This person was pretending to be a mannequin and most people walked right on by without ever realizing she was real. And, yes, I did ask if I could take her photo.

Yesterday we donned our Ren clothes and headed to the Faire. It was the perfect day for it: not too warm, not too humid, not too sunny.

We soon found out that lots of other people thought it was a good day to go as well! The Faire was packed by one hour after opening. For a Sunday this is kind of odd as we’ve found Sunday mornings to usually be slow.

The Washing Well Wenches doling out their humor. If you go, do not sit in the first two rows or you’ll get wet!

The Faire is set in a beautiful area of Sterling Forest. Somehow where it’s located seems quite apropos, doesn’t it? The grounds are picturesque. This year they even added a new building to the shire.

We didn’t have breakfast so we knew we wanted to eat before the noon crush. We actually had pretty good food! I had a portobello mushroom burger that had feta cheese and grilled onions and red and green peppers (I only ate a little of the bottom half of the bun) and Rick had a grilled chicken flatbread. The people at our table were eating something extremely yummy looking so I asked them what they had. They were eating a grilled eggplant wrap and one of them had a “Tour of the Mediterranean” salad. Next year I’m getting one of those!

I also did not take my big camera because I didn’t want to make it all about taking photos. I just wanted to have fun, so I popped my tiny point-and-shoot camera into my equally tiny purse that I wear around my waist. I saw a few things I could not pass up so I’m glad I had a camera with me.

Bodices for sale.

Sometimes when we go there are lots of people dressed up and sometimes there aren’t. Yesterday there were more people in normal clothes than Ren clothes. It seemed to be family day at the Faire with lots of small children and plenty of strollers. I really don’t know what little kids get out of it all. Especially some of the shows which are pretty rife with sexual innuendos. I know they don’t understand it, so I guess they just laugh at the antics. I just hope they don’t start asking, mommy what does that mean????

You see all kinds of outfits at the Faire. Some work, some just don’t. This is one that doesn’t! Maybe it’s the cowboy hat?

Lot of wings sprouting from peoples’ backs.

It doesn’t take much to become a princess. Just wear a cute hat!

The beautiful setting of the Sherwood Forest stage.

A view in to the window of M’Lady’s Panties shop.

We saw several shows and enjoyed them all. Most of all I love “Hey Nunnie, Nunnie” with its two nuns telling silly Catholic-based jokes. They make me laugh every time. Having been raised Catholic I can certainly relate. Especially when they pull out their ruler and ask if anyone is afraid. Uhm, yes, I am!

We watched these two yell insults at the tomato throwers. One guy got them but good!

We really enjoyed ourselves this year. Of course, the experience is slightly enhanced if you have a few glasses of wine or beer. Just relax and go with the flow and escape from normal life for day. Might as well enjoy it!

When we got home we were just hot enough to jump in the pool. The water is a touch on the chilly side, but it felt good. We both swam about 20 lengths of the pool. I think this might be the latest in the year we’ve ever swam before.

Early morning sunlight sifting through my backyard trees.

Here in New Jersey August is a pretty mild month. It should be the hottest but it’s not. Somehow I think it’s the weather’s way of segueing us into autumn. Every year for the past six years that we’ve lived here it’s been the same. So why do I keep expecting it to be somehow different each year?

Now the cicadas are joined by multitudes of crickets at night, each one trying to outdo the other. The cicadas are not ready to give up their orchestra seats to the crickets just yet.

If this is typical of all the other years we are not quite done with the heat just yet. There is always a week at the beginning of September where the temperatures soar for the last hurrah of summer.

My little clutch of turkeys come nearly every morning. A hen with two half-grown babies. The other day when I looked out I thought a recognized the sole turkey that was at the feeding station. I’m certain it’s Thomas back again! He has the same funny feather that sticks out all by itself on his chest. And even more exciting news: Thomas has hooked up with Lady Hen and they are now traveling as a family group. Good for Thomas!

Thomas and family.

Some trees are getting a head start.

Not sure if they are truly changing because of the season or if it’s stress from not enough moisture.

The air feels different; it’s hard to explain, but it’s there.

It’s easier to see the difference in the light. It’s softer. The way it filters through the trees. The shadows in the morning. The increasingly shorter days. All due to the sun dipping lower in the sky.

Me and the big pine in our front drive this morning.

Autumn is on it’s way. It’s real. Tangible. I think I’m ready.

I have to admit, we were lazy.

But we did manage to achieve goal #3 of camping out in the cabana by the pool Saturday night. We both fell asleep listening to the cicada and cricket symphony, only to be awakened shortly before midnight by Bella’s one bark. She wanted to go and in go to bed! So we stumbled around half-asleep and closed up the pool and headed inside.

