Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Moments No. 31 - Happy Halloween!

Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite,
All are on their rounds tonight;
In the wan moon's silver ray,
Thrives their helter-skelter play.
~Joel Benton


Oh Halloween, I miss the homemade costumes, I miss the pumpkin carving, missing the craziness of the night, it is not all over, but it has changed.  This is the last big costume that I made- about 4 years ago . . . . Great Gray OWl. Whoo knew it would be the last?  
 We have had many adult parties over the years and are well overdo for another one- so 2014 let the fun begin . . .

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Jack Frost Makes a Visit




Last Morning it was 23 degrees, a hard frost, all the leaves are now falling fast. Anything colorful or green is now brown, Edna's pool was ice covered still in the late afternoon. We know it is time but we still want fall to linger a little longer.

The Moments No. 30

“The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies.” ― Laura Ingalls Wilder, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist: Writings from the Ozarks

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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The Moments No. 29 - Autumn's Glory days

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”  Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

I know,  . . . another fall picture, but I assure you soon all will be lost until next year.  These Fall days are fleeting fast.  The Geese pass over flying south, the leaves flutter to the ground covering it in a great crunchy blanket.  Every little creature is making it self ready for the big sleep or the big storm. The chipmunks and Squirrels are crazily eating and storing seeds.  It is all a great wonder to be watched. There tucked in the leaves is an old rock wall, this is just down the road from me.

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Monday, October 28, 2013

The Moments No. 28 - "pattern and passing of time"

 "A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made.  The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air."  Eric Sloane

My house was built in 1822, by pioneers to this area and probably at first a log cabin. Then onto a cobblestone foundation such as above and timber-frame Sill and  post and beam structure.   In this area due to glacial remnants many old homes are cobblestone based.  Some full houses are as well. It is very interesting to look at the artistic features that the mason used.  Foundations such as this may have been only done by farmer but the repetition and type of rock, size , color are all interesting.  Think patterns. This is what is left of a Post and Beam Cider Mill.  It is just down the Hill from me.   25 years ago it still stood proud, when we moved here, but weather and time has slowly brought it back to the earth.  This is what remains today.  It is likely 180 years old.
 
 
 

Book Chatterings . . . .

Ok - so if you are looking for a good November reading book, you have got to read this memoir book.  It is a quick read, once you start- forget the laundry, it will wait.  It is a wonderful story of love of family, love of God, love of Life, but not without heartache.  The author was raised not far from where I live  ( Naples, NY)  and currently resides in a different town that is equally as close.   She travels back to Germany as a 5 y/o to visit a dying Opa  ( grandpa) and while there WWII breaks out, the family is stuck there as the mom is 7 mos pregnant and the Ship captain would not let her travel.  So as a reader you get a birdseye view and more of life in war torn Germany.   This is not about the Holocaust as it is not even mentioned until the very end.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

" I'd like to honor all the angels who made it possible for me to find the strength to make it through each day"
 " We never had much money, but I think we were the richest kids that ever walked the face of the earth.  It is because we have you.  God gave us the very best when he gave you to us." ( from a letter to her mama)

Sunday, October 27, 2013

THe Moments No. 27

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“All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.”Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows


   So here in the Northeast everyday we see rapid changes as the daylight shortens and the darkness grows.  It is not a time in some ways that most look forward to. After long carefree bright summer days we are gradually drawn into days of gray and brown, all around you can see the changes, in the plants and birds, insects , animals, life as most know it slows and hibernates. Yet this is not completely true if you get out and look for it.  We have a whole new set of birds in the winter months that come down from Canada, we can Ice Fish, some mammals truly do hibernate but there are many that continue to wander about leaving us fun tracks to ponder about- seeing "who was in the neighborhood?" and what they were up to.  The Coyote are often very active this time of year and last night boy were they were noisy. There is a whole host of house tightening activities, getting out snow shovels, storm windows, putting away summer fun, stacking, moving wood, stocking up on birdseed, salt, things that become the necessaries of a new season. The marvel is that each and every day is different. This grass is just coming into its season as so many other plants are at the end of theirs.
We celebrate its uniqueness and beauty and wonder.







Saturday, October 26, 2013

The Moments No: 26

“Other people's houses were always fascinating. As soon as you went through the door for the first time, you got the feel of the atmosphere, and so discovered something about the personalities of the people who lived there.”    Rosamunde Pilcher,  Coming Home


Pure NYS Maple Syrup from our own trees make sunny days in the laundry room sheer delight, and lets just not talk about the cloudy ones.  :)


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Friday, October 25, 2013

The Moments No. 25


“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight.” - M.F.K. Fischer

Oatmeal Bread from the side of the bag.  Served with honey. Note to self . . .next time make 2 loaves!

