Love in Old October

All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken.
~Thomas Wolfe

There's something about October that compels us to seek out the touchstones of home, whatever they might be and whatever home might signify. For me, it is turning deeper towards my truer self. My creativity is inspired. I need to connect to the earth and things of the earth. I bring branches inside and pull my pottery out of the cupboards. I get out into the ravine in the early mornings. My walk/run regime is turning into more 'run' these days but I slow down for the pretty bits.

I usually start before the sun rises and finish as it begins to warm the earth. I love the smell that rises from the leaves as it melts the frost off them.

This morning was especially sublime; vivid colours, thick, sparkly frost and a perfectly blue sky.

I want jewellery that looks like this. Or maybe a fascinator of glittering leaves. :)

There was the finest glazing of ice on the creek this morning. As pretty as it is, I really do hope it melted later in the day. (I'm just not ready!)

My garden is quietly laying down now. I still, however, crave the final brilliance that October promises. We went to the garden centre last weekend and picked out pumpkins and mums for the front entranceway. My little guy is so excited that we will be carving jack-o-lanterns for Halloween, and so am I. :)

My favourite pumpkins this year are the little white and orange striped ones. Have you seen them? They are so cute and festive looking.

In the Thomas Wolfe quote above he says all things point home in October, including the "lover to the love he has forsaken". If you're feeling the tug of something you've pushed to the back cupboard, this might be the perfect time to take another look at it, in the liquid gold light of old October, and see if the murmur of love is still there. Who knows what treasure you might find tucked away? A talent, a gift, a memory, a relationship? Whatever it is, I bet it will be beautiful. :)

Just when it looked like it was over between us, something happened

What matters isn't being applauded when you arrive - for that is common - but being missed when you leave. ~ Baltasar Gracian

Autumn is closing, only remnants remain of the glory and gold of September. Many of us here in the north are closing our garden gates, stacking our pots in the shed and putting the chairs and tables away. But not here at Latitude. The landscapers have just arrived.

Yes, more to come. :)

If you want to see some truly beautiful autumn leaves, check out the stunning jewels at Voyages Around My Camera and the header photo over at Blue Algae Creative. They're gifted, these folks are.

The Great Pumpkin Quest

Somebody whispered in my ear it was a good day to go pumpkin hunting. I couldn't deny any longer it was that time of the year...

So we gathered the wee toddler up and headed out to a local garden centre for a stroll about to find the perfect pumpkin...

or two....

Ok, maybe I got caught up in the exuberance of it all...

So, yes, ok, we got five pumpkins and an assortment of gourds. They just looked so happy together we couldn't break them up. You understand, right?

Hope the Halloween spirit is bringing you some fun this week!

Walking in Wonder and Grace

The freeze lifted yesterday, too late for my potted mums and asters. Only the flowering kale carries on. So I wandered out this morning looking for the remains of beauty.

I was not disappointed as I found a few shimmering beauties in the soft morning light.

If I were a bird I would be very reassured by all the berry goodness.

The morning light revealed silver and gold.

And even some liquid gold dancing in the fresh, earthy breeze.

These copper leaves found their foil against the chartreuse moss.

And the lichen that lay like brocade along the branch swelled and bloomed after the rain.


Some kind people even left ornaments to remind the overwintering birds that merriment is still to come.

Crystals lined the sprays of spruce.

When I looked down I saw someone left me a note but I don't understand the language. It must be very old.

I think it says something about walking with wonder and grace.

Happy Sunday :)

It All Happened So Fast...

It was a simple relationship, really.

They met. They shared a meal. She smiled, he blushed.

They danced. He led, she giggled.

They settled down together and after breakfast he read the paper in one room and she painted watercolours in the other.

The grandkids held a party on their 60th anniversary and everybody hugged and cried just a little.

~ The End ~

Have I told you lately...?

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my hubby? Thoughtful man that he is, he got me a new camera (beginner DSLR) for my birthday a couple of weeks ago! Not that I didn't hint. Oh, I did hint...you know, musing aloud while reading camera ads in the paper, mentioning how I missed my old film SLR that tanked ages ago, sighing that I could never get a decent picture of our toddler because he had long since left the frame by the time our 'point and shoot' got around to actually taking his picture...how when we were old we probably wouldn't remember him at this cute age and all the pictures would simply be a blurry shot of blue that was his shoulder or back.

[Ladybug taken with my new(!) Nikon D3000 with an 18-55 mm lens]

What I really love about my husband is not that he gets hints - most guys can conquer that. No, what I love is that he acts on the hints. Now that is a man worth holding onto!

Thanks, honey! I really, really like it! And, um, I promise to stop taking so many pictures of you when you are reading your paper ;-)