Getting My Hands Dirty

I spent the morning preparing my mother's garden ready for winter.  I harvested hosta leaves in shades of gold to pale lemon yellow.  Three bags full.  Digging in the garden, getting my hands dirty.

My brother stopped by.  He cleaned out the storm gutters on my mother's house.  My nephew moved her outdoor furniture undercover.  We are closer to being ready for winter weather.

Window Spooks and garlands

Today at The Eccles Community Art Center's Toddler's Art class, we created ghosts from interface fabric.  The children traced their hands and their caregiver's hands,  These became the ghost or window spooks.  The toddler'so worked on their scissor skills.  Then they were able to string foam pumpkins, ghosts, bats, and beads to create a Halloween window garland.

Lacewing

Tonight I watched a lace wing dance around my light fixture.  It's wings clear glistened with rainbow hues.  It's almost fluorescent green body suspended between the fluttering wing.  Childhood memories of stories of fairies dances rushed into my thoughts.  Might lacewing insect inspired our descriptions of fairies or do the dance in attendance at the fairies' bonfires?

I have notice that during the last few autumns that we often have a lace wing move into our house.  Does it come in on Mollie fur or on my jacket?

Lacewings in a larva state are like larval lady bugs. Mthey feast on aphids.  What do adult lacewings feed upon?
The Internet is so helpful.  Research indicates that adult lace wings feed on nectar, pollen and aphid honey dew.  This must be why I notice more lacewings in the autumn.

Lavender Rose

I trimmed the roses for winter.  The lavender rose had three partially open buds, which I cut to bring inside.  They  are a soft lavender with a pink blush on the curve of the outer petals.  I chose this rose for its lovely soft floral rose scent and as a remberance of my grandmother Bachman.  Grandma had a lavender rose in her back garden.  She often let me take blooms home to enjoy.

Yellow gold

The leaves of my mother's hosta  plants have turned a yellow gold as have the leaves of Box Elder and Cottonwood  trees along the river.  Today's rain had added intensity to the autumn shades of yellow gold as well as adding a foggy mist trapped in the dark evergreens higher up the canyon walls.  The oaks on the south facing canyon slopes have deepened into a rusty bronze.  The maple have dropped their leaves on the slopes, but a few leaves of orange still cling to the maples in my mother's garden.  And now, the sunny is breaking through the clouds.  Yellow gold.

Bewitching Night

As a staff member of the Eccles Community Art Center, I assisted in putting together a family arts and craft night activity,  We named it Bewitching night, and created Halloween themed projects.  We assisted the participant to create Halloween spinner, tissue tube bats, cats, pumpkins, and mummies.  They also created Popsicle stick spider webs and paper strip pumpkins.

Autumn Chores and Enjoyment

So I decided that I don't care for the term bucket list.  I was not sure if October or I was suppose to kick the bucket when the list was done?

I have worked on a few Autumn chores.  I took Mollie to the cabin this morning.  I mowed the lawn with the mulching mower.  It made confetti from the fallen autumn leaves.  We mowed until the gas ran out.  Thus preparing the mower for winter, and visiting the cabin one more time was on my October list.

For enjoyment, we took the long way home to view the golden cottonwood leaves on the trees which ring the dam.  The yellow, gold  leaves and blue water compliment each other creating seasonal beauty.

Later, I trimmed down the ferns in my mother's garden.  The garden feels a little sad this time of year.  So many of the plants have gone to seed.  The fern fronds have yellowed and browned.   The plants are becoming ready for winter.

Earlier,  I reorganized my closet, washing clothes.  I just heard the drier buzz.  Off to complete another chore.

October Bucket List

While reading the other day, I came across a Fall oriented bucket list.  It had a number of fun ideas for celebrating the Fall season.  I thought what if I created an October bucket list.  Here is a start:

Collect and press colorful autumn leaves

Catch the scent of apples, and acorns on the autumn breeze

Make my favorite applesauce cookies

Decorate my door with witches, spider webs and other Halloween decorations

See how many of my Halloween T-shirts, pins, scarves and ties that I can wear to work during the month.

Visit our cabin one more time before we need to winterize it.

Then I came across a zentangled spider web, so cool!  So I doodled a spider web, but decided to add

 another doodled or/and zentangled spider web to my bucket list.  One that I can create with better art supplies.

Send out Halloween correspondence - much more fun that a Christmas card in December.

Any ideas for other additions to my October bucket list?

Good bye Game Apps

So I have done it.  This evening, I used my finger to delete three game apps from my notebook.  Game apps  to which I have invested copious amounts of time.  I have felt unorganized lately, never getting chores, correspondence, or fun activities completed.  Now instead of exercising my index finger, my hand might pick up a pen,  paintbrush or grab the handle on the vacuum.  Stay tuned to see if this experiment works.

Autumn Reds