Skeletons will be after you!

Happy Halloween

Fun in the Rain

It's a lovely, drizzly day.  The leaves are grabbing on to the fine mist which is turning into big, juicy droplets that shimmer in the morning light.  But you don't have to try to imagine it. You can see for yourself.

The faeries planted a miniature evergreen right next to the steps.  Pretty enchanting.  What would be even more magical?  Teeny, tiny faery lights adorning it for the winter solstice.  

Could happen.

Ah, the glistening gargoyle.  Is he dripping with dew or did he just step off the elliptical?  I have a feeling he'll never tell. 

Now here are some dewy specimens.  Once the droplets fall they will just be moisture in the ground, otherwise known as mud.  For now they are sparkling dancers, hovering precariously on the edge of oblivion.  Glad I captured their image before their great fall. 

Now you're just teasing me.  

Nobody explained to the rosebush that it can slow down when the days are short and the temperatures drop.  I know it's a plant, not a person, but when anyone goes to this much trouble and I know that it is for naught, well, it's just sad.

The birdbath is looking rather festive.  Decorated by the trees without any human interference.  And an admirable job they did,  too.

 

Honeysuckle.  It's a bit weird.  But I like it.

How do they just stay there?  Drop!  You gotta drop!  So suspenseful.  I must turn away.

This hawthorne berry looks like it could be coated in ice.  But it's just tenacious water.

And finally the wasp's birdbath.  I never have seen a bird drink from this one, but the wasps and yellow jackets think it's their personal filling station.  Where are they now?  From a summer of buzzing, sipping madness to quiet stillness.  Autumn.   

October, Magic, Enchantment? Sounds like a possibility.

Lovely, lovely October.  And there are so many ways to enjoy it. Even different levels of participation.  

The Basic Level: Requires little effort or creativity. You can certainly feel like you are celebrating the season at this level, but may I say that you get out of life what you put into it. But all levels of contribution are appreciated.  Whatever you can throw into the hat.  

A good start.  Seems a little lonely out there in the garden, don't you think?

Pumpkin on porch with vine.  That's a little more like it. 

What else have you got?

Well, hello!  A pumpkin transformed.  Naturally, too.  Some strange magic is at work here.  Does the pumpkin really have a face?  Does he really feel as worried as we perceive?  What in us makes the jump to a face and to emotion?  Whatever it is, I welcome it.  Part of what makes us human.  Maybe one of the best parts. 

 

Light and metal and glass.  But so much more in the land of imagination.

Upping the ante a bit here.  We add a frightened mouse.  What is she worried about?  

Her partner seems to be trying to remember where he left that rind of brie.   But our vigilant little friend still seems concerned. 

Yikes!  This is getting real!  

Back to non-reality.  

I guess we started by saying all levels of participation are appreciated.  And here's a level.  

Enjoy the season.   

  

Enchantment thriving in the urban environment. Thank you, Minneapolis

I wish I could have been at the meeting where this idea was first proposed.  It's very satisfying to see that such an enchanting concept made it into reality.  

If you happen to take a walk along the Mississippi across from St. Anthony Main, you might find some petrified creatures.  And not because they are scared.  

When I came upon this on my walk, I was curious and kept my eyes peeled.

Not a worm.  And it appears that he travels at times.

Hopping marks in the pavement.  I stood and watched them for a while.  They didn't blink.

For some so small you seem to have a bit of an attitude.

Hopping down the froggy trail.  

These guys sure leave a lot of tracks, especially for ones who look so bronzed.

See? Even the city thinks they move.  They've got this snapper fenced in. 

Finally, a worm!  I wonder what happened to the other twelve?

Umm.  Could it be the bronze snakes and turtles and frogs and lizards have actually eaten almost all the little bronze worms?  Enchanting indeed.

Ah, now that I'm on to you, you're taking off? 

And then I spy this.  So lifelike and delicate.  Incredible. 

And, yes,  interestingly enough, this one could even move.

Catching the last rays of an autumn day

It's getting harder and harder to get out in the garden when the evening light is just right.  It keeps being just right about fifteen minutes before I think about going outside.  Last evening I decided to try it anyway.  I was so late that the flash kept going off on the camera.  But I just turned off the flash and went for it. 

Chrysanthemums, with or without bug.

I enjoy them both ways.

Crazy bean plant.  I keep trying to capture how interesting it is.  It is now creeping all over the garden.  Colorful and welcome this time of year.

I call this rosebud blooming on October 9th, Optimist.

The baby hawthorne tree loaded with beautiful red berries.  

The joe pye weed that kept the bumblebees busy all summer still has a wild charm to it.  Though it does say dead and dying in a very autumn-like way. But a nice break from all the yellow, orange and red.  

The First of October, or is it Still Summer?

It's the first of October.  No frost yet.  Not even a cool breeze today.  The plants know something is up.  The days are getting shorter even if the temperatures are summer-like and the sun still feels so warm on your skin, or on your leaves and petals, whatever the case.  

Do you see the gnome hiding in the photo?  I did.  I went outside to see who it was.  Just a ceramic mushroom top and some leaves and shadows.  Or was I just too late?

The magic bean stalk I planted never took me to the castles in the sky.  I had to take a plane.  But they did produce some interesting flowers and beans.

If one is too impatient to wait until the garden is in shadow later in the day, one might just end up with photos that have the light in the background instead of on the subject.  So one might have to resort to black and white to get a pleasing result.

Lemon, . . . . lemonade.

Bwbachod does not know that it is the first day of October.  But he celebrated the day by looking directly at me when I took his photo.  And if you happen to know Bwbachod, you will know why this is such a momentous occasion.

Happy October, fellow travelers!