I went to Skylands (New Jersey Botanical Gardens) the other day. It’s something I like to do at different times of the year. I was hoping for fall colors but they weren’t really around just yet. It’s pretty empty of people during the week unless they are having a wedding at the manor house. Which reminds me, have you ever caught the reality show Masters of Reception? It’s a show about a family of caterers based here in New Jersey and they use Skylands Manor as a venue for weddings all the time. It’s kind of fun to watch the show when it’s taking place only miles from your front door. I think they just aired the last show of the season but you can probably catch it on reruns. It’s actually pretty good. If you want to see real New Jersey people in action, this is it. Not Real Housewives of New Jersey! Except that I know many of the locations and restaurants that were featured on Housewives. Real locations. Not so sure about all the housewives. Some, yes. Others maybe not. But, I’m getting off the track here.

Skylands is a peaceful place of wide grassy lawns and plenty of places to sit and relax. Many exotic and different species of trees not indigenous to the area were brought here by the original owner of the manor house, and today they are all thriving.

It was supposed to be a sunny day but the sun kept going in and out of passing clouds, so I was a bit challenged photographically speaking. It was pretty breezy too with little micro gusts of wind at times, which is never good for trying to photograph flowers. But I clicked my camera to the sports setting and persevered. Some flowers were still blooming in their perennial garden.

I came across two women who were had their easels set up and were painting en plein air.

I asked one of them if I could take a peek at their work. She said sure. Her left hand was clutching five or six brushes loaded with different colors of paint; her right hand daubing paint onto the canvas board as we chatted a bit.

I told her how I wished I could paint and that my Father had been a really good artist but that I was disappointed I had not inherited his talent. In fact, that I had two left hands when it came to drawing and painting and such. Since her hands were already full she lifted her chin and gestured in the direction of the camera hanging from around my neck. She said “You take photographs though, right?” I nodded and said “Right, but it’s not the same.” She shrugged as if to disagree.

As I walked off and left them to their painting, I started thinking about what she had said and that maybe she had something there after all. I may not be able to draw or paint but I do express myself artistically through my photography. Bad or good, like them or not, my photography is as much an expression of me as a painting would be. What I see when I look through that camera lens and what other people see looking through the same camera lens may be very different things. The capture I end up with is uniquely mine. Sometimes my fingers itch to commit to paper a certain scene or flower but they never follow through. They just don’t deliver. The camera does. The world is my canvas, all the things in it are my paints, and my camera the brush.

There is something special about the quality of light at this time of year. It’s soft. Golden. The sun dips lower and lower and barely makes it above our trees. In the morning the light sifts through the trees creating glorious sunbeams. It shines through droplets of water leftover from the previous night’s rain, and a spider’s web.

The pool, now closed for the winter, never makes it into the full sunlight.

The hours of sunlight we can count on having each day get fewer and fewer. Night falls faster and faster. The sun is reluctant to wake up. Prepare to spend more time inside it seems to be saying.

The moon takes over the sun’s job and also rises through the trees, bathing the yard in its pale shimmery light.

I don’t know about you but I am taking in all of this golden light that I can!

It’s been gray/rainy/foggy and cool this week. Typically fall. Our mushroom foray that was rescheduled for today was put on hold for yet another week. It would seem the mushrooms are reluctant to make an appearance. So instead we visited Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought new bed pillows, sheets, and towels. The washer and dryer are working overtime getting them all ready for use. Well, not the pillows of course. (Did I mention the dryer is fixed? Well, mostly. It still needs a new belt which will be installed on Monday, but at least it’s usable.)

I just now stepped out on my deck because I heard the Carolina Wren singing its sweet song. It actually prompted me to write this entry. Such a cool bird to have around and it has so many different tunes it can sing! My neighbor’s rooster was crowing too, and every once in a while the sheep chime in with their cute baaaa…baaaa…baaaa‘s. My neighbor told me that they will be bred this fall so we’ll have more sheepy noises to come. I told her we’d love to have some milk to make cheese from but I don’t know if that will happen or not. It’s complicated. There will be wool though from the shearing. (Not that I would know what to do with it!)

