The Truth....

 

The truth is I never really want Halloween to come.

I just want it to always be October.

Yes, I love Halloween madly...but just imagine if it was always October and you could always be looking forward to it and anticipating it!

And when it's Halloween, we start all over again.

{View from my laundry room window.}

Just a thought....

Anway....

Fall came upon us fast and furious.  Like many of you going through droughts, I didn't know what we'd have for color - everything just looked brown and dead.

But it came - and was gone just as quickly it seems.

The harvest full moon was spectacular, although I'm disappointed I didn't catch the comet.

Due to the wedding, the work involved in the aftermath of the lightning strike, and a mess of doctor appointments and procedures, my Halloween decorating was significantly minimized this year.

Even if it weren't, you've mostly seen it all before in other years' posts so it's just me missing it.  😉

I do have a few new treasures. (So much for that promise....)

A little racoon paw holding a bouquet:

Definitely not everyone's cup of tea but, if you don't know it by now, neither am I.

And this little guy is "Comfy in the Crypt," by the very talented Cyn Tennant.

He's carved from clay and makes his crypt in an antique mold form.

It was difficult to get a great photo, but the detail is amazing.

I also finally finished up two cross stitch pieces.  The first is "October 31st 1693" by The Blackberry Rabbit.

This piece almost was given the Marly treatment (i.e., meeting its end by fire.)

It is stitched on a 32-count pre-printed linen by Fabric Flair.

First, I am NOT a fan of 32-count.

Used to be, but not anymore as it most usually (and did in this case) requires two strands of floss...which, in turn, requires railroading each stitch (if you're a stitcher, you know...if not, just know it makes stitching more time consuming).  I much prefer stitching on 36-count or, better yet, 40-count.

In addition, I struggled with judging the actual borders of the linen due to weird selvedge edges and misjudged.  I had the witch 3/4ths completed when I realized she was too high and if stitched as charted, I would cover the "October 31st 1693" header.

There was too much to rip out without seriously damaging the linen or my by-then fragile state of mind, so I ordered a new piece of linen and started over.

Then, to exacerbate my frustrations, the "newspaper print" on both pieces of linen was VERY light. 

I decided to distress it after it was stitched using a fine paintbrush and walnut stain.

I wish I hadn't distressed it, but I am NOT stitching this a third time!

And this is "Trick or Treat Cat" by M Designs.

Not necessarily my typical fare but it appealed to my love of vintage Halloween.

This was a kit (I think?) which was started by another stitcher who decided she didn't care to finish it so she offered it as a giveaway and I was the lucky winner.

I confess I undid quite a bit of what was stitched and really changed up the floss colors.  The "as charted" were just too neon for me.

I also removed a smiling Jack-o-Lantern in the lower left corner and added another bat instead.  

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Seven days and counting....

Teaching an Old Crow New Tricks...

 I've not much to say...but I finally got the new pc set up and wanted to see if I could actually manage a blogpost.

Fingers crossed.

I know some were expecting wedding photos and I promise I will share some...if I somehow manage to figure out how to transfer what is salvageable data from my old hard drive here...and figure out where, exactly, my photos go when I try to upload them.

Change doesn't come easily to me and I get very attached to old ways.

And, frankly, I haven't had time to experiment.

The lightning damage is worse than I initially realized.  I have managed to get the backup generator and the pool system repaired and, obviously, replaced my pc. This next week will be spent trying to get my wells up and running.

No small task given that replacing the pump for the main house involves cutting down my tree (Lauren...I feel your pain intensely), removing plantings and landscaping and trying to relocate a very large...and very heavy...concrete birdbath.

I sometimes feel as though I just can't handle anything more...then I think of those who lost everything in the wake of Helene...and I feel ashamed.

Anyways....

What you get today is just some random photos that somehow managed to migrate to a place I can find them.

Halloween decorating has been put mostly on hold for yet another year.

I have pulled out a few favorites or easily accessible pieces and will call it good.

One piece that somehow didn't find its way back to where it was supposed to be is this piece I stitched last year.  I don't think I've posted it...if I have, my apologies.

 "Pumpkins Three" by La-D-Da. (Sorry for the glare.)

The frame should have been larger, but it was a premade frame that didn't come larger...and I liked it, so I forced it.

Seeing it here, I may decide to reframe it....

Or not.

On the fun side of things, my daughter-in-law and I took little Mia for her first visit to the pumpkin patch at the orchard.

It was a picture-perfect day and I'm glad to say Mia found a pumpkin she loved enough to bring home.

We are under a frost advisory for tonight and I should move a few plants that are still thriving indoors.

But I won't. 

I'm truly tired of watering.

Hoping your Sunday was good to you.

A Quick Check-in...

Little Crow is getting married this weekend and things have been crazier than normal.  

