Early Fall

Tis the season of dew and spiders.  They are both more spectacular in early fall than at any other time of the year.  Lily grabbed the camera and got these shots.

I saw a funny thing the other day - a large spider had spun a huge web [2 ft across] near the road, between an electric pole and the support wire next to it.   The spider sat in the center and was busy wrapping up a stink bug for later.   Half a dozen gnats were pestering that spider just like they pester us.   One or two would land on the spider's back and it would twitch a leg or two to try to get them off.  I watched for several minutes.  It looked just as annoyed as we do with those blasted gnats.    

In other news, we have a new truck - hence the radio silence last week while Eric was gone to Idaho to pick it up and visit family with our youngest, and Lily and I held down the fort here.

Also, we have hung the girls' doors, and are putting up the trim in their rooms, which means I have stained and shellacked miles of poplar trim and pine jambs.  

Also, I am a total hypocrite because I recently on this blog made a snide comment about the previous staining of light wood in dark colors [the antique flooring] and then found myself staining the very light poplar and pine trim, etc. with a couple of layers of red chestnut stain and then 6-8 coats of shellac so it would be dark to match the old doors.  Mea culpa.

Also, because the doors are so...weird...and short...we will be building transoms above them.   I'll do a post on that as we get going on that project.    In the meantime, happy creating to you all!

Marigold

In case you needed something pretty today.

We planted these around our winter squash to combat the squash bugs.  The squash are pathetic this year and mostly dead, but these 'miniature' marigolds are now over 2 feet tall.  

I guess the universe wanted us to have marigolds instead of pumpkins this year.

This Morning

It's August.   All the rain we've had has made the local flora explode even more than usual this year.   The fields are covered with Queen Anne's Lace, and rudbekias.   The ditches are full of figwort and false foxglove and campanulas and helenium.   It's spectacular.



Lily woke up to the fog this morning and grabbed the camera.   She snapped this perfect view of the exuberance of an August morning.

Hope your day is a fabulous one. 

Quiet Misty Mornings

Lily was out and about with the camera early one morning recently.

She loves to walk the woods on misty, foggy mornings.  Our woods get even more dark and mysterious in the mist and fog.  












On this particular morning everything was drippy with dew. 
















She said the spiderwebs were like strings of pearls.

Magical.

Misty August Mornings

This is the season of change.    The heat has subsided a bit and the nights are cool.    We've had fires in the firepit and cooked our breakfast crepes on the grate over the firepit while cradling hot cups of chai and chocolate.

It is a blessed relief from the firey heat of summer. Now we pray for rain.

Lots of rain.

Lily got these pics one lovely cool morning. 

The spiders have been busy.   The webs with the zigzags are made by the Argiope. 

I love the spiral construction of this one.