Backyard Bliss

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

fluttering from the autumn tree."

Emily Bronte

We've all seen this quote.

Many times.

On many memes.

This fall I have discovered something new about this seasonal bliss....

When the leaves are speaking to you

from your very own back yard,

the bliss-full, autumn tales

are even more melodious.

And soothing.

And mesmerizing.

I have

{literally}

spent hours watching the leaves change

and float

and dance

and frolic

across my {did I mention this?} very own back yard!

Joining Tamar and Lisa

Ah, Weekends

Friday and Saturday were, in a word, BLUSTERY!
Stormy, gray and very windy.
Leaves are falling and swirling about
and we are enjoying the show up here in New England!

I got to puppy-sit this weekend.

So I had to get the big girl camera out on Sunday

and get a few fall shots of this guy.

This one's my favorite!

We lit our FIRST official FIRE since moving to the new place!

Fireplace was on that "must have" list when we were looking for a house....

Sitting in front of the roaring fire

and enjoying the Pats game with my daughter and son-in-law,

I felt like a kid on Christmas morning who got

EVERYTHING

she asked for!!

Joining Tamar

the more things change, the more they stay the same

I love old stuff.

Always have.

Especially old stuff that has a connection to my family.

These old milk bottles,

and the pretty butter dish,

were on display at our town's little museum.

Funny how these days

we've returned to choosing glass containers

for food storage.

And funny how old gems like these

seem to be all the rage in wedding and home decor.

Fine with me.

Cause I really love old stuff!

Linking up with

Little Things Thursday

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

and

Weekend Reflections

Mailbox Reflection

One of the many little improvements we've made to our house in the first six months

was sprucing up the mailbox.

Post was cleaned, sanded and stained.

The box itself was replaced.

New, reflective numbers were added to the pole.

And I had name decals made for the sides of the box!

While I was attaching our name to the second side of the shiny, new box,

I caught a reflection of our house!

Only seemed fitting that our name and our home should appear together in a picture!

Joining James for

Weekend Reflections

Telling Stories

Do you want to know my favorite things about visiting museums?

Well, it's not all the old, historical stuff.

Though these signs and water-can back packs are pretty cool.

My favorite part is meeting the story tellers.

Listening and learning from those that have gone before,

and those who have learned from those who have gone before.

The passion they hold for the stories they tell,

and the touching details they share never fail to move me.

This was the old Salem fire house decked out for Salem Fest, and the chief told us wonderful stories that day.

Linking up with

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Wednesday's Around the World

and

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

Museum Reflections

A small journey back in time

always stirs my heart

and sharpens my reflection.

{Town History Museum, Salem Town Hall, Salem, NH}

Sharing with

Little Things

and

Weekend Reflections

Salem Fest

It was festival day in my new little home town on Saturday.

All the historic buildings were open

and my daughter and I had a nice wander

back through the ages.

This old building was a schoolhouse from 1861-1895

and the town library from 1895-1966.

Stay tuned through the week for more town history!

Joining Tamar for some

Good. Random. Fun.

Town History

Nestled next to the original town hall in Salem NH is an old graveyard. 

Most of the headstones date back to the mid 19th century, 

not a bit unusual for a New England cemetery. 

I stopped by for a short wander yesterday afternoon.

It was a beautiful day,

and I was happy for an excuse to delay my trip to the grocery store.

Centuries collided as I caught sight of my shadowy self,

armed with my ever present iPhone,

on the side of an almost 200 year old tomb stone.

The irony...

I think this is my favorite shot from my short walk.

The vibrant, green sprig of new life

caught the light

(and my eye)

against the backdrop of this fallen head stone.

I couldn't help but be struck by thoughts of the cycle of life.

How many snowy winters and leafy springs have come and gone

since this dear Anna passed?

Hundreds.

With many more to come...

There were life stories carved into a hand full of stones...

...but most just carried a name and a date and, perhaps, the mention of a relationship.

As I was heading to my car,

the gentle simplicity of this stone caught my eye

and tugged at my heart.

I do love a good wander through an old grave yard.

Just as I love a good treasure hunt.

You see, as I wandered yesterday,

I was searching for the letter K.

Why, you ask?

Well...this year I've participated in a project 365 group on Instagram.

And yesterday's prompt was "K" ~ which was harder to find than I'd imagined.

Just as I was about to give up,

at the far end of this peaceful, reverent old place,

I found the Kelly family.

Once again, the centuries collided...

...and I got to share just a bit more about my new home town

with my little Instagram world.

Joining Kim and Kat

Good. Random. Fun. {week 17}

The very best thing about last week?

Two angels

{otherwise known as my children}

spent the day with me and the Ikea directions

and assembled my scrapbook room furniture!!

Over the weekend I began to fill up the storage space and get set up.

This is good!

Oh. So. Good.

Workshops begin again on Wednesday!!

In the random category,

I've discovered an iced beverage that I really {really} like at Starbucks.

Shaken Iced Passion Tango Tea.

Unsweetened.

For someone who doesn't do dairy.

Or sugar.

Or much caffeine...

It's tough to find a "fun" beverage!

I'm being told, from numerous sources, that this drink is just brewed herbal tea over ice.

Since I'm enjoying it so much,

I'm choosing to believe my sources...

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day here in New England.

So I set out to have some fun and find a new walking trail.

You see here the entrance to the "Salem Town Forest"

and a few miles of trails,

some of which border Shadow Pond.

Lovely, right?

What started so well

turned into a bit of a crazy afternoon.

You see...I got a bit lost in the woods.

I think that when I got to this point, where the trail seems to ignore this rock wall,

I should have turned around.

Let me just say that there is A WHOLE LOT of wooded acreage out here that doesn't belong to the town. 

Or, if it does, it doesn't officially connect to the marked walking trails.

Sadly, I had wandered awfully far before I realized I wasn't where I was supposed to be.

Let's just say...

if it was alone time I was looking for, I got plenty of it before I found my way back to where I belonged.

Yup. Well over an hour just me, the pines and the birds.

Note to self: next time, bring a trail map.

Joining Tamar for

The Good. The Random. The Fun.