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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Owl Cookies - Just for Fun!



So I made these today- Just for Fun!!! 
You make a white rather basic sugar cookie dough- take 1/3 and mix in melted semi-sweet chocolate- like 1/2 cup.  Roll it in a narrow roll wrap in wax paper and refrigerate.  Roll out the white dough into a rectangle, then wrap it around the chocolate dough, and refrigerate again.  Slice assemble and bake.
This idea came from the book Coming Home   This is the time of year that we often have an Eastern Screech Owl take up residence in a tree out front. It is a very cute little owl.

The Moments No. 24

" That  which we persist in doing becomes easier- not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased."  ~ Emerson

The beginnings of beauty, creativity, randomness, the beginnings of something, yet to be named or fully created. Sometimes you just have to jump in the pool and get it over with, then decide if you want to swim or get out.  Random Creativeness at times can be like that.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The Moments No:23

"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones- the ones at home"
Mother Teresa

Laundry is one of those things that everyone has an opinion about and mostly not positive. Yet it is a way that we care for those we love. Some people love to do laundry and do it every day. For others it is the last thing that they possibly want to do and the mounds grow and grow.  Some people like the washing but not the folding or not the putting it away.  I am somewhere in the middle, I don't mind it but it is not something I live for.  I do love to hang my wash outside to dry.  ( except during the high pollen times)   There is something that is grounding about hanging the laundry and being outside . . .

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Moments No. 22

 This quote hangs on the wall in our kitchen . . . . 
This is a very imperfect picture , but kinda cool all the same.
" Nothing you do for Children is ever wasted"
Garrison Keillor

Monday, October 21, 2013

The Moments No 21

We have reached that moment  . . . this week . .  tomorrow most likely . . . when this Photo will start to warm my body and soul. 
 Cleaning the stovepipes first, a dank and dirty job . . . then onto the sweet warmth and comfort that this here woodpile can bring.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

The moments No~ 20

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike."  Jon Muir 

No sun today but for now- still colors muted by an oncoming storm. Everyday now the colors fade and fall.  All to soon it will be shades of browns, grays, blues and soon whites. I love living where the seasons are very distinct but I love each season and wish it to linger a little longer every year.  It is this that keeps us longing for the next . . .  It is the walks in the same places that make us so observant of the seasons changes.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Moments No:19

" There is so much, after all these years, that holds us together --honesty and inside jokes and hours logged and memories made and probably a thousand meals shared around the table."
Shauna Niequist author of Bread and Wine

Morning spent with old pals we have been through it all, and my how the time has flown . . .onto our next challenge of caring for older parents.

Apples, Apples . . .Pick your own . .

Golden Delicious - see how the heavy fruit has the branches bent way down? Very hard on the Tree

Made from "drops" - Empire Apples


So much beautiful fruit!!

Fruit pulling it right down Ida Red Apples




These are all the fallen apples  - they collect them to make Apple Cider

Spartan Apple - you need to rub any apples on your shirt to get it really red before you take a big Juicy bite into it!!
Every year we go "Pick your own" Apples nearby.  This year is a bumper crop of Apples, there are tons of them and the poor trees are taking a toll under the heavy weight of the fruit.  We will make Apple Pie, Apple Crisp, Apple sauce and a few more fun things like cake and muffins!  You pay for them by the pound, 1.09 a pound this year.   With the right cold storage they can last quite a while. What kind of fruit or produce do you usually pick where you live?  We usually pick Strawberries, Raspberries, Apples, sometimes blueberries.  We could but never have picked Grapes, Peaches and Cherries.

Friday, October 18, 2013

The Moments No. 18

Sunset 10-18-13
" Watch the sunrise at least once a year, put a lot of marshmallows in your hot chocolate, lie on your back and look at the stars, never buy a coffee table you can't put your feet on , never pass up a chance to swing on a swing from a tree, don't overlook life's small joys while searching to the big ones" 
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Hoping the moonrise tonight will be as equally spectacular as the sunset!!!