If my penchant for procrastination and late-onset anxiety weren't enough to deal with right now,  a rogue storm rolled through Sunday morning leaving me without power for over 4 hours and doing a great deal of damage - including, but not limited to, decimating my back-up generator, my pool pump/robot cleaning system, garage lights, wireless remote light switches, and my pc hard drive.

Why me? Why now???

UGH.

Anyways, it may be a while before I catch my breath and things return to the low hum of my old "normal," so I wanted to do a quick check-in to let you know I'm still here even if I won't manage to keep up with checking in on blogs, etc.

Since my photos (and most of the rest of my life) are on my defunct pc, you get some random, unedited (i.e., no attempt to remove blur), photos from my camera roll..and posted from my Ipad which is always a bit of a challenge.

{Love the way the sunshine reflects off my favorite crow's wings...}

{The hibiscus is putting on their final summer show....}

{The moon has been so spectacularly orange it reminds me of those jelly orange slice candies some nights...}

{I tried to disguise a black-and-blue toe (fall down the patio stairs) with a pedicure.  I wasn't entirely successful....}

{A little dark stitching - "Jack's Bash" by Plum Street Samplers....}

{Rajah Roo...pretty much summing up how I feel at the end of each day...and, truth be told, at the start of many as well....}

I have the honor of walking Miss Mia down the aisle.

  Wish me luck.

She's too little to hold me up. 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

 

Crow, Cranky Crow...

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells,

...and cockle shells...

And a fluffle of bunnies all in a row.

To make your own bunny planter:

After danger of frost, plant a variety of colorful annuals in a large barrel or planter.

Water every other day, depending on precipitation; fertilize every 7-10 days.

Deadhead perennial blooms as needed (if there are any left).

Such As It Is....

This time of year, I generally post photos of my yard and gardens.

But, as I mentioned to Lauren (Rugs and Pugs), when I went out to take a few photos, I realized how dismal my gardens are this year.

I have lots of excuses of course:  Been busy; got a late start (had planned on not planting hoping to be at the lake...but...); my usual "go-to's" were gone when I did finally go; the Great Rabbit Invasion of Nod; monsoon-type rainfall; etc., etc.

 

But, as has been said, excuses build bridges to nowhere and tunnels to nothingness.

And since I have nothing else blog-worthy to say or show, you're getting a brief tour of my yard...such as it is.

{Calibrachoa}

{Black Velvet Petunias}

{Hydrangea}

{Osteospermum}

{Hydrangeas gone rogue...I can no longer see out of my kitchen window}

{Volunteer calibrachoa and baby's breath on my steps}

{First of the hibiscus beginning to bloom}

{Cornzebo all cleaned up}

{Petunias, osteospermum, and angelonia}

{...and Japanese beetles...LOTS of Japanese beetles...I literally just put this trap out}

And there you have it...such as it is.

Beautiful Things in Humble Places...

The older I get, the more I find myself looking backward, rather than forward.

Remembering...

And, somehow, even harsh memories are softened with the warm glow of time.

While summers growing up found me essentially completely cut-off from everyone but immediate family, the days were full.

Daylight hours (after chores, of course) were most usually spent roaming the fields, pastures and woods of our little 80-acre farm.

Mostly the woods...

The woods I roam these days aren't the familiar woods of my youth but they still hold a measure of magic...and beautiful things.

Look closely...do you see him?

 

My peek-a-boo partner for the day.

A young albino buck....

See the velvet of his newly-sprouted antlers?

We played a good long while but I failed to get great photos...alas, he was much better at the game than I.

Beautiful things in humble places....

Rough Waters

It's been the better part of a year since I've been here to stay.

Much has changed, much never will.

I was apprehensive about what I would find as a tornado had touched down on the other side of the lake about a week and a half prior.

{Boat and lift flipped completely upside down.}

Thankfully, my little island was unscathed.

I have been here a week.

My days have been spent cleaning, making lists, searching for things that are no longer where they were...things that are, simply, no longer anywhere.

More pieces to pick up, more holes to fill.

Inevitably, and sadly, some pieces will never fit back together, some things will never be found, and some holes will never be filled.

The latest (3rd? 4th?) phase of remodeling is relatively complete.

{Yes, I know I promised someone before and after photos...I will do that at some point...}

The next phase(s) won't start until January or later.  I need to catch my breath and see if my heart is still here.

The first few days were difficult.  No television, no phone, no internet.  No overhead fans working, garbage disposal not working, leak in the laundry room, broken front porch light, broken back door, light switches not working, non-functioning clocks, no window screens... Too much activity on the lake, too many fireworks, too much filth, too much to do, too many memories, too many ghosts, too many haunts.

And something of which I cannot yet speak.

But the days were pleasantly warm, and the sun shone.

I caught the swans and their young swimming in the far bay.

That, too, changed, however.  The clouds moved in, the winds quickened and the lake darkened.

There's still rough waters ahead.