Hi Everyone!  Hope you are having a good autumn.  I was going to post the rest of my daily October photos last week.  However, a winter storm came to the Sierra mountains, and I couldn’t help but pack the bags and head toward it.  I am so happy to say that we were welcomed by much-needed snow which, for those of us who live in the west, is more precious than gold these days.  So, without further ado, here are the rest of my October photos.

13th – Journalling.  Our tall redwood tree loves to shed a LOT in October and I love picking up these cones.   They make a beautiful red stain.  Looking forward to sketching these four in my nature journal.

14th – Bounty.  October is when I collect seeds from two of my dye plants, Coreopsis and Indigo.   I made the little seed packets myself.  Didn’t realise until I took the photo that the yellow/gold paper I used for the packet matches the Coreopsis seed pods.

15th – Trust.  This little one LOVES to play all day long with his kitty siblings, but does not quite trust us humans yet.  I treasure those rare occasions when I can get close to him.  I had all of 5 minutes to take a few photos.  Those blue eyes make me think of rain.  We are a kindred soul, he is smitten by winter just as much as I am.  He is Merwyn, the sea friend.

16th – Autumn afternoon.  Walking on soft straw, looking at some alien-looking pumpkins on a beautiful October afternoon.

17th – Advent calendar week 2.  I open my advent calendar in October.  This is Harry waiting at the Leaky Cauldron.

18th –  Foraging.  I couldn’t find any acorns at the local park, but found quite a few oak galls.  I collected a few to make iron gall ink at home.

19th – Favourite.  Every October I look forward to getting butternut squash.  I often pick up a few extra and store them in a dry place so I can enjoy them off season.  Instead of the grocery store, this year I got them at the pumpkin patch.  I never noticed the star pattern and  green lines that extend from the stem on the grocery store ones.

20th – Warmth.  The first fire of the season is always so special.  Read by a warm fire in my little library surrounded by books and cats, then end the night listening to the music of embers before bedtime. 

21th – Stargazing time.  I miss stargazing during the days of long daylight.  Those nights are just not long enough to set up the telescope for extended stargazing before bedtime.  I would be completely lost in the spring and summer sky.  However, with longer nights, I probably know the autumn and winter sky better than my own backyard.

22nd – Getting ready for the night out.  I don’t even remember when I fell in love with the stars.  My books and the night sky were the two stable things during my childhood.  I use this one for astrophotography, and I use my 10″ telescope mostly for exploring the night sky.

23rd – Peaceful.  I find the act of knitting to be extremely peaceful.  This blue yarn matches the eye colour of my sweet kitty.

24th – 3rd week of advent calendar.  Harry is getting ready for Hogwarts.

25th – Something Wicked This Way Comes.  I read that book by Ray Bradbury in high school, and the story haunted me for a very long time.  A few years ago, I mustered up enough courage to read it again, and I am glad to say that Dark’s Pandemonium does not haunt me any more.  This wagon always reminds me of the book and in turn, to find my courage.

26th – Trick or Treat.  Made little bags with colouring book, stickers, pencils, notepad, bookmark and of course ghoulish candy for the little monsters.  I made 48 bags and they were all gone, plus additional candies and pencils.  Happy little moments.

27th – Old Friend.  Charlie is our oldest friend, just three weeks away from being 19.  Don’t let his calm face fool you.  He is super naughty and playful.  I had to wait till he was mostly sleepy to take this picture of our Charlie!  He loves to “sing”, which is to say he bellows his heart out.  If I reciprocate by making the same sounds, he continues on with me.  It’s a lot of fun to sing along with him.

28th – Charlie’s Adventure.  He also has been the source of many a story and fun artwork over the years, and he has always been my Halloween kitty.  I designed the patterns and made this quilt around a little story I wrote called Charlie’s Adventure.  I make sure to use this quilt every October.  The story and the quilt details are all here on Charlie’s Adventure  if you want to share it with a little one in your family.

29th – Last week of advent calendar.  Adventures are always so much more fun when shared with friends.  Harry finally joins his friends for his train journey to Hogwarts.

30th – Magic.  Everything turns a bit magical as All Hallows Eve approaches.  I tapped into that magic to paint these pumpkins.

31th – All Hallows Eve.  My little desk-buddy is ready for Halloween with his pet spider.  He is a bit shy and finds Trick or Treat to be a daunting task.  However, he gave it a go anyway and enjoyed it quite a bit in the end.

Here are My October 1 – 12 photos

My October – Part I

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

Tavish the twin, Pemberley the autumn forest

Merwyn the sea friend and Charlie the musician

That finishes my 31 photos for 31 days of October.  It was so wonderful to reacquaint myself with my best friend, my camera.  I was feeling very lackluster at the beginning of the month, but taking these photos really stoked my motivation.  I do hope you liked the photos and the anecdotes.  From our family to yours Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Autumn!  I will see you in December.

-Soma

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