Spatter

Colorful Leaves

bydamanti 

Three Trees

bydamanti 

Company's Coming

I'm going to Roanoke later today to pick up a photographer buddy from Florida who's flying in for a week's visit.  I'm looking forward to the time...

Sun At Last!

Yesterday was and today is a picture perfect autumn day.  Clear blue skies, colorful leaves...what's left of them...and mild temperatures. Yes!

Morning Color

I woke up this morning to some wonderful color...fall leaves and a rainbow to go with it. 

 

This is looking straight out from our back deck.  Then I turned to look off to the side.  Lo and behold the rainbow was coming down over there...

New Desk

A month or so ago  I had had enough with the make-shift work space I was using and decided to have a desk made.  I posted about it as it was being worked on here.  It was delivered just before I left for Wyoming but it was only last week that it was totally finished...when the drawer hardware was attached.  I've been searching all over the internet for pulls I liked and the wait paid off.  I found on ebay the exact same pulls that are on my dresser and chest.  So, without further ado...here's my desk:

I'm not content with the bins below...blue canvas cubes...but they're OK until I find something better. 

It's sooooo nice having functional drawers, having a surface that's large enough to work on, and having everything feel stable. 

Kestrel

We saw our first kestrel here at Blackberry Ridge. It was so exciting!  He was sitting on one of our bird boxes for a good while, but when I tried to get a picture of him, he flew off.  Too bad!  I can only offer this photo found on a Google search:

We immediately thought about building him a nesting box to keep him in the neighborhood, but then our research told us that while they prefer rodents and insects, they'll eat bluebirds and finches.  We decided we didn't want to scare the little ones away by giving a nearby home to a predator.

Rain, Rain, Rain

Well, actually for us it's: cloud, cloud, cloud.  We've been in a cloud the last few days and it looks like that state is going to continue...for the near future anyway.   But I'm not complaining...I just watched the news and saw the state of affairs down in Georgia and Tennessee.  Lordy!  Let's hope things improve there quickly! 

By comparison, our actual rainfall has been light.  I get wet when I go outside, but it's a result of cloud moisture. I took advantage of the wet ground and did some edging today.  Perhaps will finish it tomorrow. 

State of birds at BBR on this last day of summer: the one hummer that was hanging around seems to have left; we still have some goldfinches, though they've changed their color to dress for fall; crows are still hanging around; but the really exciting news is that a flock of bluebirds have come back.  What fun!

My Desk In The Making

The desk I've been wanting to have for so long is finally under construction.  I went to the woodworker's shop yesterday and got to watch its birth. 

The wood is cherry...a local wood, but it turns out that the wood for my desk came from a violin maker near Boone, North Carolina (the legs and trim) and from Pennsylvania (the flat surfaces).  Here are a few looks at its first stages:

 

 

 

 

The color variations are due to my camera settings.  In the end it will have a satin natural stain on it.   As it ages, the color will grow even warmer.  I decided not to try to have him stain it to match my bedroom furniture.  It may someday end up in another room or I may change furniture.

It'll be finished and delivered by this time next week.  In the meantime, I have  picking out/buying drawer handles and little feet thingys on my "things to do" list for Monday's trip to Christiansburg.

Black & Blue Pie

For some reason the blackberry crop is very sparse this year.  Is it because of all the rain?  Is it because of the cooler than normal summer?  Whatever the reason, the bushes are almost barren.  I couldn't even get the four cups I needed to make a pie.  What to do with just two cups?  Well, I mixed in two cups of blueberries to make up the difference.  I'm calling it my black & blue pie!