The Back is Pretty, Too!

I turned the heirloom bedspread over today to begin cutting and found this beautiful work of embroidery on the back. These are the backs of the blanket stitches. Aren't they beautiful? I had to look pretty closely to see how Great Great Grandmother ended one colored thread and began another without leaving a trace of the change. You can see how she wove the thread back through existing stitches in the bottom example. The yellow thread, middle photo, is the "messiest" spot on the whole bedspread.

Neighborhood: November!

October at CloudCover Cottage

A Marsh Morning

FarmBoy and I took our Saturday morning walk into the marshes again this morning, and we were delighted to find a path we had not been on before. As soon as we stepped onto it, we realized we had disturbed two little brown rabbits. One darted immediately into the bushes alongside the trail, but the other scurried for many feet down the middle of the path ahead of us, in full view. I am pretty sure that was so that we would be certain to acknowledge that he was sporting a truly fabulous and unusually large white tail, which was worth risking all to display.

Before turning around at trails end, which was a sidewalk and a road, we breakfasted on wild blackberries, which were growing so high as to look more like a blackberry tree than a bush. Then, on our way back from where we had come, we were surprised to realize, in the lowest-lying part close to the marsh, that we were walking among numerous shiny yellow-green frogs. There must have been hundreds of them, thumbnail sized, springing like popping corn for several yards, among the tall grasses on either side of the trail. We walked ahead single file, with our eyes fixed on our feet, to be sure we didn't step on any of the little guys.

Back in the woods closer to home, we saw a tiny squirrel, gnawing away on a nut as he perched on a tree branch. Nothing surprising in that, but a joy to witness all the same.

Sweets in the Air

I love September! The weather here is perfect. Today as we took a morning walk, a breeze rustled in the leaves of the trees, making the most calming of music. But the highlight today was the smell of the forest. Something happens in September to make the air smell like spun sugar at a country fair. Except, this sugar is colored gold.

Neighborhood Park

Here is a favorite park not far from our house. Isn't it inviting?

Blackberries and Milk

Last evening's walk was down this road to our neighborhood gas-station/store, where we bought a gallon of milk. On the way back, we picked blackberries, which are abundant now--and sweet, mostly. This morning I dined on fresh blackberries with my yogurt. Such a treat was well worth the new scratches on my arms. (There is a slight price to be paid for wild blackberries, after all.)

Trail Reopened!

One of our favorite neighborhood trails has been closed for months. Today it was open, and we discovered a new drain, seen here, and that the mounds of dirt that had been piled up for months had been planted in wildflowers. What a nice surprise.

Elements of Traditional Neighborhood Design

Here are some elements of Traditional Neighborhood Design in our community, which I captured while on our walk this morning: porches,
parks,
sidewalks,
and garages in alleys, rather than in front of the homes.

Today's Walk

We walked out in the marshes again today. Here is a picture of the largest marsh. Just makes you think mosquitoes, doesn't it? FarmBoy got bitten, despite wearing the Buzz Off insect-repellent shirt I bought him for his birthday.

He is just an attractive, lovable guy.

Katrina Cottages

Does anyone else think that this is pretty intriguing? Katrina Cottages at Lowe's.
There are some more photos here on Flickr, too. These little houses can be really quite beautiful.

Sunday Shots of Green

Thanks to Kate for these beautiful pictures from over by the water. Didn't get out today myself. I'm glad she was able to, and that she brought back and shared these healing views.

Neighborhood Walk

Met a New Friend on Our Walk Today

Marsh Walk

FarmBoy and I walked in the woods and marsh today. Very beautiful, as you can see. But the mosquitoes are a problem, at least for him. They don't bite me, but he says that they use me as an aircraft carrier from which to launch their attacks. We did a lot of swatting and slapping, but it was worth it for the good visit, the exercise and, not least of all, the beautiful sights.

A Daily Dose of Nature

This is a path not far from our house, near the cliffs that overlook the water. There is something so healing to me about all that green. (And isn't that God shining through in the upper left corner?)

Neighborhood View

Here is one of our neighborhood walking paths. It is so refreshing.

Wildlife

FarmBoy and I were blessed to see a live Western Bluebird while on our walk yesterday afternoon. They are indigenous to this part of our state, but not to where we moved from, although we were only twenty miles away, so I had never seen one before. I felt honored.

We also ran into a weasel headed straight down the dirt road toward us, with--I am sorry to tell you--a dead baby rabbit in its mouth. The rabbit was about the same size as the weasel, so he had to keep stopping to rest and adjust his load, and he trotted with his tail stuck straight up in the air, which we assumed was for counter-balance. He was awfully cute, in spite of his grisly load, but I don't think he was happy to run into us. He stuck to the road for quite a while, then finally turned off into the marsh grass when we got too close.

The other day, while walking back from a visit to the local medical clinic, I had a deer walk right across the path a few yards in front of me. She just looked at me, and I walked on forward. But I hadn't realized there was a second deer, who stepped out to cross and was startled by my presence. I heard her frantically retreating, breaking branches and splashing around in the marsh water as I moved on. So sorry.

I never thought I would get to live in a place with so much wildlife about. We have also crossed paths with a coyote, on the same old road through the marsh behind our house, which was quite exciting. We have also seen beavers and opossum and raccoons around, as well as squirrels and chipmunks and little brown rabbits, and a wide variety of birds.

I feel very blessed to live here, once again.

Spring View

This is the view out my window now. Thank you, FarmBoy, for so beautifully filling the window boxes. And thank you for three years in our lovely home. Happy anniversary!