Gloomy (affectionate)

I have spent a lot of time stuck in the house recently, and was happy to get out this morning. It was overcast, cool, and sprinkling rain . . but not hard enough to discourage me. I decided to battle the greenbriar on section of Son's newest biking trail, and took Chance and Lady with me for happy woods frolicking. Poor Rosalie won't be frolicking for quite a few weeks, until her leg heals.

Greenbriar, barberry, and multiflora rose are all tough, thorny plants that fight back viciously when you try to remove them. It was a good, cathartic exercise, though. I ended up making a lot of progress, and I can look forward to showing my son next time he's up here.

This afternoon the gloom got gloomier; right now it's pouring cold rain. November, check. Chilly, check. Gloomy, check. I am happy as a clam at high tide. This is Appropriate Weather, and I got what I wanted to do outdoors done before it hit. Time for a hot cup of something and a book. (Also, we've been at a high fire risk for a while - the rain will help that.)

You just wouldn't believe how good it smells in there right now.

[ID: Several bushels and wire crates of dark red apples in a crowded tool shed]

This morning dawned misty and not nearly chilly enough. For some reason, the Norway maple (we didn't plant it; it just showed up) out by the kids' old treehouse waited until now to start showing its beautiful yellow.

Looking south, the whole valley that contains Home Farm and our nearest (and dearest) neighbors was full of sunlit mist. I could barely see the ridge.

Husband is off to the vet's to pick up Rosalie. I took my troubled mind up the lane and spent a while cutting greenbrair and multiflora rose in the new trail my son is working on. Lady and Baxter went with, and had a good time rustling through the leaves and sniffing for rodents.

The mountain sees the sunrise quite a while before the valley does. Wishing y'all a little bit of peace today; I know a lot of us are hurting.

Clean and Bean

My emergency cleaning this morning got the house semi-decent for having my aunt over. I even got the corn put up that I'd had sitting in a box for a month (sheesh). It's still fall. It counts.

Most of the doghair vacuumed. The mess of homework, bills, and random craft materials off the dining room table. Clean laundry put away. Hurrah for me.

My aunt always wants to do some kind of farm-ish project while she visits. We almost always have one. Today we shelled the dried beans, which honestly seemed to take forever. Took half as long as it would have by myself, though, and we got to chit-chat the whole time.

So. Many. Beans. She enjoys bragging to her friends about it in the city, and I get help with time-consuming chores. Win-win.

Moody Monday

After the flurry of helping everybody else get fed and out the door this morning, I felt completely dead. Did nothing but sit and read/scroll Tumblr. Late morning I decided to try a small drawing just so the day won't be a total zero. I used a reference photo from @kochlandhomestead; a lovely fall landscape.

I put tape on to mask the top and bottom, but I kind of like it, and I'm thinking of cleaning the little bit of blue pastel off it and leaving it on the finished piece.

Not sure if I'll leave this as-is or do a bit more blending. The beauty of a Pennsylvania fall!

November

October tends to get more love. I only have a few paintings that celebrate November. Maybe I should do more.

This one isn't very detailed, because it's very small (5x7 in). It remains a good memory, though. Hiking early in the morning, and coming back down past the barn when the sun was still low in the sky.

I hope I get some hiking time this week. Fall woods are wonderful.

The apples and the Guardian

Apples in the woodshed, waiting for the cider press.

On the other side of the room, right above my chicken feed bin, it looks like I have a new guardian.

I much appreciate when Very Large spiders sit in conspicuous places if they're planning to live in my barn or woodshed. I can see her and avoid her. Don't much care for moths in the feed. Any spider who lives where I have to look at them gets named 'Charlotte', regardless of gender. It helps me cope. Maybe I'll try to find a better name for this one; I've had an awful lot of Charlottes.

Rosy dusk

The sky was full of pink light after the sun set and it made the last remaining fall leaves absolutely lovely.

I was all lined up to get a nice photo of Hero with fall color in the background, but my camera's battery died. Hero got offended (as he does every time) that I pointed the camera at him, then I didn't even get a picture. Had a nice dog walk, though.

Have to pick the dried beans, soon. Dry more apples, butcher, freeze kale. Do something about beets.

Leaf

Yesterday evening, on the second-to-last dogwalk of the day (eye-roll), I was enjoying the leaves behind the ridge. I picked up Just One, as one does. Then more. And more.

If you want to paint or draw them, feel free.

Fall Color

This year's fall color ^ versus Fall 2020 below

I think this summer's drought caused a bunch of trees to go dormant and start losing leaves early, leaving us with a less-impressive show for fall. Still pretty this year, just not a 'peak' year.

Dog walking

The first dogwalk of the day was lit by the last light of the super Hunter's Moon. It was lovely, especially with the crunch of frost beneath our feet, but I had no way to photograph it. The second dogwalk of the day was midmorning.

Lady, the leader of the pack, dramatically backlit as she surveys her domain (the yard and garden). Rosalie was unphotographable, as she was lurking under my feet.

The smoke from the woodstove drifts out across the field, mingling with rising mist as the frost goes back into the air.

Big logs waiting to be cut and split into firewood.

Washed (to remove the sooty bitch blotch) and ever-so-lovely.

[ID: Three apples held in a hand. One is extra big and yellow with a faint red stripy blush, one is a very deep red, and one is small and lighter red.]

Apple

It took me 'til midmorning to get Started, but I did get Hero out for a lovely October ride (Missile had a tantrum) and then went down to Home Farm to pick apples.

Local bug mourns the loss of her off-leash privilege.

My father planted these quite some time ago. Then sadly, he forgot what he had planted. The Granny Smith is the only one we can id at this point. And, yes, there should have been more pruning done along the way.

Guess I need to start peeling, pie-ing, and saucing. Cinnamon-ho!

@velcropoodle I wish I could send you some!

Fall Farm

Love living in the Appalachians.

Fall in oil paints

Despite drought - or maybe because of it? - there are tons of small crabapples and rosehips. The wild-type crabapples around here are large (about an inch/2.5cm wide) and green-gold. The smaller ones are escaped domestic crabapples, and vary in color from deep red all the way to yellow. This one is growing wild in the state park. I'm sort of tempted to pick a batch of them for a little jelly, or make a batch of the rosehip jelly this year. On the fence about it. They are very pretty, help feed the wildlife, and don't seem 'aggressive' enough to count as invasive. You just find them here and there, usually right on the edge of the forest. I don't really NEED any jelly from these - but it would be such a glorious color!!