The Third Act

Tuesday

As predicted, it was in the mid-30s this morning.  Looking across the street I saw frost on my neighbor's roof.  Because there are so many large trees around my house, it seems that no frost touched the plants left in the garden.  Even so, much of what's out there isn't keen on the cold, so it's just a matter of time.  Little by little it'll all be cut back or pulled out.  Soon it'll be ongoing leaf clean up for the next couple months.  I do leave a lot of the leaves to mulch, but not everywhere.  I've also learned to not delay the leaf wrangling process until spring.  Once it's planting time, I don't want to be burdened by clean up!

It's sunny and clear and crisp now.  But it's not terribly cold.  All in all, it's a perfect day for some potential photographic pursuits.  I'm thinking of heading over to Hollywood cemetery.  A lot of the trees over there put on lovely displays of fall color and I'm curious at what stage they are.  There's nearly a whole roll of color film left in the Zero to use.  I may load the Holga with black and white film.

In the mean time, here are a couple Instax from this morning, all cozy inside the house...

 

 

 

basking

Oh, the light this morning!  And the crisp-ish air!  The colors on the leaves outside are brighter after getting washed in a downpour yesterday evening.  Wow, what a spirit lifter!

I'm collecting new leaves.  A couple days ago I picked sassafras leaves, dark red in color.  While putting them to flatten in an old book, I discovered a couple pages worth of Japanese maple leaves from last year.  My intent with all of these is to dip them in encaustic medium.  Since the autumn/Halloween boxes haven't been thoroughly perused yet, I haven't pulled out the leaves I treated this way a year or two ago.  The current idea is to string them in a garland to hang among the fairy lights in the living room.

The acorns are patiently waiting for processing.  Will I get to that??  It remains to be seen and depends on what other projects call to me louder.

Before the cold front and rain, I managed to dig up a couple roses (that never did well in their spots) and put them in pots.  Since I haven't decided where these will do better, the pots will be their home for winter dormancy.  In place of the roses I planted a witch hazel I bought at a plant sale on Saturday.  Hamemelis viriniana.  The house needed one of these.

Tonight is supposed to be near freezing.  Tomorrow will be a day in the garden, pulling out and cutting back, I think.  I'll prepare the wood stove for a morning fire later today.  Perhaps I'll make a pot of lentil veggie stew for dinner.

 

 

 

 

slipping into autumn

I write a lot about my love of autumn.  I write about it before it's actually autumn.  Then I write about it when the equinox date actually hits.  Then I write about it when the weather does indeed feel like the season.  And here I am writing about it again as another cold front is on its way, this time taking the temps down into lows in the 30s for a few days.

While I love this season, it becomes a balance of the delight in the coziness, colors and flavors...and the nostalgia/melancholy that arises simultaneously.  I can't always pinpoint what's going on inside me.  Maybe there's a physical response to diminished light and getting used to the coolness (which in my mind, anyway, I love).  But, I'm a little more tired than usual.  My body doesn't feel quite right.  And there's a sadness, a sense of loss and loneliness, maybe even some ennui that's currently present.  Then again, it is Monday!

I'll be gentle and kind to myself, however that manifests.  And I wish the same for you...because (for most of you) it's Monday as well!

(below...tea camellia flowers through a pinhole on fomapan400)

 

 

9 random things

• it's gray this morning, with a faint pink glow as the sun rises
• later in the week the temps are going to dip significantly...I rather love that
• I love hearing the acorns ping and roll down the roof
• sleep is easier when the weather gets cool...and what a blessing flannel sheets are
• autumn, especially, makes me miss being near my family
• I came across a photo my ex took of me on this day, as things were kind of starting to fall apart...it's a nice photo, I look like a different person...there are many things I miss about that relationship
• learning to be an old, solitary crone isn't a bad thing
• if I had the chance, there are things I'd do differently if I went back in time
• that being said, I have no desire to go back in time as there are many aspects of being older I appreciate (some I don't...but in general, you know...)

 

 

a beautiful October day

I tagged along with my neighbors to a plant sale out at the Monticello Tufton farm.  It was an absolutely delightful day for a drive.  After getting some plants we headed over to Albemarle Ciderworks.  The dining room fruit bowl is now filled with a variety of heirloom apples.  And yes, we did sit in the sun, have some snacks and a lovely glass of cider.

