Orange

such a pretty time of year

The Forest Giveth.....

Perfect fall day

On the road to hunt for the elusive chanterelle

Will there or won't there be edible mushrooms?

The first chanterelle of the day

Another one

Old lobster mushroom.  Leave it.

A beautiful hike and mushrooms, too.

The bounty

8 pounds of forest goodness

Nothin' Much, You?

Wow! Summer really is over.  It took so long to get here, stayed but a minute and then skipped Autumn taking us right to November.  Dark cold rain.  But a great excuse to be finished with gathering, canning, freezing, drying food.  No more weeding.  No more mowing.  Seems like we hurry to do so much during the spring and summer that now I feel guilty when I slow down to read a good book or spend a day with my sewing machine.  I actually have to tell myself that it is okay to stop.  Just stop!

These next few weeks are a slow gift that I give myself.  It won't be long until the walnuts are ready to be harvested, dried, bagged and sold.  Work at the winery will pick up soon.  So I plan to own the next two weeks, slow things down to a comfortable crawl, be a turtle, do what I want, not be subject to all the "shoulds" that dictate a fast pace.

Sometimes it seems like life becomes an unannounced contest whereby the one who does the most is the undeclared winner.  Everyone trying to do more, faster, better than the next person.  I listen to the conversations around me.

"I picked 40 pounds of tomatoes out on Baker Creek."

"Well, I picked 70 pounds of heirloom tomatoes that I grew myself."

I think I will practice some different responses to the question, "What are you doing?"

• I have read 7 great books in the past week and 2 books that are just okay.
• I have arranged all the lace and ribbon in my lace box, and my buttons are now sorted according to size and color.
• I was just rearranging the dried beans into a mosaic so that our soups and "hot dishes" will be beautiful works of art this winter.
• I have spent the week looking out the window, waiting for the elk and the bluebirds to return.
• I have been playing marbles, cribbage, and just dithering the time away.
• I have been really busy watching Libby's hair grow so that I will know when she needs to be trimmed.

I have been counting the bees that come to the sunflower seeds.
I have been counting the sunflower seeds.
I have been counting the leaves on the sunflowers.
"He loves me.  He loves me not."

Hmmm, maybe I will just say, "Nothin' much.  You?"