November? What? +I’ve been eating a lot of massaged kale salads lately which led me to start some kale seeds in the garden. I have mustard and collards doing well but the swiss chard bit the dust thanks to the deer. I’m going to try my luck with kale in the garden and hope we don’t have the issue of aphids we had last year at the community garden. My kale salads are just a bit of olive oil, some tarragon vinegar (oh, this stuff is so good!) and sea salt (or any salt will work). Sometimes it is just kale and those items, but lately I’ve been adding in…

….or working in the last bits of light. Either one. That’s what happened this evening as dusk settled in and despite the grey throughout the entire day the sun decided to peek through and throw some red, orange and yellow into the evening sky. Only for a bit. Then it faded off into other countries for the night. I’m thankful that I am able to come home for lunch if I choose to. This is a complete difference from my job in Florida where my commute was anywhere from 30 minutes when I lived in western Miami-Dade county or an hour to an hour and ten minutes when I lived…

I went looking on my Flickr account for something pretty to post from years past taken on this date. I found this photo from 2008, four years ago, when I was at my parent’s house for two weeks for my ten year high school reunion, and one of my best friend’s weddings. The tree in the photo is a pecan in my parent’s backyard, but the atmosphere of the photo then versus this weekend was completely different. Sunny in the photo, chilly in the 50s and overcast this weekend. It’s a little strange that the photo happens to be from a weekend home because I think it was somewhere around…

I risked getting peed on just to get a shot of this cute toad. It was hopping around as we planted azaleas this weekend. Finally, fall is here. Well, for now, it is Texas after all. We’ll have another bout of warmth before Halloween and then hit the first real cold weather after that. I’m just enjoying the crisp mornings and warm but not overly sweaty afternoons for now. So, October is going to be about showing up. I plan on showing up this month for: +Daily sketches, no matter how awful and rushed they might be. Something on paper to practice, that’s the goal. +Showing up to write 10,000…

+ One of my complaints about living a ‘normal’ life is that time speeds up too fast. While backpacking time slows down and it feels like life is mellow and enjoyable. You can stop and relish the way the light lands on different things throughout the day. The rhythm of hiking is simple: wake, eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, relax, sleep. And while I don’t really have a very complicated life (let’s keep it that way!) life sure does speed up through getting up and working, coming home doing chores and somehow finding time to relax and wind down. + While we still have a long…

I went back and forth for a few days about cutting my hair. I’d just ooogled at my long hair photos from hiking and thought about growing it out long again. But then I didn’t. I felt the urge for a good hair cut, someone to play with my hair. I don’t know about you, but having a wash, cut and style is just about as cathartic as a massage. If I didn’t have to stay awake for the stylist to tell me to dip my chin or turn my head I would totally fall asleep. I went in asking for a bob, something short and cute. It didn’t end…

A happy accident. I was photographing a stream in the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park and jostled my camera, resulting in this image. I was going to delete it but once I reviewed it in the camera I decided to keep it to see how it really looked on a screen. I love it! It’s what I get for not carrying a tripod and using my knee instead. Exif data for those interested: F/20, 0.5 sec exposure, ISO 400, 18mm. Fall is coming. Ironically summer still felt alive and well while in NW Washington, but here in Texas, I see the changes. The beautyberry’s are fruiting, their pearled fruits…