The Moments a peek at one imperfect picture a day from Daisy Yellow.  Hop on over and check it out.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Moments No. 17

“We walked always in beauty, it seemed to me. We walked and looked about, or stood and looked. Sometimes, less often, we would sit down. We did not often speak. The place spoke for us and was a kind of speech. We spoke to each other in the things we saw.”  Wendall Berry

Today was one of the last peaceful temperate days in the woods- they are talking possible snow by next week at this time. This fall is been most lovely.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Moments No. 16

Imperfection at its best, but diligence to keep trying.
This to be scarf looks one way on the bottom \
and not so on the top. There will be some ripping out tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Moments No. 15

" Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully
 has left a hopeful impulse behind it
 in the world, 
and bettered the tradition of mankind"
Robert Louis Stevenson

It always amazes me at what Mother Nature puts in my pathway. 
 My firstborn, was born with a Congenital Heart Defect - 1 in 110 babies are born with a CHD. 
She is well and in college these days.  One day at a time works great!

Woodland Friends

 Garter Snake

Black Capped Chickadee

Eastern Gray Squirrel  (Sciurus carolinensis)
 We came across these 3 fine friends while out for a walk over the weekend.  they were all enjoying the warmth of the Fall sunshine.  We also saw  White tail Deer, many  migrating warblers , Pilated wood pecker, Red bellied wood pecker, geese,and other feathered friends. We come to this trail often enough that we can really see the seasonal changes and know where to find certain wildlife and birds.  The chickadees were waiting for us to feed them seed from our hands and the squirrel had a big itch that was funny to watch him scratch.  It is always a good day when time is spent in teh woods.

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Moments No. 14

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” Rachael Carson

So this maple seed is suspended by spider web string from a Maple Tree, it hangs about 3-4 feet down.  It was hard to get a picture because it moved around in  the breeze so much. It is very cool to look at.  This picture cannot show you just how suspended it is but believe me it is really something. I hope everyone is familiar with Rachael Carson


Just Playing . . . with Picasa Image procesing . . . .





Well I had lots of fun playing around with adding fun techniques to photos that I had taken.  Pencil sketch, Saturation, Polaroid, Duo tone I could spend a lot of time with this. . . .  then I had the challenge of moving said pictures to a file that I could access in order to upload them to my blog . . . I am not as technical of an individual as I am creative.  It is a hard workout for my brain to make all things technical do what they are actually supposed to do but I keep trying. I am looking forward to trying out more techniques in the near future!  I am trying to decide which one I like the best, I really like the Polaroid option and in this batch I like the Pencil sketch.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

The Moments No. 13

"Whatever form it takes, camping is earthy, soul enriching and character building, and there can be few such satisfying moments as having your tent pitched and the smoke rising from your campfire as the golden sunsets on the horizon- even if its just for a fleeting moment before the rain spoils everything"  Pippa Middleton

The day after . . . returning with 2 Dutch ovens that provided sweet after dinner treats the likes of Pineapple Upside Down Cake and a Cherry Cobbler
Songs, Skits, Campfire, great weather  and scouts having a great time in the wonderful unplugged outdoors!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Friday, October 11, 2013

The Moments No.11

 
Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today.  
That way, at least you'll get one thing done.  ~Author Unknown
 
Happy Friday!!!


Sweet delights, this is a go to when asked to bring finger friendly dessert/sweets.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

The Moments No. 10

One of the several Bird bath's where the chickadees are seen playing right now.
They do not seem to mind the leaves.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Moments No. 9



"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show"
Andrew Wyeth
We never know what gift Mother Nature will bestow us each morning.

Signs of Fall




Every where we look right now we see the signs of Fall.  The Horse chestnuts are falling fast and furious- such shiny jewels tucked neatly inside such a prickly  package.
        Bringing in the bright bounty of the season to enjoy looking at and eating,  one never tires of this.  Above is a Turban squash this type we always got at my Grandfathers Farm growing up as kids.  We are entering the great seasons of spectacular Sunrises and sunsets,  although bad weather also accompanies these majestic events.  Today it is gray rainy and a day only made for curling up with tea, quilt and good book.  Such a dream- to much preparation for the cold weather underway right now, but soon we will have lots of cozy book reading weather.
      Watching the hills and trees change color is just a blessed event. Just over night the changes are incredible.  It is often as such a fairy flew around with a paintbrush over night transforming  trees into colorful works of art.  Everyday there is something new to admire and wonder at.
               I am seeing a higher than average number of mushrooms this fall. I need to get some pictures of them to share here.  They are such interesting parts of nature.  Get out and enjoy!!!