I seriously couldn't ask for a nicer autumn day and I'm so grateful for such wonderful neighbors!

 

 

 

Friday

It's been a glorious autumn day, most of it spent outside.  I needed to finish sizing down firewood.  At one point my chainsaw started being finicky with the chain loosening on its own.  I tried to fix it a few times and it would work for a while.  Finally, after about the fourth time, I figured it was a message to just leave the rest of the big pieces for the fire pit out back.  Then I stacked the wood and cleaned up the spaces, since I'm thinking of getting one more delivery and it will need a designated area.

Afterwards I went on an acorn collecting foray...right in my yard!  I have three white oaks and one black oak.  This seems to be a mast year.  The past couple years there weren't a lot of acorns falling (although there were a lot of hickories last year).  This year, however, there is a LOT of pinging on the roof...sometimes quite loud.  And the driveway has a good spread of the little buggers all over it too.  Will I get around to actually processing these into flour?  Every year I say I will...I'm going to really make the effort!

 

 

 

 

a gloomy October morning

Of course, these images have nothing to do with the current weather conditions.  I have no problem with the weather either...we're getting some much needed precipitation, albeit spotty.  There may be some storms this evening.

It'll be another good day for indoor tasks.  One of these tasks is setting up a new scanner.  My Epson V700, which I've loved for at least 10 years, is on its last legs.  There's a lot of unplugging and plugging back in, restarting everything, and now having to do that every time I make a new preview.  There's a lot of rather awful sounding grinding.  Anyway, a few months ago I bought a new Epson (V600 I think), which was affordable but not as good as this one (from what I can tell).  As long as it gives me clean scans with relative ease, I'll be ok with that.  In fact the V700 has had somewhat hazy bed glass for years now but I've been too afraid to take it apart to clean...so maybe that'll be a plus (it only shows when I scan instant photos that have a lot of dark areas...and I'm sure I'm the only one to notice).  After the last couple rolls of film I shot, I really want to delve into some ideas more...I need a reliable scanner.  And, yes for the hundredth time, my enlarger needs to be set up.  (edit:  Typepad is apparently having an issue with displaying images and it has taken so long that, the old scanner is functioning again...so, maybe I'll do something else today....)

In the mean time...here's more from the state fair...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

whack a mole

Life feels like that right now.  Take care of one thing, while realizing that something is coming up on the horizon.  It could be material concerns, or physical issues, take your pick.  But it's always something!  Makes one feel...alive?!

I could complain.  I know there's a part of me that wants to complain because there's no question, life can be hard.  Because I have a particular wiring in my brain (exacerbated by conditioning growing up and over a lifetime), it makes stuff feel more intense for me than it might for others.  Making decisions solo can be liberating, but it's also stressful.  Not having anyone to come home to after diagnostics or procedures is also...hard on the spirit.

When I think about my life purpose, it often feels that it simply has to do with learning to be in the midst of challenges, to find the joy and beauty, and certainly the humor.  It's about realizing connection when it often feels there is none.  Ain't life grand, as my Wyoming brother would say!

 

 

a pinhole day

For the first time in a long while, I took myself down to Pony Pasture for the express purpose of making pinholes.  The Zero had some very expired Reala in it, and after I finished that roll I loaded Fomapan 400.  

My developing technique has something to be desired, but I can work on that.  I am, however, pleased with the imagery...this makes me want to do more!  Seriously, I'm reminded of why I fell in love with pinhole photography in the first place...the utter delight when something actually works out.  It's like magic, ya know??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

before sunrise

It's been a while since I got out of bed before sunrise.  Today, however, I have folks coming to work on a couple things in the house...and they're supposed to be here between 7:30 and 8:30 am.  I'm not a fan of this kind of situation, so I compensate by being weirdly "ready"...whatever that means.  A component is getting up early to have the quiet before the energy around me gets busy.

The plus side to this?  It makes me remember how nice it is to see the sunrise.  I love the quiet, the just emerging light, and in the colder months, the contrast between the brisk air outdoors and the coziness indoors.