Sunday morning we got up and drove to Warwick, NY for the Sunday farmer’s market per usual. We weren’t yet sure about the Ren Faire but we had plenty of time to decide.

What’s wrong with this photo (it’s also the reason I took it)?

This is coming in to my favorite time of the year for the market. Lots of things to choose from! We came home with zucchinis, a striped eggplant, a small butternut squash, a fresh log of goat cheese, some poblano peppers, lettuce, parsley, bread, a free range chicken, and a flat iron steak, all of which will feature in our meals in the upcoming week.

Once we got home we realized we just weren’t in the mood for the Ren Faire. After our full day Saturday of canoeing and lots of swimming we just wanted to relax. We’ll go next weekend since we have three whole days to choose from.

We managed a little bit more of goal #4, which was to swim since it was a beautiful day. Doesn’t the water look delicious? The temperature is holding at 75 degrees right now and once you get in and get wet it feels really good.

A few more weeks and the pool will be closed. Boo.

When I picked up my camera yesterday and started changing the settings for what I knew I was going to be taking photos of I realized that I had left the camera on settings I had not intended while taking my Green Turtle Pond photos. No wonder I had so many where the color was off and lots not in complete focus! Duh! The bad thing about having more knowledge about my camera’s numerous setting off the manual modes is that, well, maybe I have too much knowledge! Check thy settings, Lynne, every time you pick up the camera!!

Hey, third photo class tomorrow: White Balance and Composition!

I am now sitting pool side because its days are numbered. We know we only have one, maybe two more weekends left of pool enjoyment before we have to close it. The temperature is down to 77 degrees now, which Rick reassures me is at the low end of what the Olympic pool is allowed to be. I would rather the top end than the low end, but it is what it is.

As I lay on my float with the not-too-strong sun beating down on my body it feels good. Like my veins are filled with warmed jelly instead of blood. I feel incapable of lifting myself up from my supine position.

After looking at the bright sunlight, when I close my eyes the sun still dances in front of my closed eyelids like the flickering of an old film reel.

The strident voices of children drift over from our neighbor’s who are having a party.

The air show is in town today and once in a while they fly over our house in a burst of spectacular showmanship.

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or not!

Later on ...

Tonight after swimming 30 lengths of the pool we built a fire in our little fire pit.

The seasons, they are a’changin’.

Shades of green at Green Turtle Pond. Taken two weeks ago.

And so it begins. The slow slipping down of summer. At first it’s the little things you notice.

The sun. It’s lower in the sky and rises later and sets earlier. It seemed like just the other day we were swimming at dusk which happened around 8:45 p.m. Now it’s around 8:00 p.m. It’s strange that you don’t notice at first, then all of a sudden it hits you: the change of seasons has begun.

There are other indicators. The pool temperature drops by about two degrees and becomes on the edge of swimmable. The cooler nighttime temperatures and the slight change in the angle of the sun are to blame.

The hummingbirds are feeding voraciously at the feeder stocking up for their big flight home. They haven’t been bothering with the feeder and have left it to the bees for the past month and half. Not now.

The other birds seem to be feeding a lot too. More so than usual. I’ve had to fill the bird feeder every other day.

The turkey with her two babies has started showing up every day at the bird feeding area in the front yard. Soon the hens and the toms will all band together and instead of three I’ll have twelve or fifteen turkeys coming.

And they aren’t the only ones. This cute little fox showed up the other day.

My garden spider is still around. I check up on it every morning. I’ve never known a spider to have a web in the same spot for so long! Don’t you think it’s strange? I call this photo Dance with Death.

It’s been a real summer this year. Very warm and humid. Not a lot of rain but enough to keep everything green without watering. The nasty storms over the past few days have pretty much passed us by, growing stronger as they move eastward, leaving us with only a little rain to show for it. We could use more.

I think I’m ready to embrace a different season. Although I hate to lose the pool, I am looking forward to autumn. To opening the windows wide instead of always having the air conditioning on and sleeping cool for a change. To cozy fires in the wood stove to take the chill off a damp day. To stews and chile bubbling away on the stove.

I have no idea if the trees will have good color this year or not. I kind of think they will. Last year was so disappointing with all that moisture we had because the trees just gave up and dropped their leaves without ever really changing. Will not quite normal moisture make for a poor showing as well?

The are predicting a very snowy winter for us which I am not quite ready to think about yet. After last year’s non-winter it could come as quite a shock!

Only time will tell what Mother Nature has in store for us!