Asters aplenty

These days I'm enjoying all of the asters that are blooming in the woodlands, meadows, fields and roadside ditches. They seem to be everywhere. The aster family (also known as the composite family) is a large one, and contains many flowers that we may not immediately identify as asters, such as Dandelions, Chicory, Ironweed, Joe Pye Weed, and yarrow to name a few, as well as various coneflowers, sunflowers and daisies (the family is also called the daisy or sunflower family). But come fall, I think many of us could look at a plant and correctly conclude "That's an aster."

As to what species in particular, I can only readily identify the showiest of them all, the New England Aster, shown here:




In the same field I found this specimen...

... and this one that is similar, but obviously not the same.


In our woods we have lots of these, which I believe to be White Wood Aster.

It seems to change color from white and yellow to pink and purple with age.
If anyone out there knows of a good guide to asters, I'd love to hear about it!

strange obsession

One aspect of the guestudio that I fretted over for a long time was the flooring. I knew I wanted a hardwood floor, and that I wanted it to be light in color, and it had to be rustic-looking. After much searching and consideration, I finally decided on some lovely handscraped flooring from Lumber Liquidators. It is birch ("Matterhorn Birch" by Virginia Millworks, to be exact), and it is exactly what I was looking for. I'm a bit obsessed with it, actually. I love it. The natural variation, the character, the charm - I find it... inspiring.



If you would like to see a timeline-style view of the guestudio construction, head on over to my Flicker page here. We're getting there!

Autumn collages

This seems to be a good year for nuts (last year was not so good). The Hickories and Buckeyes in our yard are really dropping them like crazy. I stood in a spot in our driveway today and counted at least 25 buckeyes on the ground within a 2-foot radius. They are all so beautiful and perfect. I want to collect every single one of them! I'm glad it's a good year for nuts, though - that means there should be plenty of winter food for the squirrels and chipmunks and such.


The trees are turning slowly but surely, and several super windy days have brought a lot of leaves tumbling to the ground. As the fallen leaves dry out and turn brown, there's still a little bit of color to be appreciated among the wildflowers and my potted plants. The asters are really showy right now - I love it.


Work continues on the guestudio. I'll share some more photos with you all in the near future.

P.S. All of today's photos taken with a Nikon D5000 that was graciously loaned to me by one of my co-workers. It's a pretty sweet camera! Thanks, Mike!

The whisper of autumn

Crows - caw, caw, cawing... a melancholy song
Squirrels scamper amidst a carpet of crunching leaves
Crisp breezes slowly denude the trees and
Nuts randomly pelt the ground
Crickets chirp at midday -
Fields of corn and soy, brown and spent,
prepare to give of their fruit for the harvest -
Asters and pumpkins, cider and bonfires
Brilliant leaves offset by brooding skies -
Daylight fades sooner
Dawn shimmers with dew
Coolness set in
yet butterflies and dragonflies
still fill the fields
holding on as long as they can.
I, too, am holding on, clinging to summer -
The siren song of autumn is drawing me in,
enticing me.
It is my only choice -
to embrace and rejoice.

I miss

Right now, I miss lots of stuff. I miss walks in the woods. I miss walks in the woods with my camera. I miss my camera - we haven't bonded in ages. I miss sharing cool stuff with you guys, like this...

A fantastic moth found in our living room in early August. I think it may be Conchylodes ovulalis but I am still waiting for confirmation on that (ID has been confirmed by the regional co-ordinator of Butterflies and Moths of North America). Look at that coloring, and check out the antennae!

I had to run quickly to catch this before the sun went down and the effect was lost.

Tired and tattered, but a butterfly's still got to eat! Tiger Swallowtail (I think) on Joe Pye Weed.

Two interesting bugs I found - one in the woods, one in Dave's truck. I'd love to tell you about them sometime.
I miss writing, both informatively and in prose form. I miss catching up with your blogs, and connecting with you. Guestudio work has been, continues to be, ongoing. It's ironic that this place we are making, intended as a haven for my creative endeavors, is taking me away from... my creative endeavors. But soon enough it will be finished, and I will be settled at my desk, looking out at the woods, smiling and writing and sharing once again. Until then, I am making a vow to myself to go for a walk in the woods this weekend, no matter what.

Labor Weekend - Guestudio update

Hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend. I had hoped to spend a little time outdoors at some point, but there was just too much to do. Dave and I labored all weekend long and managed to prime and paint the entire guestudio! Here's the progress report.


The last time I shared photos of the place, the drywall had just started to go up. Here is the main room as it stood with the drywall just hung.

Here we have the same room, with the beginnings of the drywall taping and mudding process.

Fast-forward to today, when we got those walls painted!

Same view, but taken from the loft.

Speaking of the loft, here is looking up toward the loft, pre-drywall.

Drywall hung, waiting for tape and mud.

The scene as of today, all painted. Sorry for the shadows, but I didn't feel like using the flash.

A view from the outside, with all the siding hung. It's got trim around it now, too, but I haven't taken a picture since they hung the trim for some reason.

Looking back toward the parking area. Emmett is the official greeter of both the house and the guestudio.
There you have it folks. Lots of progress made in a short time, but still lots more to do. I'll try to keep you posted.