not rain / not snow

L- Nikon / T iphone

It's not the snow and it's not the rain that has kept us away. In fact, we've had an absolutely gorgeous Autumn season here in the south. The leaves are just at their peak this week and it's so frustrating to me that I don't have anything to show of it's beauty. I take in it's the gorgeous display of color in mind's eye every single day and it astounds me with it's beauty - blazing in the morning light and glowing in the evening light. I have an incredible 360 view from my office on the 18th floor and I'm amazed daily at the changing mosaic of color in the landscape. Believe me, there have been many clicks in my mind, fingers framing in the photo, eyes zooming in to details yet I have nothing to show - I wish I did. I wish I did.

Nov 1 / Gratitude

L - Nikon / L - iphone

Happy November! And the holiday season begins...
Beginning on this first day of November, I will be posting, along with many other blogger and flickr folks, a month long celebration of all I have to be grateful for. Seems fitting to start with HOME. Even more specifically, my physical HOUSE. I am so thankful to have a beautiful, albeit small, house that is structurally sound and protects and keeps me warm and safe from the environment. My dad helped build this house and it has many special touches that make it just perfect for my daughter and me - now just me. It is situated amongst evergreens and hardwoods in such a way that I feel I am the only one around. I love my house... it is home.

P.S. The remaining gratitude series will be on my autumnsun blog.

Indian Summer

L - Nikon / T- iphone selfie

Not a true Indian Summer I know (we haven't had our first frost) but... October in Atlanta - some days are cool - wanting a fire in the fireplace kind of cool, and some days are hot like summer - needing the air-conditioner back on kind of hot.

daydreaming / dreamy sleep

L - iphone / T - iphone

...and Autumn is officially here. My favorite time of the year. I get so anxious for the season to begin, with it's cooler temperatures and bluer skies, and to walk amongst the crunching of leaves... to wrap in blankets, to eat chili and drink hot teas... to marvel at the colors on every leaf, to roast marshmallows and warm my feet(s).

what do you look forward to in the coming of autumn?

to work / to class

L - iphone / T - iphone

First autumn color was on my windshield this morning, but I am wondering where did September go? / there's one good thing about rainy days - duck boots

spot of a heart / heart of a spot

L - Nikon / T - iphone

I know it's really nowhere near to being autumn here in Georgia even though the poplar leaves have started to turn and fall. But if you sit out in the early morning or late afternoon however, you can pretend that it is - the temperatures are quite nice at that time. / sorry i can't help taking photos of her. i'm like a mother with a fat photo book of her children (except they're all on my iphone). she doesn't look very comfortable but she likes it here.

morning / afternoon

L - Nikon / T - phone pic

my view / her view

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." -Nathaniel Hawthorne

radiate / quiet

L - iphone / T - Nikon

This week has been what I would say is 'the peak' for fall color in Atlanta. Seems as if the trees came alive through the week – blazing with crimson and gold. This photo was taken with my iphone and doesn't translate the beauty and radiance I see when I walk outside my office to eat lunch – the mass of crimson leaves casting a blush of red on my cheeks. I look forward to getting out for a walk in the woods over the weekend and maybe a stroll on the new Canopy Walk at the Botanical Gardens. What are your plans for the weekend? / autumn has been slow in coming but it's fine with me – more warm days to enjoy the park with my doggies. there's a spot by the pond that i love to sit and read with a dog by my side.

turning / turned

solo post - L, Nikon

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."
- Elizabeth Lawrence

a sprinkle of color / a scatter of rain

solo post - L, Nikon

This is what our autumn is like so far... mixed of rain and sun, balmy and brisk, summer green and autumn yellow... no wooly sweaters or warm fires burning, no hot cider or chili on the stove. But I know the time is coming and I am so ready.

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

adoption update: Copper seems to have adjusted real well to his new life in Birmingham so far. I believe my brother has made him one happy dog.

hearts-a-poppin / loving

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

In my yard, before the leaves change to red and amber, the hearts-a poppin bushes burst open with red seed pods. I love this plant with it's interesting little bloom - sort of like a flower, sort of like a fruit. I clipped some of the branches and brought it indoors but I better put it away before Bunny comes to visit this weekend – I think it's poison. / i better be careful... i'm falling in love with all the dogs. this is babyface. (i think copper is a better name – remember the dog from the fox and the hound?). he's so freakin cute. i hope someone adopts him soon.

