A Beautiful Weekend in October

It was a most unusual, but glorious weekend this past Saturday & Sunday.  On Saturday, the weather was cold, blustery and sunny with the temperatures in the low 30s to start the day and in the 50s for the rest of the afternoon.  I took advantage of the cozy warmth indoors by testing a recipe I had been meaning to get to for the past two weeks (I'll share it with you in the near future).  I also took care of some light cleaning around the house, a bit of laundry that seemed to be spilling over its basket and got the winter down covers aired out for the season.  If you do have down comforters in storage, make sure to give them a good shake and a bit of airing out before the weather gets extremely cold. 

With those things out of the way I also enjoyed a bit of reading with a cat on my lap (this would be Lion) and a small pot of green tea sweetened with local honey.  It was then that I decided to take my beloved collection of yellow ware out of storage so that I could use start using it.  As much as I would love to have it out at all times, I simply lack the counter space and the cabinet space in my modest-sized kitchen.  During the spring and summer I go for the whites & clear glass in the kitchen, but as soon as Fall arrives I start craving the earthy tones of yellow ware.  I call it 'the changing of the guard' in my kitchen. 

This type of pottery for the kitchen from the 19th & early 20th century was widely produced in the northeast & Ohio river valley during that period.  Derived from yellow clay, the pottery was given a clear glaze in order to accentuate the natural qualities of the base material and was either left plain or was decorated with colored slips around the circumference of each piece.  I hope you enjoy seeing pictures of mine in the coming months.

Sunday was a completely different day altogether.  The temperatures held steady in the 70s, the sky was slightly overcast and beautiful, and I enjoyed several hours outdoors walking, photographing and taking note of the changes around me.  The colors of the deciduous trees are already changing color as you can imagine and depending on where one is standing here on the grounds, the colors vary enormously.  I collected a handful of these leaves on a whim, because it struck me that several of my dear family members who live in California never get to experience this type of autumnal glory.  I plan on putting together a small care package of treats for someone very special to me very soon, with the added bonus of colorful leaves from around our home.  You can do the same for someone on the west coast or elsewhere who isn't near this spectacular change in season.

Let's take a little tour shall we?

Although I have access to the trails from several areas around the house, I always tend to walk up the long driveway to see the barn and the surrounding trees.

This is one entrance to a trail.  You can see the scattered leaves covering the ground which will be left here to compost.

 These lavender asters are clearly at the end of their cycle, yet many bees are still busy enjoying the pollen.

As I near the end of the driveway the colors become even more striking.  The entrance to the driveway has beautiful, majestic maples that become simply breathtaking in October.

 I turned around to look down the driveway for this photograph.  In a few weeks the colors will be even more vibrant and gorgeous.

I took this entrance onto the trails on Sunday just to change it up a bit.  I'm such a creature of habit that it's always nice to do something a little different.

There is so much moss all around our home that I can't help but smile every time I see it.  Green has always been my favorite color.

Although you can't really tell from this picture, I'm actually walking down a steep incline here.  A small bridge is built over a stream which cuts through the property.  It's the same stream that leads into the spring house.

I was confounded awhile back to see several horseshoes attached to trees around the grounds.  I've come to find out that in Appalachia, it was customary to nail a horseshoe that was found onto a tree for good luck.

 Here is another bridge which leads to a trail accessed from the house.  I love standing here.

Thickly covered with overhanging branches, this part of the trail will be bleak & bare as soon as Fall is over and Winter arrives. 

The path around the replanted acre feels like the softest velvet.  It was around here that I began to collect leaves to send to the west coast.

The deciduous trees around the meadow are already seeing bright yellows tinged with orange here and there. 

Do you see the crimson-colored dogwoods tucked into the large canopy trees?  Dogwoods are among my favorite trees of all time, because they have such gorgeous flowers in May and such dramatic leaves in the Fall.

 One last look across the field before I head back to the house.

Overcast blue skies made for a beautiful Sunday. 

 A few leaves I gathered were placed into one of my yellow ware batter bowls. 

Some of the yellow ware out of storage seems to glow in the afternoon sun streaming through one of the kitchen windows. 

I hope everyone is enjoying October!

~ David

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