Six Word Fridays ~ Perfect

Gray skies and still, glassy waters ~

our local foliage nearing its peak.

New England in the fall is
oh so very picture postcard perfect!




Link up here and share your story,
Six Words per line!
I'm also sharing this post with James for
Weekend Reflections

Can't Stop with the Tree Pics....

Love is a burning thing

And it makes a fiery ring.

Bound by wild desire

I fell into a ring of fire.

I fell into a burning ring of fire,

I went down, down, down and the flames went higher.

And it burns, burns, burns,

The ring of fire, the ring of fire.

Johnny Cash

Oh yeah ~ I'm in love all right.

With autumn!

Autumn turns the plain old fence along my side yard

into a work of art!

Look around...

....look up or over...

And there's just one thing to say around these parts...

We are drowning in a SPLENDID ring of fire!

Joining Kim, Kat and Theresa today.

Black & White Wednesdays ~ Milkweed

"Although the life of a person

is in a land full of thorns and weeds,

there is always a space

in which the good seed can grow."

Pope Francis

Please link up and share your

Black & White photos!

I'm also joining

Communal Global

Swoooooon....

The place was lovely.

Filled with that happiness buzz

that comes when friends, both old and new, gather.

It was celebration time!

We came to 

rejoice with two friends who've loved, 

lost 

and tenderly loved again.

They remind us that struggle and heartache

can soften us.

Prepare us.

Provide for us in ways that are unforeseen.

Almost unimaginable.

We ate and chatted and hugged and toasted.

They exchanged vows

in front of the fire, amidst the sunflowers and

surrounded friends and family.

Friends and family whose faithfulness

has surmounted obstacles,

forgiven hurts,

held on during the storms

and

cherished the countless blessings that fill the in-betweens.

There was music.

Lots of it.

And laughter.

And then,

when all was almost said and done,

the groom took the mike

and sang to his bride...

Another crooner took over

and there was holding. And twirling.

Swoon worthy.

Yes indeed.

Congratulations, dear friends.

"Some day, when I'm awfully low

When the world is cold

I will feel a glow just thinking of you

And the way you look tonight

Yes, you're lovely

With your smile so warm

And your cheeks so soft

There is nothing for me but to love you

And the way you look tonight"

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

Mt. Auburn Cemetery ~ The Tower

I try to make a trip to Mt. Auburn Cemetery each year in the fall.

The foliage is spectacular there,

and the walkways and pathways seem to go on forever.

Saturday, on a very chilly, gray New England day,

I spent a few hours wandering...

This place normally sets me to wondering

and dreaming, to hoping and planning.

Something about the combination of beauty and the finality of my life span

seems to give me perspective.

And determination.

Not so on Saturday.

From the top of Mountain Ave,

at the base of the tower,

this is the view of Boston.

Always a pretty sight for me...love this city.

Love this sky line.

For some reason,

this Saturday,

the longer I wandered and the more I sought out familiar

and pleasing sights,

the more melancholy I became.

But I climbed.

I love the old tower,

and so up I went.

The view from the first balcony is just above tree level,

and this particular tree struts its stuff each year.

Here's the balcony view of Boston...

with a little foliage thrown in just for fun!

I got a little shaky on the climb.

Not the climbing itself, but the height was getting to me.

Felt my knees get a bit weak...in the same way that claustrophobia effects me.

Ick.

This did not help my mood.

I can't stand that body-out-of-control feeling!

Here's Boston from the top.

I made myself stay up there,

take a bunch of photos

and breath in the crisp air.

Weak knees were NOT going to win the day.

On the way down, I held on tightly to the rail,

glad I had come...

and climbed...

and gotten that foliage view.

But definitely feeling like this just wasn't any fun.

Once back at the bottom of the hill,

I posted a photo.

Cause that's just what I do.

And then I texted the same photo {the one on the left} to my son.

He's not on social media,

so when I want him to see a pic I text it to him after I post it.

He works down town,

right near the base of that tower on the right.

So I love seeing the skyline even more when I know he's right there.

A minute or two after I sent him the pic,

he sent me the photo back with his little stick-figure-self saying hi to me.

Finally.

A mood lifter!

Something about that little connection put a smile on my face

and lightened my step.

Funny thing, moods.

You just never know when they might invade,

where in the heck they've come from

or what might chase them away.

Don't know about you, but I could do without them.

Right?!?

Joining Tamar for

 Good. Random. Fun.

Six Word Fridays ~ Leaf

"O, how beautifully leaves grow old.

How full of light and color

are their last days." John Burroughs

Join in the fun!
Share your stories,
six words at a time!

Crock Pot Season

weather is cooler

darkness is swallowing us earlier and earlier

it's time

soup time

crock pot time

and

it's time for me to find some of that clean eating mojo

i've had

and {somewhat} lost

haven't abandoned the basics

but the menus have gotten

lazy

boring

and

repetitive

so...

to help me with my mojo

i turned to a favorite hobby

{scrapbooking}

to help me rekindle a fire for a not so favorite necessity

{cooking}

and

VOILA!!

i'm creating a recipe book!

it stands up!

isn't it so cute?!?

i'll tell ya...

sometimes it's the little things

cause

thanks to my friends Paper, Stickers, Scissors and Tags,

i am 

smiling 

while cooking once again

This simple and delicious recipe found HERE

Recipe Keeper found HERE

{comes with paper for printing that slide into the sleeves if cutting and pasting isn't your thing!}

I'm joining Kim for

Little Things Thursday

and Kat for her

Writer's Workshop

Black & White Wednesday ~ Never say Never

Never too old,

never too bad,

never too late,

never too sick

to start from scratch

once again.

-Bikram Choudhury

Please join in and share your

Black & White photos!

Master's Piece

"Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

Pocahontas

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography
and sharing a slice of New England with
Wednesdays Around the World

Feathers, feathers and more feathers...

 Saturday was such a GOOD day to be outside.

It was one of those New England days ~ the crisp air, blue sky perfect fall days!

My feathered friends at the pond were out in full force,

enjoying the day right along with me.

 Seagulls and Cormorants

 Wonder what's so interesting??

 First blue Heron...on a fishing expedition...

 ...missed the fish, but came back out of the water shaking his feathers.

I've never seen one of these guys "ruffled" up.

 Second Blue Heron - look at those knobby knees!

There's a new visitor to the pond.

One, seemingly RANDOM, Great White Egret.

It's been all the buzz!

He moved around the back waters, hunting, fishing, swallowing.
While the Heron tends to stand still or move slowly to chase his prey,
this guy moved about much more,
making many more attempts to catch his lunch.

I enjoyed watching him...his movements are more graceful than either the swans or herons.

Ummm....spotted!!

The FUN this weekend, for me, was the foliage.

{Yesterday's post Autumn Woods is proof of that!}

But I never tire of watching the swans...

and set against this autumn gold, they are especially easy on the eyes.

Happy Monday everyone!

Glad to be back in my rhythm and joining Tamar for

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Autumn Woods

Like notes in a symphony,

the leaves that accompanied me on my walk through the woods

hung,

floated,

danced

and 

rustled

in numbers too large to count!

As the breeze sang to me,

I fancied myself engulfed in a paradise

of autumnal bliss.

Such a heavenly Saturday afternoon.

The melody dazzled with

its hot, fiery reds.

And turned dreamy with dollops of creamy pumpkin.

The strains of autumn's symphony grew quiet

as the soft, golden yellows soothed my soul.

The air was sweet,

the tune divine

and my heart was full.

Joining Ashley for

Scavenger Hunt Sunday