it's sunday night with a cold wet rain falling. it's the night we put our garbage out. i can hear the scrape of the neighbor's plastic bins along the street. tom and i remind each other that it needs to be done. but neither of us wants to do the job. it's been a windy day, with bright sun and periodically the wind blew in rain. i hung white towels and linens on the line and they came in smelling of winter. and, although it's hard for me to admit openly, the scents of winter in my laundry are my favorite. they are fresh and distinct. i wrapped in my still damp towel after my late afternoon bath and kept my face in it, filling up with it's scent.there was football on tv while i ironed strips of fabric for quilts. and a fire in the fireplace. and we just returned from a neighborly gathering across the street. a potluck to which we contributed nothing but a bottle of wine. homemade perogies, baked beans, slow cooked bison, roasted root vegetables, apple/rhubarb crisp and apple cranberry cake. the children played upstairs in the loft under the eaves. some of us collected around the table, while others found softer seats. and we talked about our weekends and the upcoming week. recent happenings in the neighborhood. new phones. work.
a lovely day.

after yesterday's lazy day (which turned out to be what i needed since i'm not even a little sick now) today has been busy and beautiful. the leaves are crackling underfoot. edgar & i walked along the harbour and found the ducks. in the gaggle of ducks in our harbour, there are 2 huge, white domestic ducks with bright orange beaks. they've been here a couple of years and they seem to fit in perfectly with the wild ducks.....who aren't so wild. they aren't afraid of edgar and are here all winter long, they refuse to migrate. and today the sun was bright and warm while we fed them and watched the boats coming out. it's always a little sad to see the boats on the crane, still and stiff and dry. but it's part of the autumn routine and is lovely in it's own way. it was the sort of day that autumn chores are less taxing. the sort of day that we should have put our storm windows on....but we're holding out for a few more warm sunny days of windows open wide with the smells of fall.

i was able to clean the house while watching football. and go buy some fabric.....and get an hour or so of studio time in. i took this photo walking back home across the yard from the studio where i was cutting squares for a quilt and watching the waltons. (i'm not sure if i've shared my obsession with the walton's yet). that will be a story for another time.