eager / yearning

L - iphone / T - phone pic

I'm looking forward to the weekend. The forecast looks perfect - highs in the low 70s and lows in the 40s. Those low temperatures are reason enough for a first fire in my mind - I can't wait. I think I'm being over-eager and should probably wait. What about you - are you eager for cozy nights by the fire or does it have to be much colder? / i've found a new friend and her name is lilly. i think i have taken a liking to her since our hair colors match and the fact that she is really wonderful. i'm volunteering at a new rescue center that has just opened up in athens called petzone and i'm really enjoying myself. it's a thrift store and dog rescue place combined, which are two of my favorite things ever! all of the proceeds from the thrift portion go towards saving and taking care of dogs that are on the kill list of other local shelters. i really want to take lilly home, but i guess i'll have to settle with volunteering every day until she gets adopted [:

autumn breeze / fall color

L - iphone / T - phone pic

Last night we had a bad storm - hail, strong winds and power outage. But was beautiful today - today was the first day it really felt like fall. I came home - on time for a change - and enjoyed a swing in the hammock. In fact, I do this every evening, just for a few minutes, just until the hammock stops swinging, and then I go inside and feed the animals. Tonight I smelled autumn in the air - I was happy. / there was a coolness to the air this morning as i walked to class. i hope it's here to stay for a while – i am so not a "summer" girl. (above photo taken in the grocery store, at the last minute, for mom)

peek / peep

solo post - L, Nikon

green eyes and blue skies

mysterious / hidden

solo post - L , Nikon

Sunday was a wonderful autumn day –the sun bright and the breeze cool – so I went out, without a plan, looking for something to photograph. I ended up in a very historical city of Roswell and explored the Founders cemetery and then went down to the old mill area and did some hiking. But I was wearing cowboy boots so I couldn't do the hiking I wanted to do – cowboy boots don't give the best traction you know. But I did make it up the steep steps to a trail that overlooked the Vickery Creek and old mill. There were sections in the trail that were scattered with these huge leaves giving the area a eerie sort of feel. I came home and looked at the photos I had captured. None so good, but I kept being drawn to these two and specifically to them together. There seemed to be a tie to them that I just couldn't put my finger on. After doing some research on the area I found that the area where each of these were taken is haunted. At the mills, several recordings have been made of hearing the sound of millworkers moans and of visitors getting the sensation that they are being pushed. At the cemetery, it has been recorded, is home to a more playful apparition: a small girl who sometimes reaches up to hold your hand or scampers behind a tree. I had no knowledge of these things when I photographed on Sunday but now I look at them and they seem mysteriously linked. I don't know what to believe about ghost. I personally have never had any encounters with them, but it apparently makes for an interesting tour of the area. I wonder, have any of you had encounters with ghosts?

random / planned

L - iphone / T - Nikon

"Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills, propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the artist." 
- Takayuki Ikkaku

This morning there was autumn magic on the lawn – the winds and rain carrying the russet, amber and tangerine-orange leaves down to blanket the ground in a mosaic of color – a work of art really. By this afternoon there will be a thick carpet of color atop the emerald grass and the soft pine straw beds. I will feel a strong desire to rake them up and jump in them – taking me back to childhood. But... I'm too old and besides, it's raining. I'll be satisfied to rustle my feet through them and kick them in the air. / this past weekend we had perfect weather - it got me in the mood for carving a pumpkin. i had the idea all in my head and even sketched it out before i started. i can't say it turned out exactly like i planned but it looks great all lit up. i'll show you that later. : )

acorns / picnics

L - Nikon 50mm / T - Polaroid

“Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn.”
- William Arthur Ward

What a wonderful week of renewal and illumination I had while in North Carolina – to be surrounded by so many creative people – dining and dorming with them for 5 days straight – was refreshing and inspirational. I plan to tell you more about it on my autumnsun blog – soon I hope.
I saw, and felt, hints of autumn there in NC – the leaves just barely starting to change but autumn temperatures were definitely in the air. As I walked the soft earthy scented cypress pathway each day to my metalsmithing class the leaves on the ground became an inspiration to me. I gathered leaves and took them to class, drawing from their different shapes I made a bracelet of silver and copper. This tiny oak leaf, not yet changed, and a bright yellow acorn caught my eye on the last day – I picked them up and brought them home with me. / enjoying afternoons of picnics and polaroids. i'm loving it. school is going well too.

autumn hair

Taylor had some play time with her dog, Evee and my brother's dog, Emerson. Evee loves it when he comes to visit. When they were younger they used to really play hard together but now they just sort of chill out - unless someone will throw sticks for them (they sometimes bring it back). Today was a gorgeous day so Taylor got out there and played with them for a while. I tried to take photos but had a hard time getting both dogs to cooperate and I had in mind that I would convert some of them to black and white, but when I looked at the color how could I take that away. With hair like that who wants to change it to black and white. A photo of me, and my curly brown hair, it wouldn't make a difference, but hers...
It was nice to have her visit and participate in the festival with me and it won't be long til she's back again. Next week in fact. I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is almost here and then Christmas is close behind. How time flies.

all aglow

"Just before the death of flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season
When nature is all aglow."
- Author Unknown

I feel sure these leaves will have all fallen to the ground by this weekend so I had to make sure I got a picture of the beauty before it was gone. The color is amazing - the leaves on the trees, with the sun shinning through, gives a warm red glow to everything around - like a big red canopy. One can't help but be astounded by the beauty of autumn color. / sorry for the lack contribution from my daughter - guess she's got other priorities tonight.

nature's carpet

Hopefully my photograph will redeem me from the lack of words tonight. I really have no energy for words or thoughts tonight. This is not a good way to start off the month of November.