harvest gathering film : made by lumineux

thanks to jenner's magical lens, we can all re-live this pretty little dinner.

enjoy.

harvest feast | part three | backyard goodness {images by britt chudleigh}

this is the late fall meal i am always dreaming of...and britt captured it beautifully.
and, honetsly, sarah winward's home is as magical as it looks.
they did a great job remodeling a post-war home, and bringing the yard to life.
as ceej and i look for our own place to settle i think i secretly hope to find something just
as good as this--that yard, with its foliage and beehives, makes any heart at peace.

i felt as if i had found eden--mostly because i was with gods and goddesses
who had a grace about them that is so admirable--
and maybe it was because sarah was about to have her first baby the very next day.
harvest. in every way.

thank you, dear women, for letting me join you in such a memorable supper.


{part one here. part two here.}

harvest feast | part two | dessert {images by britt chudleigh}

yes, this food was as delicious as it looks. britt's images have me wishing we could do this
meal together every single night.

those salted caramel pears were just right, and the cheese and fruit platter was just the kind of nibbling food i could eat forever.

oh, those were the days...before this new desk job i've got. sigh. the pros and cons of life.
i'm happy now, and i was happy then. which happy was my favorite?
hard to say.

hope you are all well and keeping warm.

{see part one here}

first snow : high in the mountains

 

a few weeks ago we had the first snow up in our mountains. snow. finally.
and, good news for this heart, it's snowing again in the higher elevations today
while it's good and rainy down here in the valley. this is the kind of day i pray for.
every. day.


this cloud cover and cool weather couldn't be more welcome.
this is the time of year when things slow down, providing for many
projects around the house to get done: organizing, building, baking, cleaning.
i love a slower pace after a summer full of travel, school, and adventure.


with each new snowfall, ceej and i drive up the canyon together, listening to the same
"mix tape" i've been listening to every first snowfall since i was seventeen...fourteen years in a row.
this is ritual. this is where my heart resides. a continual return to the beginning--to the first time.





f i r s t   s n o w   "m i x   t a p e"

| o n e |  simple birth (barbara higbie)

| t w o |  sliding down  (edgar meyer)

| t h r e e |  snow drive (snow falling on cedars)

| f o u r |  big country (bela fleck, edgar meyer)

| f i v e |  the holly & the ivy (alex de grassi)

| s i x |  short trip home (joshua bell, edgar meyer)

| s e v e n |  my heart's in the highlands (arvo part)

| e i g h t |  jesu, joy of man's desiring  (windham hill)



(am hoping that my future teenagers have similar music tastes)

taking time to let this autumn mood settle in : via john keats's "to autumn"

i woke up to a drizzle of raindrops, and went on my run through the sycamore-canopied streets in the dark...not knowing how thick the sky was with clouds--though i did notice i could not see the stars.
i drove to work before any warm light of the sunrise had appeared, but as the sky barely began to light i noticed low misty clouds settling at the base of the mountains, and heading straight up the canyon...
where the snow has started to fall. the first snow. it's here...up there in the mountains.

as usual, there is lots on the to-do list today, but i'm feeling a need to take a break--
to let this autumn settle into my heart. i've been so busy i've hardly had time to enjoy the leaves
changing in the mountains. there's been no baking of pumpkin spice nor has there been any
butternut squash soup. it's been a busy fall, and so now i'm soaking in this gray sky and its mists.

i'm dreaming too. i'm letting myself drift for a bit away from now. i'm imagining future days ahead.
i think about a home--because every fall i feel like i'm ready to put roots down in a small
home with wood floors, white walls, and big windows. i'm ready to have a kitchen to heat up spiced milk while reading ecological, botanical, and musical articles. i'm ready to have an office space to organize, create spreadsheets, make phone calls, and create business cultures that flourish. i'm ready to put pumpkins out on my porch, and set up the gravestones we made last year for halloween. i'm ready to crush up fennel seeds to make my favorite homemade ice cream. i'm ready to see my books stored and organized for me to browse through in the evenings...

but i'm feeling that "miles to go before i sleep" sensation. all of that sounds so comforting right now, and so i'll let it comfort me. because some day i'll have my roots planted. and now...back to now. back to studying in my small little room. back to trying to manage the clutter. back to taking one step at a time. back to appreciating a cup of licorice tea. back to appreciating arvo part's "my heart's in the highlands" piping through my headphones. back to this lovely gray sky and the snow that i know is somewhere up there in the mountains.