Light the Fire

The brilliant rays of the setting sun kiss each ripple on the surface of the river, painting a surface of golden warmth from shore to shore. I can warm my hands at the edge of these glowing coals made by the water's reflection. I snuggle back into the fuzzy soft flowers of the saltbush that hug the shore. This is a cozy landscape that mother nature has designed to shelter her loved ones as the cool of the evening moves in.

A Tribute to the Actual Color of Most of the States in the Union

The Power of Prayer

As we tore out the remains of the garden to get ready for putting in the raised beds, I noticed this fellow hanging on for dear life at the top of one of the tomato cages. He was carefully watching me tear out the invasive mint that my husband had so carelessly let get established. This little head pivoted ominously facing me with the 'bug-eyed stare' as I walked around him trying to get a photo at various angles. I asked him to pray for Americans and the economy. He seemed to be trying to convey some message about the environment and I swear he said in a tiny voice "To Hell with oil prices!" Just like politics, not everyone agrees. (If you click on the photo you will get the attitude.)

I am so Glad

These lovely white fairies are now blooming in one of my flower beds. Their fragrance is the breath of a tropical night on a distant island, quite exotic for mid-October!

Metaphor

Two weeks ago on an early morning with camera in hand, I went out to look at the fog which hung between the trees. I raised the camera to see if I could capture the mysterious mist and feeling of the early day. I had not reset the camera and my flash went off against the fog. Each drop of moisture reflected the light back into the lens of the camera hiding the trees in the near distance. All I got was these large drops of water that hung in the air. It is an interesting photo but reminded me that if we don't step back but instead peer too closely and intensely at something trying to analyze it, we don't see the forest for the 'trees' or whatever is in front the trees.

Whiplash

The agony, fear, anger, bitterness of these times keeps creeping into my daily routine and it is like whiplash trying to decide which horror to worry about next. I took this photo a few nights ago as I waved to my neighbor whose boat created the wake and thought, although this is beautiful, it seems to symbolize the zigs and zags of life today.

Tucking In

The sun is looking at us sideways as he always does this time of year. When he squints wryly with his half-eye, we can feel the coolness of the air rise up as if to meet his glance. The sheds at the water are filled with worn summer toys and locked up tight. The trees shrug gently in the new cool as if to shake the chill and the first of their brightly colored leaves drift softly to the ground. These leaves are the first messengers reminding us of the coming winter. The bees are lingering at my purple sage slurping in the sugar nectar as if they were facing the last saloon call of the evening. The squirrels race madly from tree to tree, knocking bits of bark to the ground. They are children reunited on the school playground just before the bell that ends recess for the day. And I find myself pausing in my fall chores to adjust to the new angles of the sun against my garden and the forest. I pause in thought as this is the beginning of the long goodnight as I tuck in my plants for the winter.

Discovering Gold

The early anticipation of a colorful fall sent me to the plant nursery yesterday. I returned with two pots of gold and one pot of purple mist. The photo above is a sugar maple. I have always wanted to buy and plant this tree but never had either the money or the yard space at the same time. I now will fulfill this wish. The peach-red colored leaves in the fall are such heart warming bursts of light that one cannot pass by such a tree without drinking in the honeyed picture.

I (we) also purchased a persimmon tree. (Photo above keeps loading sideways in Blogger! Thanks, annie, the .png format seems to do the trick!) Sometime a while back on one of my blog posts I talked about a hike that hubby and I took where we came upon golden globes of fruit lying in the fall leaves. Like migrating Indians we descended upon the most perfect orbs and ate our fill of persimmon fruit. This tree is indigenous to the area, named by the Algonquian Indians and a relative of the ebony family. In late September and early October the leaves turn yellow to match the fruit. This tree that we purchased produces SEEDLESS fruit which is just like finding gold that you don't have to mine! We will just have to see if the squirrels like it as much as we do.

I also bought a purple smoke tree and anticipate enjoying its misty beauty of pink and purple fuzz late next summer. We got a 20% discount if we bought three trees...I guess they saw us coming!