"We love fog because it shifts old anomalies into the elements surrounding them. It gives relief from a way of seeing,"
- Eavan Boland
The fog moved slowly, playing hide and seek with the trees on the hill across the lake.
***
the countdown begins
“The perfect weather of Indian Summer lengthened and lingered, warm sunny days were followed by brisk nights with Halloween a presentiment in the air.”
― Wallace Stegner, Remembering Laughter
***
Percy comes to play yesterday and brings with him the magic of Halloween. He is not interested in candy, but talks non-stop about the outdoor decorations in their neighborhood and around town. The lego knights and dragons decorate their castle and Heather-Hazel (the witch), follows us everywhere. The skeletons in the tree glow with the colors of fall, and the countdown to Halloween begins.
***
the lake
“A lake is a landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
at the south end of the lake . . .
***
dinner time
“Be prepared. A dog is adorable and noble.
A dog is a true and loving friend. A dog
is also a hedonist.”
- Mary Oliver
where is my dinner? . .
***
carving pumpkins
"The pumpkin is a uniquely American plant, widely regarded as one of the most magical plants in all the world."
— Seth Adam Smith (Rip Van Winkle and the Pumpkin Lantern)
I carved one of these white pumpkins into a skull and was quite pleased with myself. The rest were done by my very talented kids, grandson. and husband! What fun we had.
***
bitter nightshade
Bitter nightshade, found winding its way through an old apple tree.
***
“Even now, with the natural world in so much trouble—even now, with the patterns of my daily life changing in ways I don’t always welcome or understand—radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world. I mean to keep looking every single day until I find them.”
― Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year
morning, in the bird bath
"What does it mean, say the words, that the earth is so beautiful?
And what shall I do about it? What is the gift that I should bring to the world?
What is the life that I should live?"
— Mary Oliver
***