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rabbit rabbit

They say it takes a village.  In the case of the little one's Halloween costume, what they say is true.  Inspiration, patterns and materials for the rabbit came from all around this creative blogging community.  The lazy days skirt from Oliver + S.  The wee jacket from Bend-the-Rules. The bunny hat from the Purl Bee.  The bunny tail is a bit of still-to-be-spun wool from Good Yarn Karma.  Thank you, thank you Liesl, Amy, Molly and Donyale!

The much anticipated first 'real' Halloween was a hit.  Some bit of the costume was worn from five-thirty this morning on. Yes, five-thirty this morning.  And yes, I left the sewing machine after midnight...

We made like rabbits, picking carrots from the community garden and hopping always and everywhere.  We 'played' trick or treat, visiting a few of our favorite neighbors.  And we ate more sweets than we should have. 

Happy halloween, friends.

daylight saved : crab apples

Around the corner, prolific crab apples trees show off all of the sunlight gathered through the summer.

daylight saved

I had a little panic tonight, thinking that daylight savings time had come to an end.  The first forecasted snow and losing an hour of afternoon daylight in the same day seems unusually cruel.  I'm not ready for light of the day to vanish before I get home from work.  Nor am I ready for the earlier-than-early mornings with my ready-to-go toddler to be extended as the clocks fall back.

Thankfully, there's another week of daylight to be saved.  My mom's recent comment got me thinking about capturing holding on to light that will warm us through the cold days ahead.  I'm aiming to save up as much as I can. 

Join me this week in photographing that which remains of the daylight and warmth of the season, won't you?  And if you play along, do share your photos at the daylight saved flickr group.  It's my hope that, in my mom's words, our "photos of summer and its last days will help to keep us warm till next summer's return".

a visit with the sea

Salt marsh giving way to salt sea. 

Splashing in a pool that will disappear with the tide.

Walking barefoot in sand soft and cold under gray October sky.

The salt.  The evidence of ebb and flow.  The ocean.  So different from the freshwater sea by which I now make my home.  And too, so similar.

up and down :: outdoor shower

Looking up, the graying shingles. 

Looking down, water puddled on porch floor boards.  

No matter the season, I prefer to shower outside when visiting my folks on the island.  There's something about standing under the sky that makes a shower that much more refreshing.  That makes me feel that much more clean.  That much more alive.

on the road

We've been traveling.

Celebrating...

Meeting...

Ahead we have a few more days of relaxing and exploring.  See you next week.

granola-crunchy

Emily's regular breakfast photos have finally broken me down.  I've dipped my toe into the world of homemade granola and have been swept up by a whirling current.  I can't seem to make enough to keep it in the house for more than a few days.  It's so easy and so very good.

I modified Emily's adaptation of Stephanie's recipe to accomodate the various food sensitivities and blood sugar challenges in our house.  Sucanat for honey or maple - and only about half of the sweetner.  Twice the oil to keep it together without the wet sweetners.  Puffed corn or rice cereal for texture.  Bits of dried apple since we have so very much.  Ground flax seeds and oat bran for a bit more substance.  And for a zing, Saigon cinnamon, thanks to a recent swap with Stefani.

I'd write out a revised recipe but I think it would end up reading "a handful..." and "a bunch..." and "a spoonful..." and "enough...".  Thankfully, the kitchen sink method seems to work incredibly well.  You know you want to...

sunsetting

Last week I stopped on the way home from a meeting up the shore to catch the setting sun atop Oberg Mountain.  I can't remember the last time I hiked alone, but it was just what I needed.

This spur of the Superior Hiking Trail winds its way through a maple forest, opening up along rocky ledges again and again revealing striking vistas.  Both up and down the shore of Lake Superior.  Out across the Sawtooth Mountains. 

Experiencing the end of the day; the end of the season.  Fitting for the moment, as a project I've been working on for over two years had just come to a close without ever truly coming to fruition.  I am disappointed; and, the decision is just what I hoped for.  Walking beneath the cedars, stepping on their fallen seedpods, I was reminded that while every seed holds the potential, not all can become trees. 

seconds

It's the second time for the jogless stripes I learned knitting Jared's turn-a-square a few weeks back.  The hat looks great has turned out to be completely un-photogenic.  It was knit up from yarn left over from my first socks (another project that I can't seem to do justice with the camera), and striped with the remnants of this project.

As for these stripes, the second time comes with the fiber.  One of the local yarn shops turned me on to 2nd Time Cotton, a yarn spun from textile industry waste.  I love the idea of making use of that which another deems waste, and too I love how the yarn is knitting up.  The softness, the colors.  It's also the second time on this pattern, but I'll save the details for once this little gift is finished and delivered.