"She's so clever!"

November Treasury

Thanks, tookies, for including me in your lovely treasury!!

Labels: autumn, etsy, gift guide, lesperance tile, lesperancetile, november, treasury, turquoise

The End of October

Sometimes, I Am Startled Out of Myself,

like this morning, when the wild geese came squawking,
flapping their rusty hinges, and something about their trek
across the sky made me think about my life, the places
of brokenness, the places of sorrow, the places where grief
has strung me out to dry. And then the geese come calling,
the leader falling back when tired, another taking her place.
Hope is borne on wings. Look at the trees. They turn to gold
for a brief while, then lose it all each November.
Through the cold months, they stand, take the worst
weather has to offer. And still, they put out shy green leaves
come April, come May. The geese glide over the cornfields,
land on the pond with its sedges and reeds.
You do not have to be wise. Even a goose knows how to find
shelter, where the corn still lies in the stubble and dried stalks.
All we do is pass through here, the best way we can.
They stitch up the sky, and it is whole again.

"Sometimes, I Am Startled Out of Myself," by Barbara Crooker, from Radiance. © Word Press, 2005. Reprinted without permission, but I hope Barbara doesn't mind because this poem really struck me the moment I read it. (buy now)

As October comes to a close, a snow storm approaches - Hello Winter. No one can hold back the changes of the earth, no one can hold back the changes in one's life.

Labels: autumn, barbara cooker, fall, geese, lesperance tile, linda ellett, october, poetry, snowstorm

Autumn in the Northeast


Out my studio window

Fall in upstate New York is a wonderfully colorful time of the year. Nature is slowing it's productive phase and getting ready for it's winter nap, but the oncoming chill always creates an excitement and anticipation of winter in me. It's the change I love so much.

We planted this sugar maple to celebrate Harry's 10th birthday...he just turned 21!

The milk weed seeds are ready to fly!

One of the things that fall ushers in is the celebration of Halloween, which I always have enjoyed. The costumes, the parties, the candy, the candy, the candy! I've been making small skeleton ornaments for a while now, and although they sell all year around in my Etsy shop, I especially like them this time of year.