Camera Shy...

 
Leah dragged me out to Target on this crappy, rainy night to help her figure out which camera to buy. She finally chose a Nikon Cool Pix...and is currently snappin' away at me...I think she's trying to get back at me for aiming my camera in her face for the past 23 years!

What lies beneath...

 
"I love to study the many things that grow below the corn stalks and bring them back to the studio to study the color. If one could only catch that true color of nature-the very thought of it drives me mad."-Andrew Wyeth

One of my best gifts...

 
26 years ago today, I got one of my best gifts...our daughter, Lauren was born. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect and beautiful baby girl...who knew that three years later our joy would be doubled with another daughter who would be just as special to us! Damn, I am a lucky woman!!

Instrument of Grace...

 
"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."-May Sarton (The wonderous circles of the kale)

And another page completed...

 
...in the Art Journal Project. Slowly adding to the sketchbook...I know I have until December to finish this project, but with all the other projects I have coming up, I need to stay on top of this one...and so I persevere.

Stained Glass Windows...

 
People are like stained glass windows, they sparkle when the sun shines through them, but their true beauty is only revealed from within. A beautiful bit of architecture on a side road in Collinsville.

Sunrise Farm...

 
Every day I drive by this farm and notice the logo over the door...this farm has been there since I was a kid in Avon...and probably before that...which is saying something since I'm pretty darn old...someday it will come down and a lucky person will hang that sign in their house...wouldn't that be sweet!

Plant stand find...

 
Don't you love when you find an old plant stand for $4.00 in a junk shop and it works out so well! A little wire brushing and black spray paint, a couple of pots of mums, throw in a few pumpkins for good measure..and voila!! I love it! It matches my patio furniture perfectly. "Mum's happy!"

31 Years ago...

 
Dave and I got married 31 years ago today, on a rainy Saturday morning in September...what a long and winding road it has been. :)

Talents...

 
"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best."-Henry Van Dyke (A robin sitting amongst the autumn leaves at Winding Trails, yesterday)

Cornstalks...

 
" A light wind swept over the corn and all nature laughed in the sunshine."-Anne Bronte

A handy husband....

is worth his weight in gold...Dave decided I needed a better system in the kitchen...my organizational skills lack something...so we went to Home Depot and bought lots of shelving and sliding thingers...and he spent the morning installing the stuff...it does look good...now if I can just keep it that way!

Plentiful Gourds...

 
"If you do not sow in the spring...you will not reap in the autumn."...Irish Proverb...A bushell of various gourds taken at a road side farm stand in Farmington today.

Prep Time...

 
Back in the studio cutting and pasting for the Sketchbook Project.

5 little pumpkins....

 
...sittin' on a fence....I DO love the start of fall...

Where in the World...

 
...will Leah travel to next...I wonder.

Uniqueness...

 
"If everyone would look for that uniqueness, then we would have a very colorful world."-Michael Schenker...This old victorian house on Federal Hill always has a colorful piece of artwork on it's door..I always wait to see what they'll put up each season.

The Noble Apple....

 
"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits."-Henry David Thoreau ...and nothing is better than a crisp, tart apple!

Flower for a friend...

 
Today I send this flower to a beautiful woman, in the loss of her brave, wonderful mother...may she finally be at peace and may you find comfort in knowing how much she loved you and how lucky you were to have such a lady to call "mom"..<3

Always Remember...

 
It's been nine long years since that awful September morning....alot of things have changed...alot of people have moved on with their lives...and yet...when I saw this enormous American flag and firetruck below...it snaps you right back to that terrible moment in our nation's history...never forget. May their souls rest in peace.

"Be Brave"

 
The latest page in my Sketchbook Project....be brave enough to spread those wings and fly...don't be afraid of the dark unknown.

Shower of color.....

 
As beautiful as this house's gardens are...they become even more colorful when showers are predicted in the forecast...then the owner pops out all these pinwheel umbrellas to protect her flowers...fun!

Worldwide Moment ....

 
This bumper sticker was sent to me today because I, along with many other photographers across the world will be taking part in this photo opportunity. At exactly 10:00 a.m. on the 10th day of October (month 10) we will all simultaneously take a photo and share them on their website..this is the 2nd year they have done this....always good to be part of something greater than oneself...kind of like the Sketchbook Project....hmmmm...what to do next :)

The First Step....

 
"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."-Martin Luther King

To everything there is a season...

 
Urn, Urn, Urn.....and fall is the season for bulk trash pickup in Farmington...and as we all know "One man's junk is another man (or woman's) treasure"...found this nice urn on the side of the road today...had to pick it up...it's a sickness, I know...but I liked it!