There is also the very loud thwack! sound of acorns (or maybe it’s the other large nut-like things that have been falling this year) hitting the deck of my neighbors across the street. The rustling of tree leaves and limbs can also be heard as the squirrels busily run to and fro with their nutty booty.

Even though the trees are not showing much color as yet, fall has arrived. And maybe, just maybe, I’m out of my blut.

My eyes are finally adjusting. Instead of taking in the wide sweeping vistas around the cabin they are focusing in on a more closed-in view of trees and heavily wooded hills. The trees are just starting to turn here and there. There’s a touch of Fall in the air and we are expecting quite a bit of rain throughout the night tomorrow. Our annual mushroom foray is planned for Sunday (we just got word) but will depend on Sunday’s weather. I hope we don’t get rained out!

We had two cords of wood delivered yesterday. Yes, it’s that time of year again. Last year we didn’t use the full two cords so we have some nicely aged wood to begin the fire season with. Instead of trying to stack it as I went, this year my goal was just to move it off the grass so it wouldn’t kill it first, then slowly work on stacking at my leisure. See how much I got done yesterday by chucking it piece by piece onto the gravel.

Not bad, right? As I worked I heard a rustling noise in the woods. When I turned around I saw three deer walking the fence line. They came out of the woods and crossed our driveway. I went to the gate to get a better look. Each deer as it crossed the drive stopped to look at me, tails flicking with trepidation. I spoke softly to them: I won’t hurt you beautiful things, it’s okay. They stood there looking at me for a few minutes longer, then went on their way into the front yard and I got back to my wood chucking. I felt like a Deer Whisperer or something!

Here is the progress after today’s work:

Almost done! My arms gave out so I stopped. I’ll have Rick help me with the rest tomorrow.

What I wouldn’t give to have this wood at the cabin! Look at that lovely hardwood! Funny how we have this same chore at the cabin—putting up wood—except that there we have to actually cut it ourselves instead of having it delivered to us already split. I will still have to split some of the pieces with our little splitter, but mostly it’s all good to go.

This was also going on around my house today. The big question mark in the sky seems to be asking What? is going on here?

A big air show is going on in our town this weekend and this stunt plane was practicing his maneuvers almost over our house. I took these photos from the back yard. I think he was mostly out over the lake.

And upside down as well.

He was fun to watch. Noisy, but entertaining. I’m sure we’ll be seeing (and hearing) the whole air show almost as if we had a front row seat. After all, we are close to the airport. It’s fun to watch the big old WW II bombers fly over. They shake the whole house and are so magnificent in their vintage-ness. It’ not going to be quiet around here this weekend. Au contraire!

Added as an addendum: Dryer update! The motor is gone ... boo hoo ... so I’ve been hanging laundry on the line (gasp! My neighbors hate this!). Instead of opting for a new one we decided to just replace the motor in this one. Our twin washer is still going strong (both Maytags and never one day of service before this) and pronounced healthy by the repairman, so we hope it hangs in there for a few more years. Hopefully this coming week we’ll have a dryer back again! Not quite the same as pioneer laundry at the cabin, but almost.

Unlike Dorothy I have no need to click my heels together and repeat the phrase above. I am there. We arrived home right on schedule last night and pulled in to our driveway at 6:57 p.m. How’s that for a good guess? The house seems huge after spending two weeks in our 1,000 square foot cabin. So much space! We were gone long enough that things look and feel strange to us. It will take a few days to acclimate to the East coast again, just as it took us a good 3 days to settle into the cabin. The dogs are having no such issues. They are home and that’s all that matters. All their familiar habits that were out of place at the cabin have resurfaced now that they are back in their home environment. Some of them are good; some are not.

More later. Just wanted to touch base and say that we arrived safe and sound. Now there is unpacking to do, but the laundry will have to wait at least one more day. Our dryer died the day before we left, so a service person is due out tomorrow to see what the trouble is. I do have to visit the grocery store though since the larder is bare. I’m thinking maybe some Salt and Pepper Shrimp for dinner ...