Lacy mitt

One mitt is nearly completed, and it fits.  I think I'll wait to finish the thumb when the other mitt is knit.  I like the pattern, and I'm getting a big dose of orange as I knit.  All good.

Early bird gets the...seeds?

The Chuckers have returned.  I saw them descend on my property last fall for the first time.  And they're baaaack.  What are they eating??  Some kind of seeds? I can't imaging what would draw them to this sagebrush bench, away from irrigated fields.  But they are here, daily, for about a week.  

Over the hill they go.

Yellow woods...

I can't help myself.  When I see yellow woods, I immediately think of Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken."  Frost used themes in nature to share great insights into human behavior, choices, and rituals.  I supposed I liked this piece from the time I was taught it, because I liked the idea that we sometimes stick to tough or unpopular or goal-oriented decisions, despite the uncertainty and entanglements that seem to await and challenge our progress.  But when we've taken "the road less traveled," it often makes "all the difference."  These paths, these experiences, were the very ones that helped expose latent talents... or untapped courage... or friendships you never expected.

It appears Frost wrote this poem in 1920...  getting very close to 100 years ago.  Just goes to show...  Truth has no age.

Limestone Road

Robert Frost (1874–1963).  Mountain Interval.  1920.

1. The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

Sighting Autumn near South Pass

Thanks, Lyle, for the leaf-peeping tip.  I had to go to Lander one day this week, and my plan was to extend the day into some picturing-taking opportunities.  I knew that would pretty much "shoot" the day, but what what the heck.  Everything else could wait.  

When Autumn waltzes through, you've got to be ready to dance.  Or, you'll be sitting, like a wallflower, either silently reprimanding yourself for not having more fortitude to get up and involved, or feeling sorry for your self-inflicted predicament.  I prodded myself, "Come on girl, let's shake a leg." 

After leaving Lander, I started climbing the pass, and sure enough,... there she was.  Her costumes were lit-up by the sun's rays and scattered here and there, as if she'd left them drop behind her,  enticing you to follow. 

 I don't know how she did it, but every garment appeared to be beaming in brilliant hues from its own internal light source. 

The occasional breezes sent her scarves and skirts spinning. 

  I was riveted by her showy costuming... and delighted to watch her nature-choreographed movement.

She's a spectacular performer, if you can catch the show.

I drove down Limestone Mt. Road... stopping repeatedly to capture caches of color.  It was glorious.

 

Better than TV

Sometimes the drama at the bird-feeder is better than TV. 

Ring-necked Dove decided she wanted to perch at a table for two, but to dine alone.  You know how a girl can want a little alone-time if the morning schedule has been particularly grueling, everyone vying for her attention and expecting her to accomplish the impossible with too little time and too few resources.  She was only asking for 15 minutes, tops, to unwind and regroup.  Well, ...and treat herself to some much-needed nourishment.

Alone time?  Who was she kidding?  The winged-paparazzi were there in minutes.  First disguised as an uninterested passer-by. He wasn't terribly intrusive.  But he had to go. 

















 Then another who sneaked in nearly undetected, but  was suddenly in-her-face obnoxious!   She would not tolerate it today.  She gave chase half-way round the table, and he left.  But in seconds, he returned.

 She puffed up, spread her tail, and flapped her wings in defiance of his very presence. He got the message. 

 I watched as he scampered down, up, back down,  in circles, weighing the decision to join her again.  Those flapping wings turned out to be too threatening ... and Miss Dove ... well, she made it to her next appointment on time, appearing unruffled.

Days of Gold

Nothing Gold Can Stay

by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.

Autumn on Flagstaff Road

Over the weekend, my friend Jane and I took off on Saturday in the early afternoon to make a trek to the Togwotee Pass area on the Continental Divide.  Just off the main highway between Togwotee Lodge and the Hatchet Resort, I remember traveling Flagstaff Road, perhaps 20 years ago, and thinking I must return. My how the time has slipped by.  To predict the best weekend to see the fall colors in the high country is a gamble.  However, I believe we timed this trip about right. 

