catching up...OCTOBER!

When I haven't been blogging for awhile, one thing that keeps me from returning is this deep-soul need to CATCH UP. And since I never have time to write 53 posts, then I don't write any. Tonight I gave myself a nice little pep talk, and marched on in to the computer, planning on doing a bit of etsy work (I'm Ba-ack!) and two blog posts: adding the photos to the last post (already written in October) and deciding on one holiday-project one. Too bad, so sad for me and my beauty sleep. I have to fit this in, just one afternoon in October:

Interesting little ancestral fact: the first Goates to immigrate to America was a master gardener. My father-in-law says for the king of England, but I haven't seen that substantiated. For a big ol' English manor house, definitely.

Well-known present-day fact: my Goates is not. Hates gardening, yard work, and anything related. He blames the forced labor of his youth.

Another well-known present-day fact: I'm easily distracted.

Anyway, it all means that our yard is usually a bit on the neglected side. We're kind of lazy groundskeepers, and have an affection for the wild world, anyway. Sometimes we like to let little start-ups grow. Like this little sumac. It started growing right along our courtyard fence, and when I noticed it at the end of last summer, I thought I'd just let it stay there through the end of the autumn because sumacs put on one fine color show. Which it did, that one-foot-tall little bright guy. Then winter, then spring, then busy, then l-o-n-g road trip, then home, then WOW-THAT-THING-GREW!, then, well, it was nearly autumn again! So we gave it a kiss and let it stay and while it's still in an awkward spot, oh-my-great-autumnal-goodness am I glad. Sunshine captured and delivered straight to my soul. It glowed for a couple of weeks and even the neighbors commented :).

This view from my kitchen sink, for example.Marian asked me to bring down the easel for her one afternoon and worked to capture a bit of the glory. I loved this with all my sumac-sunshine-autumn-and-child-loving soul.