roam if you want to...

Fifteen years ago, when Todd and I were planning our wedding, I immediately thought of August.  Not only because it coincided with a time when our friends from Scotland were going to be in town, but because I knew that August was the absolute worst month of the year and I really, really wanted something to make it special.  August is hot, August is humid, and August is the month when summer has REALLY overstayed its welcome.  When you go outside and your glasses immediately fog up...it's August.  When you're scrounging around in the bottom of the freezer for something to eat and evaluating degrees of freezer burn ("It's not that bad!") to avoid going out in the heat to the grocery store...it's August.  

But at least, August is almost September.  Fall is coming and then every day will be glorious.  I've been looking at photos of autumns past to buoy my spirits, and it's very encouraging.

Fall leaves.

Fall hiking!

Fall baking.

Fall berries.

Flannels!

Pumpkins!

Crisp, foggy mornings!

Bringing the outside in...

Quilts...

Cozy knitting...

Fall-roaming creatures...

I can't wait to join their roaming ranks when the weather finally cools.  I'm starting a countdown to September...and October is going to be one big pumpkin spice extravaganza!! 

Have a great week!  

triple-wraps and scaly caps

This is my favorite time of year to hike.  The air is so crisp (I've determined that the absolute perfect temperature is 55 degrees) and although I have to double- or triple-layer because I'm always cold, it's so worth it.

It's not just the temperature.  The outdoor colors are so deep and rich.

Our leaves are just beginning to get a tinge of color, but sometimes you'll see an early-turning maple and get a sense of things to come.

Everything is slower and more quiet.  It's just perfect.

The spring and summer has a more obvious, showy beauty, but I think there's a lot of be said for this season's offerings. 

And there's still life, of course.  We usually see at least one berry-bearing tree or bush on a hike, which provides a great pop of color.

There are still gorgeous mushrooms around.

I came across a group of Pholiota squarrosa this week.

These shaggy scalycaps, as they are informally known, were once considered edible, with a sharp radish-like taste.  Now, however, they've been deemed poisonous, "especially if consumed with alcohol."  The see-sawing of mushroom recommendations is a little worrisome to me, so I'm sticking with the grocery store varieties!

A Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)came across my path last week.

They've been described as having a "sheep-like bleat" but I will let you be the judge!  For some reason, the male's mating call attracts both male and female toads, but he has a special "Whoops!" call that warns males attempting to mate with him that they've made a mistake.  Females lay up to 25,000 eggs in spring or early summer, so as you might guess, Fowler's Toads are pretty common!

I didn't realize that snakes shed their skin so late in the season, but I came across a clearly newly-shed snakeskin last week.

Apparently snakes shed several times a year to accommodate growth.  Problems with shedding from an incomplete shed can cause too many layers, especially around the head/eyes, and can cause blindness.  This snake didn't seem to have any trouble!

Some long-gone spider made a little nest in this leaf.

Some caterpillars, especially leaf roller caterpillars, will make webs in leaves, but it's usually just a small pocket. 

I'm looking forward to more near-daily hikes as the weather gets cooler.  Borga loves it!  It's funny, we never do family pictures...just random dog-holding pictures when we're out on a hike. 

We even did a city dog walk (and obligatory pics) this week.  Borga got her own glow-paint! 

The cats, meanwhile, are staying busy in my quilts.  I'm pretty sure they think I made them specifically for their comfort.  :)

Have a great week! 

top drawer, sycamore!

It's perfect weather to be outside!

Even though it's still in the low 80s all week, mornings and evenings are delightfully chilly.  I'm loving the outside, but the inside has been a bit of a struggle.  I'm used to decorating for fall with seasonal fabric, pillows, art, and bedding...with leaf garlands, pottery, wooden bowls and candlesticks, and huge bouquets of leaves...

I can't forget all the pumpkins and other miscellaneous decorations!

But we've gone from a 4,000 square foot house to a tiny apartment.  We'll be back in a house next year, but for now, everything is in storage:  the fabrics, pillows, bedding, decorations...all packed up.  Even if I could access it, there just isn't space for it here.  The table we're using for meals is one of the FIVE tables that used to be in my craft room.  There isn't space for big leaf bouquets and fancy centerpieces.  Instead, I tried to keep it simple this year:  a small ceramic pumpkin, a colored ribbon around a plant pot.

I put up a few small wooden signs, and bought some velveteen and paper flowers to spread around.

Now that it's October, I'm slowly incorporating Halloween.  The little ceramic pumpkin above was a repository for daily fall jokes on post-it notes.  But now, the jokes are held in a plaster model of my own teeth that somehow made it into one of our apartment boxes!

I bought some Halloween socks...

...and we'll be ready for our scary movie marathon...31 scary movies in 31 days!  We started early.  :)

The leaves are slowly starting to turn, and I will be bringing some into the apartment when they really start going...somehow.  In the meantime, we're exploring the local Sycamore Trust hiking spots.

Sycamore Trust is a non-profit conservation organization that covers all of southern Indiana.  They say it best: "We manage active restoration projects, monitor wildlife and plant health, and build trails on certain public preserves for health and enjoyment." There are 12 nature preserves within 20 minutes of where we live.  They are mostly small, with a few miles of trails that wind through meadows and forests...perfect for an after-supper hike.   I love seeing the usual seasonal sights...gnawed nuts...

...colorful fungus...

...and an array of late-season webs and spiders (look away if you're spider-averse!):

Even this harvestman, while technically not a spider, is getting into the action.

Happy fall!