Another photographer's debut

Papa plays in a local band called Fiftymen...not named after the number of members, but as far as I can tell...a beer of choice.
They played a weekend gig at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec. Here is his handiwork....






In case you were wondering, I was at home doing the everyday stuff....and dealing with a really really noisy neighbor that brought my needlefelting abilities to new heights.
Happy Halloween all.

This moment

...playing along with SouleMama and her "this moment" series

An old soul

I find it such an interesting phenomenon....how does a change in the seasons especially the shift from summer to winter invoke such a strong sense of communion with the rhythms of the natural world? I have essentially been raised a city girl, with exception to a small amount of time spent in the country during my childhood....why would I feel such an urgency regarding getting ready for the winter times ahead? It's not like I have to put food away to survive the winter. I do what I can as far as preserving the small harvest we are lucky enough to reap on our tiny city lot. Yet I feel a pull that I can't quite put my finger on. I want to enjoy the times of hearing the wind blow the leaves and watch the geese begin their annual trip to more sounthern climates. It feels special to be able to do those things.....if I close my eyes I could be living 100 years ago and the same things would be happening right now.

House love

From the moment I walked in the door, I was preoccupied with looking around at everything. Some houses lend themselves so easily to that....mostly those of the older variety...those built with love and care using resources from the surrounding land by those who would inhabit it. So much beautiful attention to detail. A house built to be a home.






They welcome you in and make it hard to leave. Not just the house, but the people in it too.

Horse love

While I spent a seemingly endless amount of time at my grandparent's farm while younger, my children have not been immersed in the country living lifestyle I had hoped they would. We are lucky enough to live in a city that has a large farm in it's centre (Canadian Experimental Farm), however, trips to the "farm" always leave me feeling a bit saddened that that is most children's farm experience. Contact with the animals is quite restricted and the fact that it is called the "experimental" farm leaves me wondering what they experiment with.
On the journey to our weekend in the country I found myself wondering whether the girls would be bored...skittish around animals...afraid to get dirty, the list went on and on. My worried thoughts mostly applied to Raine who is 13 and has spent pretty much all her life in the city. Turns out she was just as filled willing to jump into the moment as Hazel and the adults. She fed the horses, walked through the fields with the dogs, picked veggies and loved every moment of the day with camera in hand. What a happy mama I am. And a lucky one to boot.
Here are some of her horse shots.

The view through the eyes of a 13 year old...

We spent the weekend visiting family in beautiful horse country in Southern Ontario. If this place wasn't 6 hours away we would be there every weekend! Raine went a little snap-happy, but let me say that it was hard picking the best...there are so many.
Tomorrow, the horse series.
Thanks Aunt Susan and Uncle Ron. Your spot in the world is so lovely and peaceful.

Fall

None of my words can do this justice I think.
What a beautiful October we are having!
I am starting to wonder how we are ever going to adjust to more time being spent indoors...

Batten down the hatches

My love of the fall season is unwavering. It is strong and proud. I believe my life is enhanced by its presence. I welcome it wholeheartedly regardless of the type of weather that comes along with it. I love not feeling hemmed in by summer's hot and humid days. To me, it is the most wonderful time of year to be alive. And it is beautiful. All my favorite colors dress the trees...red, yellow, orange, brown. I noticed last fall that the interior of my house is painted in autumn colors. This was not planned...just a happy accident.



The one and only drag that keeps coming up year after year is the effort it takes to try and keep as much warm air in the house, and as little flowing out in our older energy inefficient house. Old wooden doors with single panes of glass...aluminum windows that actually conduct cold instead of keeping it out....a cold storage room door that is actually a hollow core interior door....and last but not least a concrete basement floor that is our saving grace in the summer, but the bane of our existence in the winter. We are responsible and aware people who lack the funds to just "throw money at it". So, we are left in a position to do what we can. Last fall, I attached batts of insulation to the back of the cold storage room door and interior basement door with a staple gun and some vapor barrier that we had around. I recaulked around all the windows in the interior. I taped up the ducts to prevent heat escaping up through the walls. And, of course, the part that I hate the most...the most tedious and disappointing of tasks.....putting up the cursed window plastic.



While I have gotten very good at putting this stuff up, I don't look as happy and well put together as the woman on the box. (I found this at an estate sale and bought it as a joke for myself). I can make it look like it isn't there, and provided that I clean the windows inside and out beforehand (done on Friday), from a distance one would never know there is plastic there. The sad truth only hits me when I want to open a window to air out the "winter" house and I can't. I suppose I can take comfort in the fact that there is indeed lots of fresh air infiltrating from many other places!
Maybe one day I will miss this seasonal ritual.....find myself longing for some windows to put plastic up on. Hopefully though, I will have better things to do with my time.
Happy weekend all.

I cannot believe....

it has already been a year since the first annual (?) Pony Dance party on the septic field. We were lucky enough to housesit for some friends last fall. Wow, if I try really hard, I can tap into the feeling that surrounded that weekend. We ate mostly takeout, took long walks in beautiful hills, watched some movies and I crafted like a madwoman getting ready for my one and only craft fair.
I remember thinking that sometimes it is the short jaunts that are the best....
Hope this fall is treating you well.

In anticipation.....

*of yummy harvest treats this Sunday,
**of family getting together for a tradition that Michael and I really look forward to
***of an extended weekend full of perfect autumn weather.
I would venture to say that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It doesn't get clouded by giftgiving and family commitments...it is just a time to be thankful. And sometimes that is all it takes.

Happy Thanksgiving all. For those who are travelling, be safe.
Karen

Seasonal shifts on King Mountain

A few weeks ago, Hazel went on a hike in Gatineau Park with her Nana and Grandpa. More specifically, they hiked King Mountain. All was still green then. This weekend past, we decided to walk the same route to see the changes...and they are everywhere!

Someone's winter cache.


Hazel drawing the trees as she sees them....smiling and covered in many different colors of leaves.


The view from the top...farmers fields and bales of hay.


Beautiful little mushrooms...I wish I knew more about mushrooms. I am not sure what makes a good year for them but I do know that I have noticed many more this year than in previous ones.

I have mentioned this many times before, but I am so thankful to live in such close proximity to those Gatineau Hills. It's the next best thing to living in them.

2....party....ice cream

Those are the words uttered anytime someone mentions the number 2....all throughout the day. My little friend who spends some of her days with me is about to become 2 whole years old. She is very excited. This is my gift to her. A small token to remind her of the gift that she is to me.


I started by needlefelting some cute little hedgehogs. As her ability to imagine is coming in full force, she should have no trouble playing with these guys and possibly becoming a hedgehog herself. The leaves are cut from felted sweaters.


The pumpkin was something I have wanted to try for a loooong time. Funny how something like a birthday gift for someone special can be such a motivator. I both wet felted and needlefelted orange roving around a 8 inch ball. Once felted enough, I cut the ball out and proceeded with all the things that make it look like a pumpkin....the stem, the lines on the outside, the leaves.


Fun times!