The Sun Sets on November

I really wish I had a better camera. I really wish I were a better photographer. This was so much more beautiful in person, but maybe you get the idea. I am puzzled as to why some birds, including seagulls, choose to remain in cold places during winter. It will be about ten degrees here tonight - how on earth do they stay warm enough? Regardless, they are welcome companions right about now.

Gathering Up Fall

For the rest of November, I'll be the girl gathering up the remnants of fall, for winter dreams. I'll carry its visions proud and girl-like, as I roam my fields, still as the night and quiet as the hush of dawn. Farewell. For now.



Photo credit - Morgan Weistling, "Emerald Dreams"

Week of Thanksgiving

How did it get to be almost the end of November?
It was only yesterday that I stepped outside my back door
and saw leafy green trees neath the blue sky.
Now there is haze over the moon,
and most nights powder pink skies.
Turkey and pie are on the mind,
and the crowds are lining up at the stores.

Enjoy every moment this lovely week of Thanksgiving. Make memories, step outside your door, and breath in the brisk November air. It comes only once every year. It is thanks. It is giving.

Room Windows With Views

The only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves.
~E.M. Forster

This is so true, and we do find ourselves on a particular path that not everyone saunters on. Each makes his or her own way, and thank goodness, or the paths would be overcrowded. I love the path I am on, and wouldn't trade it for any other. I've walked with John Keats and Fanny Braun, been in a white tower looking down to Camelot, and looked out of lots of room windows with views. It's been impressive so far, and I cannot wait for more.

Pausing For Gratitude

Pausing for gratitude that is written on the heart.There is room to spare for an increase of thankfulness, for there is much to be thankful for.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

Windswept Raven Hills

Midnight on the open moor.
A nocturnal walk on windswept raven hills,
Rolled out like velvet carpet.
Stirrings of freedom ignite and awaken.

I'd walk that velvet carpet on the stroke of midnight quite Emily Bronte-like, if I could, (my obsession with moors). I imagine them to be sort of like this.

Roses Between Thorns

These photos were taken about a year ago - roses between thorns~ but you know, the thorns have their own stately sentinel beauty, too. It's all about evergreen this time of year. In December it will be all the rage. Drink it in.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

~Robert Frost

Sing Me Your Song

Little bird, sing me your song before you go away~

Photo credit - Steve Maslowski

The Rain Still Finds Your Face

Soft rain falling on a calm weekend makes me long to be far away from it all, living out my days like Thoreau, writing endless words while surrounded by walls of trees, hearing only the quietness that a cabin in the woods affords, and letting sweet raindrops fall on my face as the wind stirs.

But for now, I must retreat to my cozy little corner at home in the city, where bricks and mortar form the walls that surround me, and my ears remain accustomed to street traffic and other city noises. Fall and winter are seasons that encourage coziness, and I suppose you can be just as cozy in the city as you can in a cabin. You can live like Thoreau in thought and deed, if not physically, and the rain still finds your face if you step outside your walls. Still, one day, that cabin will be mine.

The Best Things...

... Are Found in Your Own Backyard

A Gathering

For man,
autumn is a time of harvest,
of gathering together.
For nature,
it is a time of sowing,
of scattering abroad.

~Edwin Way Teale

Listen to Your Heart

Sometimes it is not easy, but I love this little reminder to, "Listen to your heart." This beautiful little altered tin is one of my etsy treasures. Isn't it gorgeous!
Whimsypics

Pieces, Chunks, and Slices

In the fall when I was young, my dad would often take a nice ripe, red apple from the tree, and peel it off for us in one big, long piece. Then he'd cut off chunks and slices from the apple for us to eat. Man did those apples ever taste good. Sweet Memories.



“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
~Martin Luther


BAKED APPLES
This simple recipe can be made with dark or golden raisins instead of the pecans if you'd like. You could use any kind of nut too - try them with walnuts or cashews.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:

* 4 Granny Smith apples
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 4 Tbsp. butter, softened
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans
* 1 tsp. cinnamon
* 1/3 cup water
* 2 tsp. lemon juice

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the top off the apples to make a flat surface. Cut a strip of peel around the apple right next to the cut surface. Cut the core out of the apples, making sure to leave the skin at the bottom intact.

In small bowl combine remaining ingredients except water and lemon juice. Stuff apples with this mixture. Mound any remaining mixture on top of the apples. Place in shallow baking dish and pour 1/3 cup water and lemon juice around apples. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until apples are tender. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

From about dot com

The Yellow Wallpaper - A New Update

I have mentioned the movie, "The Yellow Wallpaper," several times here on my blog, which you can read about here and here. I received an update and a link from the movie's director, Logan Thomas, and wanted to share it with you. This facebook page will have any updates and will also release movie stills. I am really looking forward to this movie, which is based on a short story.
Here is what Logan Thomas posted about the movie~

Hello,

I'd like to follow through with an update about The Yellow Wallpaper. We have begun the studio courtship dance, and the big festival circuit. I'm happy to tell you that there is a FILMMAKER HOSTED, FACEBOOK PAGE "The Yellow Wallpaper (offical movie page)". We will post stills from the movie, events, releases, and even try to answer film and lit. questions for those interested. The page is brand new and we hope you'll come to visit us.

Logan

Literary England

Book Share Fridays:
"Literary England" by Richard Wilcox. It has been awhile since I've done a Friday book share! I found this book while searching Amazon, and to be honest, I am torn between recommending it, and not.

It is from the 1940's and was part of a 'picture essay on literary England' that appeared in Life Magazine. The concept of the book is brilliant, but the photographs are in black and white, and the author could have written the synopses of each featured place much better than he did. Having said that though, there is some merit to the contents, and if you love Albion like I do, it might be worth buying.

Here are a few of the literary spots they feature:

Canterbury Cathedral (The Canterbury Tales), Burrington Gorge (Rock of Ages hymn), Keats Grove (John Keats Hampstead home), Dickens' House, Assembly Rooms at Bath, Top Withins (Wuthering Heights), Wimpole Street (Elizabeth Barrett Browning), Doone Valley (Lorna Doone), and Stonehenge (Tess of the d'urbervilles).