We saw lots of yellow aspen mixed in between the forest evergreens.  In only a few places we spotted a lone tree sporting orange.  I can't say we saw shades of red, which was disappointing.  "Hey Mother Nature, did you forget to put red on your color palette before you started painting Flagstaff Road?"

Because of the fires in states west of WY,  a smoky haze erased the rugged details of the Tetons which one can usually see, even from this distance.  I suppose we were fortunate to see their outline.

We are wondering if that freezing cold front that came through a couple weeks ago had something to do with altering the natural change of color in the aspens.  We saw a lot of yellow/brown in many of the aspen groves. 

Once we got back to the main highway, we stopped at a fairly new rest-stop located just east of Togwotee Lodge.  I'd never stopped there before,  but the view from that lookout is picturesque, for sure.  A sheltered look-out area with some legend boards and a mural are nicely displayed.  From there we headed home, stopping in Dubois for dinner.

I hadn't been home 5 minutes before the phone rang, and my neighbor couldn't wait to tell me that they had gone up to Atlantic City, and the colors there were spectacular.  Lots of oranges and reds.  So, perhaps that's the spot this year for leaf-peeping in Fremont County. 

A fresh orange

I took a deep breath and started a fresh cast-on for the orange fingerless mitts.  I think the sizing will work!  Or at least...so far, so good.

Here he is right at my feet.

I had to chase this little guy out of the grass in the yard again.  And he is not very scared of me.  I can get right up to him, less than an arm length away--and he just looks at me as if to say, "What's up?  Is there a problem?  Everything seems fine to me here in the tall, rich, tasty grass.  You want me to go?  Are you kidding??? Why???"

Orange frog

Ribbit...and double ribbit!  I had to frog it.  Bummer.  I had two inches completed.  I was trying to convince myself that it really wasn't too big around and that it would all work out fine if I just kept going.  After trying on the knitted cuff section over my hand numerous times, the orange light finally dawned on me that the size was not working out at all. I want orange fingerless mitts that fit well!  So.... I had to do it.

I cast on again, this time with fewer stitches (the small size).  It looks kind of small.  Hmmm. This better work out.  Frogging a second time just would not work for me.  Of course, my friend "Lyle" would say that the yarn and knitting project will last a lot longer if I keep frogging; it's a way to keep one's eyes from wandering toward new purchases so quickly. 

It's all about orange...

Well, the Broncos won their game on Sunday against KC...although it was a bit of a nail-bitter right down to the last seconds.  Keep that orange crush going, boys...

Speaking of orange, I have been looking at and enjoying the color like I never have before.  You may have seen the orange bracelet yesterday, and I decided I may as well pick up the orange yarn from my stash (thanks, Nancy S) and cast on a new project.  I'm likin' the orange... AND, I was inspired by one of kathy b's latest projects...so here I go...

A beautiful September morning...

  

The cold front passed through, but we're back to normal fall temps.  I couldn't, however, pass up the picture of snow on the foothills which lasted a little longer than the snow in my yard.  I like how the high peaks are visible between layers of clouds.  The leaves on a few trees have started turning, but the show of color is probably two to three weeks away. 

The chuckers are back.  They came through last year, and here they are again.  I don't know what they are finding to eat here, but they are poking/pecking around every morning.  15-20 of them were hanging out for quite a while.

I was inspired to make some jewelry this weekend, and the fall colors were inspiring me. 

Friday Foto

Sharing the breakfast buffet...

Adding to the wood pile...

I heard the roar of a semi.  What's up?  Oh yes, it's a sure sign of Fall when the neighbors get a semi-load of logs delivered for firewood! 

It was interesting to watch this guy unload the logs.  His experience and skill made it look so easy.

I suspect I'll be hearing the hum of a chainsaw in coming days... and the crack of wood on the wood-splitter. 

Fortunately, I have plenty of wood of the next couple of winters, so I can relax while watching the neighbors prepare their woodpile.  Hot chocolate, anyone?