Monday Escape: Autumn Is Icumen In

 

I suppose it is technically already here, but until the temperatures drop to the low 60s on a steady basis, I prefer to continue living as if it’s summer. Still…it is creeping up on us! I took this yesterday afternoon somewhere near the Hocking Hills. There’s not a ton of colour yet, as you can see near the right side of the frame, but there’s more colour in Hocking than there is in the Columbus area, which I found a little odd. Then again, the summer was rather bizarre, so maybe that is affecting how the trees turn.

Since sharing the colour was really my goal here, I actually fuzzed out all the detail of the leaves and grasses, which I found distracting.

Have a beautiful day!

Someone Has A little Bit Of Work Ahead

It is unseasonably cold, but here comes the food! Today I’ll be putting up salsa, candied jalapenos, Szechuan beans and some other goodies lest all this bounty to go waste (and I hate to see food wasted). Wish me energy, and do pardon the hurried, excited
phone photos.  😉

My very professional method of gathering from the garden.

Lauren Bacall: 1924-2014

My goodness.

CC BY-SA 2.0

One of the sultriest women Hollywood had to offer—one who could smolder while still being classier than everybody else on (and probably off) the screen—has left us. She was so tough—I sort of never thought I’d see this day. Bacall gave the impression, amongst many other impressions, that she simply had no interest in leaving this mortal coil.

Rest in peace, Lauren.

Whimsy from HovercraftDoggy: We want to sail away

Originally posted on hovercraftdoggy:
Sail Away – a constantly expanding, large-scale installation in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern in London, consisting of hundreds of small boats made from paper money bills, maps and tickets from all around the world…

Swish, swish, swish…

That’s the sound my skirts often make. I just whipped up a new collection, featuring quite a few beautiful skirts and full-skirted dresses, from vintage to fine art. Enjoy!

Skirting The Issue

Curated By: LibertyImages

ArtFire.com

 

Memorial Day

As I’m usually at an observance on Memorial Day, I like to have a picture from that actual Memorial Day (first known as Decoration Day) to share with everyone. This year’s is, due to some mildly weird circumstances, not my best, but the sentiment is heartfelt.

I sincerely hope all of you were able to make it to a Memorial Day service of some sort, be it at a church as this was or at a local cemetery or war memorial. Our lives are so easygoing, really, especially when compared to that of a soldier at any time. Thousands upon thousands have laid down their lives for their fellow Americans. The very least we can do is honour them with one day of rememberance.

They are not forgotten, their sacrifice and that of their loved ones is not forgotten.

Prayers For Oklahoma

Please Donate to Oklahoma Tornado Relief Here (Salvation Army)

News 9 Oklahoma is accepting donations as well, click or text FOOD to 32333 to donate $10

I’ve been outside much of the day and am just hearing about the mile-wide probable EF4 tornado that sent 160-200MPH winds through Oklahoma City for almost an hour today. This is unimaginable to me. Photos already coming out from Oklahoma City and Moore show piles of cars, smashed buildings, bizarrely naked plains that were once neighborhoods. The word “devastation” does not really seem big enough. You can see a time-lapse video of the tornado’s progression here. It is astounding. We are hearing reporters and locals break up in tears as they talk to local and national news anchors. And if you’ve seen some photos and footage, you’re probably feeling the same way.

Frighteningly, storms capable of producing tornadoes continue to roll east, across portions of Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri—all three states dear to my heart for many reasons, not least because they’re all Route 66 states. This is the heartland indeed—and the people in these places are just so wonderful.

Looking at the radar right now, there are the blotches of deep red, orange, and hot pink that so unnerve anyone familiar with radar, and the band is rolling right up the 66 corridor. I’ve all sorts of friends here and days like this leave me physically ill with worry, as I’m sure they do so many of you.

Folks on Twitter are telling me that the debris ball dragging along with the tornado is suspected to have been two miles wide. At least two schools have collapsed, with children still inside, because of these storms. As you can imagine, many are still trapped.