like to put this one up, on the house, the car, the mailbox. I wonder if it works?
I love finding simple things like this, upside down, the directions stating that the top should actually be on the bottom. I don't suppose it matters, really. The TP comes off the roll anyhow, but it's fun for me to see.
I don't mind it saying "employees must wash hands before returning to work" that makes perfect sense to me, BUT on the bottom of this sign it appears the statement is repeated in brail. Now I ask you, how many blind people go into bathrooms and rub their hands all over the walls?
No, I didn't do it! I found it just like that when I was walking across the back of the fairgrounds behind the barns. Just the same, as signs go, this one is a hoot.
I don't know why I titled this one the mouse trap. Clearly, what it really captured was the cat. She enjoyed hours of playing with this, so fun because she could see the toys inside it but just barely reach them. That's my wild cat!
Well, it does say "drive thru" doesn't it? How come the company was so upset when someone actually did drive through it?
Signs are some of my most favorite funny things. I know they know what they mean, but their attempts to be specific are often extremely comic. Here everyone has to watch children, but the soccer fans are required to drive 20 miles per hour. I wonder if they have soccer police to enforce the limit?
Well, it's almost over now. Almost all the green is gone and though there are about a thousand different shades of brown, the stunning red, yellow and orange trees are few and far between. Just when I'm feeling innundated with brown, I'm suddenly struck dumb by the neon brillance of a single shining tree. It's still beautiful beside the still water, but there's a lot more branches and tree trunks reflecting. God, I love this season!
I went to the Abundant Wellness Center today for a deep tissue massage by Debee! Wowie Zowie, that was terrific! Now I feel all spoiled and pampered like my kitty, and I'll probably sleep just as well tonight as she is used to. Now I know why she always wants me to rub her fur, it feels wonderful!
It's pretty unusual to find a place where the leaves fall and stay where they landed. These golden leaves are reflecting the wonderful shadows cast by the naked branches. How wonderful to find this lovely scene beside the ocean in Gloucester. The day was incredibly cold, maybe that's why nothing was moving, and the entire meadow was littered with soft curls of goose down. What a day!
I still can't figure out why either one of those guys would want the job of president, but there does seem to be a lot resting of the results and I do believe that the only appropriate course of action, having already cast my ballot, is to pray for everyone! I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that I really like alot! It said, "God Bless Everyone, No Exceptions!" So, today when so many people are having their hopes dashed or fulfilled, I say, "God Bless Everyone, No Exceptions!"
Although the golden colors still dominate, the trees that are still bearing leaves are mostly wearing a multitude of browns. The sky is brilliantly colored now and many trees are showing the slim grace of their spiny trunks. It's still all beautiful.
Well, it turns out that Amanda had to let the kids do their own pumpkins this year. I guess that happens when they get old enough, so she wasn't able to do her own decorating this year. I suppose it will be a bunch of years before the overwhelming load of child-rearing allows her to use her own creative skills for pumpkin decorating. I only hope that her freedom doesn't come just about the time she's no longer interested in Jack O Lantern crafting.
Here's a fine example of what can be done to a pumpkin without a knife. This family certainly did have a fine time preparing for Halloween. I just don't know how they got so much stuff to stick! My, what delightfully creative people!
We're almost there, I can tell because the weather turned "wicked" cold today and pelted my windshield with snow crystals. Nothing permanent, though. It's good not to be in "lake effect" country. There, the weather channel shows white and pink to the West of us and to the East. God Bless the Pioneer valley. Mostly, I'm looking forward to seeing what Amanda will come up with this Halloween. I don't know how she does it with 3 kids, but, she's definitely a Go Girl!
Here this old jack O lantern is oohing and ahing the passing of it's season, but for this year at least, it's not quite here. They say there will be some snow in the morning, but I'm doubting that. It's suppose to snow on Easter, not Halloween. We'll see!
I think the shadow did a better job of decorating the real pumpkin than the ceramic one on the step above. It certainly did cast a leading shadow in the direction and make the eyes look very freaky. I guess it's the combination that really does the trick... or treat! 
There's no point telling him, he is, afterall, a husband... So, here he is blowing leaves around, pretending that he can get rid of them BEFORE they've even finished falling off the trees. But, you know what, he really enjoys playing with the autumn leaves, and there's nothing wrong with that!
I shot the moon last Friday, too. This time it was not full and the trees around it were mostly gold. I think it's wonderful to see the moon in the morning framed by the glorious colors of autumn. Don't we live in the most wonderful world!
There must have been 50 crows in the yard that day, I don't know how the camera only caught 3 of them. Maybe they're like the cats that way and whenever they see a camera, they go into hiding. The crows were only foreground for me though, since the 5 trees in the background each showed such different shades of the colors of Autumn. It'll be like that again, any day now. Isn't it wonderful how natural and automatic it all is?
There's nothing quite like a wall this time of year. The vines hang on to the warmth of brick and cement and turn their amazing variety of colors at a much slower rate than the well-exposed trees. I have a favorite brick wall that I love to get "stuck" next to at a red light. It is the most beautiful display of Autumn glory.
I suppose that it has a lot to do with the lovely warm weather and the fact that it's easy to jump out of the car 50 times a day with the camera in my hand. That is not only it though, the world is so full of gloriously brilliant colors that even when I close my eyes late at night, I can still see the colored tree impressions glued to the inside of my eyelids. And of course, people have so much fun playing with the symbols of this season! There is no present pressure, unless one is buying candy for Halloween, and the only real shopping is about the big day of Dress-Up. Yep, it certainly is my favorite season!
