Autumn's Ghosts

 I believe there has been a bewitchment here in Nod.

Warm(ish) days and comfortable nights turned cold and gloomy, the trees dropped their glorious colors seemingly overnight and only the ghost of autumn's glory is left.

Most disconcerting of all, the weeks simply melted into days.

I really thought I had more time - more time to finish up decorating, more time to take some decent photos, and more time to do a few proper posts before Halloween.

But it's almost Hallowe'en Eve and there's no undoing some spells, so I'll go with what I have as far as decorating goes and call it good.

I'm holding out hope that I will be able to take some photos tomorrow...or Saturday...of things indoor and throw another quick post together. This post, though, is a last look outdoors.

A little ghost awaits visitors:

...and he has friends:

Lydia has declared the pool officially closed.

She does, however, enjoy the spotlight.

Inside looking out:

{The water distorts it in the photo, but the crow is perched on a skull.}

A spotlight at night lends it an eerie light: 

A few gravestones...

I "misplaced" the old lantern that I usually hang from the hook behind it but improvised with another.

A few more gravestones...these are real and stay out all year:

The majority of the photos of the fall colors on the trees in this post were taken last week.  Since the "gloom" spell and the heavy rains, however, virtually all the leaves have lost their color and fallen.

All that seems to be left is the ghost of autumn.

Happy Hallowe-en Eve!

October Skies

 

The last days of September have quickly passed to days of mid-October.

This Robin (and this one as well) has apparently fed well and fattened up for the cold of winter ahead...but, also, like this Robin, seems hesitant to trade one season for another.

The blue is giving over to grey my friend...

The little gathering of hookers at the lake I mentioned in my last post was only a few short days but treasured ones.

{Bald eagle in the sky above}

We ate well, shopped well, slept (mostly) well, laughed well, and, well, some of us hooked well.

Some of us did not.

I was also able to confirm that one very large project could, indeed, finally be crossed off my list. (The "project" was rebuilding the rotted exterior chimney wall, adding window trim and header board, and painting both house and garage.)

The trees seemed confused. Some had lost all their leaves, some were only beginning to change, and some were brilliant.

And some were in full-on spooky mode.

Back in Nod, the trees seem equally out of sorts.

Some have been half-naked for weeks already.

Others are saving their dance cards for other winds (of which we have had plenty the past several days).

The weather has also been untethered - the days caught between seasons and the clouds wandering without conviction. We had several days of gorgeous summer-like temperatures: highs in the low (low) 80's and nights staying in the upper 50's/60's, then a day and night of endless rain, and then a hard, hard, freeze.

  My DIL, the girls and I managed to get in a trip to the apple orchard/pumpkin patch once I got back from the lake. 

It hadn't yet gotten as warm as the following days would get, but it was still perfect.

After the outing, Little Mia requested an impromptu sleepover at Gigi's and we played poolside in our jammies the following morning.

(That water was some kind of cold.)

As for other "stuff" that some people (not calling anyone out but you know who you are MD), expect to see on my blog, handworks remain sadly stalled.

Both my stitching and hooking mojo are still apparently on an extended walkabout (or scamping about with Betty's.)

Until such time, if ever, (as the good ol' Wizard of Oz would say), as either decide to return home, I'm trying to slowly focus on fully/finally finishing a few long-ago completed projects.

This one is "Salem Village" from Lori Brechlin at Notforgotten Farm.

I finished stitching this piece 6-ish years ago but had truly wanted to have it framed in one of the frames that Lori's husband, Peter, had made for the display model. That wasn't possible so I finally just had it framed in a conventional frame.

This piece will eventually take up residence in a guest bedroom (my son's old room) that has become home to my "Salem" treasures.  

As many/most of you know, my great grandmother, 7x removed, Mary Easty (alternatively spelled "Esty" or "Eastey"), was hanged for witchcraft during the Salem witchcraft trials. Many may not know that, at the time, there were actually two "Salems:" Salem "Town" and Salem "Village."  Salem "Town" was a bustling, commercial/merchant port center and is what people now think of as "Salem." Salem "Village" was a small, rural/agrarian farming hamlet about 5 miles inland from Salem Town and was where my grandmother was from. 50+ years after the trials, Salem "Village" was renamed to "Danvers."

(Can't blame them.)

And, because nobody's happy if Mummy D ain't happy, and she's told us she's tired of nature photos and such, here's my progress (term used VERY loosely...since this piece was actually started almost (maybe even over?) a year ago) on my hooking:

{There really are darker rib "lines" in the bottom pumpkin...the photo is very washed out, and the colors are a bit off too. I stopped hooking and photographing after realizing the stem on the bottom pumpkin looks like a wonky crown on the top crow's head. The struggle is real.} 

It is called "Crows and Pumpkins" (clever name, no?) and it is a design by Joanne Page of Wooly Worms Rugs.

The best thing about it? That blue background! I had initially chosen a wonderful piece of old paisley for the background but, while beautiful, the blue was too bold and magnetic. So, Cathy (Red Barn Rugs) showed me this piece of wool she had recently dyed to mimic the endless sky/moon photos I take (and she has seen just a small fraction that you have 😂).

She called it "October Sky."

Perfect kismet.

Speaking of October skies, this was last night's quarter moon:

Wishing you all a week filled with full moons, enchantment, wonder...and good kismet.

The Last Days of September

 

For better or worse, they're here.

We are on the precipice of what is, for many of us, our favorite time of year (even though loathing what follows).

Others (no names mentioned) would more likely prefer to burn the book above.

The days here have been temperate and mild; the nights cool and moonlit.

I don't want to betray October, but Septembers like this just might win my affections.

The skies are that September kind of blue that other months can't quite mimic.

...and there is a different sound to them as well.

The full harvest moon promises light in the dark nights to come...

...as well as a hint of the mystery and magic of the season ahead.

{I don't think the time stamp will show in the photo, but this photo was taken at 1:26 a.m. (don't ask) with no filters, editing, or other alteration.}

The gardens, while tired from the summer's labors, are still lush and enticing in the moonlight's forgiving light.

The last days of September have been busy here and will continue to be full for the next several weeks.

While I've neither hooked nor stitched much (any?) of late, I thought, my wayward mojo might be located at one of Cathy's (Red Barn Rugs) workshops and wrangled home.

Despite the amazingly talented hookers there and inspiring projects, I can't say that my mojo was anywhere to be found, but the hunt will continue.

So as not to leave my hooker friends out there completely disappointed, here a few photos. (Sorry, I wasn't good at actually taking photos of the rugs being worked on. I guess I was too busy scouring nooks and crannies for my mojo.)

{Cathy's living room}

{Hallway in the upstairs studio}

{One of the rugs in the upstairs hallway of Cathy's studio}

{Cathy's rug/design}

{Cathy's design/rug}

{Rug hooked by Lisa P}

{Cathy's rug/design}

{Maria B's rug}

{Cathy's design/rug}

{Rug being worked on by Lisa P}

{Maria B started this rug at the workshop and made amazing progress.  The design is by Robin Leuschen. Pay no attention to that horse in the background LOL}

The week ahead is a busy one with many appointments and, at its end, I will be heading to the lake for a few short days of hooking with Cathy and a few friends.

And, no, I don't expect to find my mojo up there either. 

I've already checked.

Enjoy your last days of September.