nature's curls and other seasonal stuff...OH, and bones!

i haven't been doing much for the past couple of days

other than sleep,

steep and drink ginger tea,

cancel appointments,

sleep,

cough,

take xtra vitamins and herbs,

sleep some more.

today...i feel better...and ventured outside!

the temp has gotten down into the low 30's, high 20's at night.
besides the hooting owls...and wandering foxes...

during the day you can see lizards

slowly peeking out from their hiding places

for some much needed warmth...sunshine...

and the squirrels, still frantically collecting, eating & burying acorns.

i've been noticing all the little things CURLING...

slowly...giving in to the colder weather...

losing their color...and turning to a winter brown...

You can't stay in your corner of the forest, 

waiting for others to come to you; 

you have to go to them sometimes.

~ A. A. Milne  Piglet, Pooh's Little Instruction Book

...an air fern hanging in there...

looking like a nest of spiders...

OH, and speaking of spiders...

a daddy long legs (on front porch) trying to figure out which way to go...to stay warm...

hopefully OUTSIDE, and not in!

o~o~o~o~o~o

last weekend we pulled the christmas boxes out of the closet.

and instead of going to get a live tree...or a cut one...

like we do every year...

we finally did it...we gave in...folded...

we bought an artificial tree.

telling ourselves, in the long run,  it's better for the environment...

no senseless cutting of trees...no more contributing to christmas tree farm pesticides.

and we'll save the $$ we spend each year.

we down-sized. 

putting our new, compact, 4 1/2 footer 

on the table in the front window...

conserving what little floor space we have!

the LIVE trees we've had for past christmases...never seem to make it after we plant them.

the only one that ever did was a small 'charlie brown tree'

that the guy at the lot gave us one year as a freebie with the tree we bought!

so...with that spirit of the season in the air...

the shelves and mantle filled with little santa & snowman figurines...

scented candles...twinkling lights and garland...

i'm ready for it to be over!

well, kind of.

i'm not a scrooge. 

it's just that it's all gotten so commercial. so out of hand.

i don't DO christmas for religious reasons. 

i do it for the 'feeling'.

but nowadays the stores are jam packed with christmas trees and decorations 

before halloween is even here.

gifts for HER. gifts for HIM. everything packaged...oh so nicely...

in plastic wrap with big ribbons. (can you hear the sarcasm?)

the packages are yelling "ME! ME! BUY ME!"

but i block them out. all the ads. the commercials.

subliminal messages...they try to worm their way in...

all the people rushing around. pushing & shoving.

no thanks. i'll just relax by the fire...have some hot apple cider...

or how about a nice hot brandy toddy...

and wait for the holiday panic to end...

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, 

it would be a merrier world.

~ J. R. R. Tolkien 

o~o~o~o~o~o

earlier today, sam surprised me 

with something he picked up along the side of the road...

on his way home.

NO, it wasn't a lost dog...a puppy...or a kitten...

or even a hurt turtle...or bird...

it was a deer skull!

i know what you're thinking...

that's pretty scary, eh?

scary, that sam knows me so well...

or scary that a dead animal would be an acceptable gift?

ha!!

it's still a little 'furry'...BUT...

i can see another decorated skull in the near future!

and here are the cleaned bones from the last couple of owl pellets i've found:

they too, will be part of some future creation...

well, my congestion is subsiding...

achiness almost gone completely...

my ginger tea is well steeped.

i have much catching up to do...with all the terrific blogs i follow.

and i will...i promise. i'll wake up early sunday morn. before dawn.

and sit down with my coffee...and read away...and journey...all over the world...

'til next time...be safe.

stay cool.

laura  :]

If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. 

It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.

~ A. A. Milne 

suddenly sunday...

"There aren't enough days in the weekend."  

~Rod Schmidt

finally.

it's sunday.

4:30 AM.

this past week...crawling along...hectic...

i need a day like today.

a day with NO commitments. NO work. 

NO plans. 

(well, other than laundry, food shopping...and catching up on all the usual stuff 

there's no time to get to during the week! aaaaargh!!!)

and to make things even better...it's raining!!  yay!

we really need that wet stuff!

over the past few weeks...we've had the coldest day ever...on record...

AND the hottest day ever!!  now...it's cold again. 

as the week goes on it's supposed to get a little colder each day. 

50's during the day and mid 20's at night!

nice!

o~o~o~o~o~o

up the road from one of my appointments the other day...

i passed these horses. 

i think they're  'paint horses'...with the big splotches of brown or black.

horses sure are beautiful looking creatures!!

BUT they scare me.

i have ridden a horse before...oh, maybe once or twice in my life.

they have such BIG heads...BIG mouths!  BIG teeth!

they intimidate...me.

i like to appreciate them at a distance...

can you make out the braids in this one's mane??

cool, eh?

o~o~o~o~o~o

yesterday i went to the yearly 'Cane Day' Festival with a friend of mine...

to set up a booth to sell our art. 

no, i couldn't bring any of my BoNE or BoTTLE art...it had to just be

nature photographs...paintings...or pressed flowers from the park...Dudley Farm.

here's our set-up...

 

it was a gorgeous day! sunny! high 60's.

lots of people came to "Cane Day"...and we did so-so. 

BUT we got alot of compliments on our art...and that made me feel good...so,

i'll probably try another local art fair some time in the future.

so, you're asking...what the heck is Cane Day anyway? 

well, Dudley Farm is a historic working farm...

with animals...fields...gardens...and a functional cane syrup complex.

a few times during the year they do sugar cane grinding...boiling...

and bottling the end result...sugar cane syrup.

of course they do the cane processing the old fashioned way...

a mule driven cane mill.

aaahhhhhhhhhh!! the smell of the cane juice boiling.

such a heavy...sweet...thick aroma.

at Cane Day, park staff & volunteers offer activities and demonstrations in

 blacksmithing...woodworking...cross-cut sawing. crafts.

quilting...doll making...weaving...corn shucking...music.

and of course making cane syrup the old fashioned way!

a FREE SAMPLING of the warm cane juice...tastes like woody flavored sugar water.

anyway, i've got to admit...my favorite thing in this park...

are the cracker cows!!

 

yeah...the park history is cool...the demonstrations are neat...

the cane grinding & cooking awesome...

BUT THE COWS!! OOoooooooh!!!!

so...all things considered...

we may not have done as well as we would've liked...with our art stuff.

it took alot of preparation...

building a 'mesh wall' to hang all the framed art (thanks sam!!)

and constructing the wood displays (thanks again sam!!)

BUT it was a great day anyway!

i got to see Dudley Farm for the first time!

one of my clients lives only a couple of miles from here...

so i'll definitely be back to check up on those cracker cows! yeah!!

o~o~o~o~o~o

happy autumn!

"Use what talents you possess; 

the woods would be very silent if no birds sang 

except those that sang best."   

~Henry Van Dyke 

'til next time. stay cool & be safe...

laura  :]

"Laws change; people die; the land remains." 

~Abraham Lincoln