It was hard to tell what was the most beautiful expression of the Divine that day. The Autumn colors were shining and sparkling and the sunset became more and more spectacular as the evening came on. All I know, for sure is that the Nature of God is Awesome!
I can't really help it, you know. I'm not from here! I'm still the little old lady from Pasadena and the stunning brilliance of this New England season absolutely blows me away. I can still hear him yelling at me...."Donna!" when he opened the scanner to make a copy of something, only to find the scanner filled (again) with Autumn Leaves! Well, what does he know, he was born and raised here, while I'm still a recent transplant! Thank You God!
The fair began and ended with rain this year and was lovely in between. Once it was too hot and muggy and once it was too windy and chilly. It was too wet a couple times, but that's not bad out of 17 days. The bands marched, the floats had a never ending supply of beads, the pumpkins were huge, the crafts very creative. It smelled of charcoal grilling, cotton candy, popcorn, horses, pigs & sheep. I heard animals, carousel music, marching bands, midway barkers, laughter, complaints and screams. Mostly it was people having fun in the annual tradition that completes summer and kicks off the golden glory of the Fall Season.
The BigE starts tomorrow and everything is full speed ahead over at the Eastern States Expo. People have been working frantically for weeks but the pressure has been turned way up during this last week of preparations. I don't actually start until tomorrow, but I'm pretty excited anyhow! I love the whole atmosphere of the fair, sights, sounds, smells - it's wonderful. It doesn't last very long, only 17 days, but I'm really looking forward to it now.
I swam in the river today, finally found an access point and since it was 90 and I was all done driving around in the heat, I put on my suit and dove on in. It was fun to swim against the current and float back down to my entry point and though it took some getting used to floating with all the other things occupying the surface of the river, I stayed in the water for over an hour.
I love this picture of nature doing it's thing, so determined that it sprouted this watermellon seed above the high-tide line in the warm mulch of sticks, shells and seaweed, sending roots down into the dry sand of the beach where it could not possibly grow into anything. Go nature!
September, already and it seems Picasso has already been hard at work on the trees and bushes around here! I got my schedule for working the Big E already and the employee meeting is next Wednesday! It's such a wonderful time of the year. I'm really looking ofrward to it, as usual. Many people plan their vacations so that they can work full-time during the fair. All I do is schedule my senior appointments for the morning so that I can work the night shift at the gate. It's so wonderful just to be there in that joyful environment with all the amazing different sights and sounds and smells, all mixed together in ways nobody would expect to find them. Oh boy!
It's hard to tell from the picture, but this tree was terminal even before the men wiaht the saws showed up. What's amazing to me is that the stump is such an incredible vision of beauty. I don't know what a tree doctor might say looking at this view, but I am impressed again by the stunning beauty of the cycles of natural order. I saw this stump a week ago and there was nothing impressive about it at all. It has already moved on to the dissolution stage and is busy making itself part of the earth from which it sprang. I'm so glad I got there when the cut was fresh and the beauty of it was evident.
It seems like the bears just woke up from their hybernation and already we're seeing colors changing. Oscar's been looking for his straw hat and Ginger can't find her coveralls, but they've still got time, it's a long way to October... 'specially if you don't pay too much attention to the way the colors change, or the timing.
I struggled with the computer for hours, trying to restore the program from the back-up, so I didn't notice that it was ideal weather. When I hung up the laundry on the line, I certainly did feel it, and when I finally gave up on the program and went out in search of corn on the cob, I was completely aware of the perfection of the day. I guessed that the humidity was maybe, 4, but it turns out it was actually 46%. Well, hey, that's good enough for me. I guess the Red Sox won't get rained out tonight!
It's not even August 15th and some trees are changing colors already. I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised, this maple shows it's red even in the newborn baby leaves. Clearly, the colors lie just under the surface of the illusion of green and it doesn't take very much for the brilliance to come popping up to the surface. I love the whole season changing thing though and wouldn't trade it in for the consistently warm temperatures of the west coast. Been there, done that! No, I really do prefer the changes.
We had plenty of that last month when my family visited me in Magnolia, and plenty the week after when I was wandering around by myself pretending they were still with me. Still it was hot and my little nephew and I swam out to the pier on the magical day they spent touring the cape and island with me. We didn't even get rain that day until a couple hours after our swim, and we were safely in the gazebo by then watching the thunder storms pass.
Since my family came to Magnolia last month to surprise me, I have a new and wonderful relationship with my cousin Diana! She was the one that stayed to keep me company on Sunday, when all the rest of them were already flying home. We spent 3 hours on Holly's heavenly back porch watching the birds and critters feed and splash in the fountain. It was the first time I had in this whole lifetime to actually spend some time with her and I'm so glad that it happened. Now, we're like the girls in this picture, sharing the beach, through e-mail all the way across the country! Thank you God for Diana!
I love the barefoot season and even though the season starts out with really tender feet, I love the feel of damp grass, hot pavement and rinsing in the little puddles that form beside the driveway. I can see why little kids and birds are so fond of a puddle. The photographer in me loves to shoot the reflection off the puddles of clouds and trees and such, but my inner child loves nothing more than going barefoot in the summertime. 
