County Fair Time

Kevin's ready for a good time :)

This little guy's ready to ship out!

A wall of prize artwork

Snuggling with the giant pink gorilla

Evening sets in at the fair grounds

Going to the county fair is always a fun activity to wrap up summertime and head into fall. Kevin and I had a fun-filled evening touring the fair grounds, visiting the farm animals, perusing the exhibit buildings filled with crafts, colorful vegetables and yummy baked goods, and sampling the enticing foods the vendors had to offer. We took our traditional sunset ferris wheel ride and then ended our evening munching tasty caramel covered apples as we sat on a bench and people watched. By the time we strolled back to the car to head home, the sun had set and the bright lights of the carnival midway lit up the night.

Mushrooms and More

A week of rainfall brought forth all sorts of mushrooms and fungus in our woods around the cabin. It was fun to discover the many varieties on my walk this afternoon. Above is just a small photographic sample of what I saw today.

Thoughts on 9/11

Anniversaries are days of reflection. September 11 is a day etched on the minds and in the hearts of Americans as a day of tragedy and remembrance of so many innocent lives lost. In 2001, our nation took a blow that seemingly came out of nowhere. The attack on the United States was, beyond words, horrific ... and our nation's initial response of shock, anguish and grief to the horror was justifiable, as was the following surge of patriotism that took hold and helped us deal with the unthinkable atrocities together with a united front.

The acts of the terrorists on 9/11 are not defensible. Yet, have we as a people done enough to think beyond our own hurt, our own pride, and all that divides us to come to any understanding of why such an attack was ever conceived, planned, and carried out? Even though we are currently facing difficult economic times and many of our citizens are unemployed and have lost their homes, we are still collectively one of the wealthiest, most privileged groups of people on the face of the earth. We consume more of the world's resources than any other nation. Our country is a power to reckon with, but the ways that we have accumulated our wealth and held this power have not always been with the best interests of all in mind. Our motives and deeds have not always been pure. Actions have consequences.

Violence should never be condoned. Yet have we, as the powerful nation we have become, done all that we can to promote and establish peace and well being for all? Have we always demonstrated respect for other nations striving for the best for their citizens as well?

Today is not only a day to mourn and remember those lost, but a day to reflect on what divides us. Do the beliefs we hold dear take all mankind into consideration? Peace, prosperity and goodwill should not just belong to the fortunate and the few. I believe we need to continually strive to strengthen our values, demonstrate greater compassion and equity, and take into consideration that we, as individuals, have the right to our own beliefs, but others, who have differing views, are not necessarily wrong or need conversion. To strengthen ourselves, we need to strengthen the world. As a nation that is still a world leader, we have a responsibility to promote peace, cooperation, and justice. The notion that peace and cooperation is possible and preferable must take hold in each individual in every nation. We must not only believe in working together for a more peaceful existence but collectively strive to live it.

Historically, our most beloved leaders, the world over, are those who stressed compassion and who strove for peaceful interaction and unity among all mankind. What better way to lift ourselves up, not wallow in fear and a sense of victimization than to broaden our hearts and minds and allow the seeds of caring for all to germinate, take hold, and, with a little luck and a lot of tending, begin to flourish. Hard work...yes. Possible...maybe. Necessary...definitely.

September 11 will always be a day of sorrow and remembrance in the United States.
Hopefully, it can also serve as an awakening to a new collective consciousness as well.

Sighting in the Sycamore

After a week of steady rain, we awoke to a beautiful, sunny September morning today. The constant rainfall this past week had left everything outdoors soggy and doing its best to regroup and dry out again.

A tall sycamore tree grows right next to the driveway in front of our cabin. It's a lovely tree, and it's rare to find this water loving species on our dry site landcape. Kevin noticed that the sycamore had a very grand visitor resting on a top branch today ~ what we think is an immature sharp shinned hawk. He or she has the identifying bright yellow legs of the Sharp-shinned or Coopers Hawk, but we think it's probably the first because this species has made its home in the woods here for quite some time.

Here's a closer look at the hawk. It's so amazing to get a close look these wondrous, elusive birds! Kevin and I felt so fortunate that our morning was graced by the hawk's presence ... and I was also so pleased that from a far off distance inside the cabin I was able to get clear enough photographs to share with you here!

What earthquake?

The big news of the day is that a 5.9 scale earthquake occurred with its epicenter in Mineral, Virginia (close to Richmond) that was felt all up and down the east coast. When the quake shot its tremors through the underbelly of the earth in our area, I was outdoors snapping photographs of a very lovely (and photogenic!) praying mantis that I'd found while doing some weeding around our goldfish pond. I heard a boom that I couldn't quite place, looked around and went on snapping photos!




When I came indoors to see how my digital photos came out, I received a call from my daughter asking me if I was okay. We'd just spoken last night and I thought it was sweet that she'd call me again so soon. Then came the news of the earthquake, to which I had been totally oblivious. My daughter had even felt the tremors at her workplace up in Massachusetts!

Next, I called my husband and found he was on his way home from work - that they'd felt it down in Rockville, Maryland, too, and he wanted to get back home before any possible after shock event. He arrived home safely, and, so far, all has remained quiet here at our little cabin in the mountains.

So, aside from hearing about it all vicariously, I missed the big earthquake event. A beautiful garden friend and I had a very pleasant photo session instead :)

Four Seasons Series

"To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heavens."

My zeal for painting art card miniatures continues ~ my latest effort being a four piece set of the seasons ... a particularly fun one for me to create. All the images were conjured up straight out of my own imagination which resulted in a folksy looking collection of little watercolor paintings.


I'm hoping someone scanning the ACEOs on eBay will find this set fun and attractive ... but if not, I will enjoy keeping it for myself ... a definite win-win situation :)

Woodland Visitors

High temps and drought are affecting all of us this summer ... especially our forest friends. Yesterday afternoon, a doe and her two fawns arrived to sip from the goldfish pond. It gave us a chance to admire the beautiful youngsters and watch their antics. Above, the bolder of the two peaks around the hummingbird feeder pole. The feeder was dry, but got filled up after the deer had time to replenish themselves and head back into the shade of the trees.




These photographs were taken from our upstairs bedroom window, quite a distance from the pair of fawns as they meandered around the pond, nibbling on greenery here and there.
If I had tried to get closer and take the photos outdoors, there wouldn't be pictures to share as Mom would undoubtedly call to her fawns and all three would take off on the run.

It's such a gift to witness such natural beauty right where we live and especially a treat to see these curious, spotted little fawns. So cute!