Rusty Pumpkins & Flower Fields

It only took me six years, but I finally made it out to a Pumpkin Patch.

A road trip out to Marble Falls, to a pumpkin patch and wildflower farm called Sweet Berry Farms.  Armed with my Polaroid camera and Instagram as my back up.  What a divine morning!  Complete with blue skies, sunshine and fall temperatures.  The farm is outfitted with a corn maze, pumpkin and face painting, a petting zoo,  a small gift shop, flower picking, horseback rides and hay rides.  Lots of fun to be had, even if you're just young at heart.

Life Is Beautiful

Tucked on a hillside with killer views of downtown Austin and nestled behind the hustle and bustle of Lamar Street, there is a place that I think is magical. 

Always changing.  Inspiring.  Colorful.  Imaginative.  Passionate. 

It is a maze composed of crumbling walls, overgrown weeds, broken glass, and endless twists of creativity.

Hello Graffiti Park.

 

 

She Who Hangs Out in Cemeteries

A slight fall breeze tempting trees to shed their leaves.  Specks of sunshine through gauzy layers of clouds.  The lure of juniper & cypress softly scenting the air.  Bits of branches and layers of freshly fallen leaves beneath our feet.  Wandering without direction yet with respect to the death below us.  What a beautiful morning to visit Oakwood Cemetery.

" Remember youth as you pass by,

   As you are now, so once was I,

   As I am now so you must be,

   Prepare for death and follow me."

 

~ Oakwood Cemetery Tombstone

Waiting for leaves to fall

I've stocked up on canned pumpkin and chicken broth.  Rearranged my closet to include sweaters again.  Bought two pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks (only two pumps - three is just too sweet for me!).  Smiled each time I see pumpkins stacked high at Central Market.  Witnessed one cool morning - it was only 70 degrees... that's a big deal right now!  And I've raked leaves twice, my neighbor's leaves that fall in my yard, our trees haven't lost their leaves yet.  So what I'm trying to say is, I'm ready for you Fall, please visit and stay awhile!!

Preparations for Apple Crumble - Yum!

Riverside

Our annual trip to the Mason River Cabin is something I know we all look forward to each year.  Even though it seems to end too soon, it is always a welcomed retreat to our daily chaos.
I'm still learning the ropes on the art of film... obviously I have quite a way to go.  For some reason I can't seem to mute the background noise - so yes, for those of you that were there, that is Mike Kelly whistling for us to have dinner while Brooke and Kanah enjoy a peaceful moment on the back of Kevin's pick up truck.  Thanks to all of you that make this weekend so memorable!  Until next time...   xoxo



Mason Trip 2013 from Bonnie on Vimeo.

Eight Years

A flurry of blonde fur
velvety soft ears
inquisitive, searching chocolate brown eyes
and a big brushy tail that has attempted to knock many beverage glasses over in one clean sweep.

Our Noah-dog.

He was only 14 weeks old when we rescued him from Lafayette, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina blew through in 2005.

A blonde ball of fluff with floppy ears and a goofy grin.
He was the best "student" in puppy class - learning "leave it" was SUCH a breeze, he made training easy.   Although now he has become a little more stubborn in his older years.

He isn't the best cuddler- he prefers his space.  Although around meal time he awards you with extra love - in order to get his food sooner...

I always feel safe when he's around, he is my protector, my guardian dog.

Today he turns 8 years old.  We don't have any children, but I understand when families look at their child and proclaim, "Oh my, where has the time gone?  You have grown up so quickly!"

So a toast to our first pup on his 8th Birthday - may your kibble always be laced in cat food, your dreams full of squirrel conquests, and your trips to the dog park never-ending.


*regretfully I only have a handful of photos when Noah was just a puppy... but here are two taken at my parent's ranch house when he was still really young - notice his ears still didn't stand all the way up!  The last polaroid photo was taken today, while he enjoyed his daily ritual of sunbathing.

xoxo

Sunbathers

For a few brief moments today, we were all outside, cohabitating peacefully - both dogs AND the cat... the dogs basked in the heat of the day while Miss Kitty and I retreated to the shadows.  This was the first time all animals have gotten along without trying to pounce, stalk or take a bite out of each other.  Woohoo!  Definitely worthy of a second blog post in one day.  !!  Gotta love the expression I get from them... really, it was peaceful without incident.  xoxo

Brown Paper Packages

One of my polaroids is being shipped to San Francisco today - all prettied and packaged up!
hmmm... maybe I need to hand deliver it so I can go to San Fran... escape some of our heat.  Good customer service I'd say.  Almost Friday!!!

Drifting Downstream

as stillness lies
hushed against backdrops of grey skies
breeze is slight
water like ice, currents forcing a chill beneath bone
green grows wild
creating a veil, surrounded
thoughts normally rampant, slow and drift along
following the river down stream


*******

A trip to a childhood memory, also known as ConCan, with my mom, grandma, and sister back in May.  We stayed along the Frio River in a rustic cabin within walking distance to the river.  Just looking back on some of those photos.  I'll share more soon.  xoxo

Monday Forecast: Rain

Overcast today.  Sitting quietly at my desk while the rain falls steadily outside.  Coffee.  Quiet.  Just listening to the rain drops.  Hello Monday.  You aren't so chaotic today, thank you...

Summer Snapshots

June was a bit of a blur... heavy workload, the addition of a new puppy, and lots of life lessons to deal with.  Let's just say last month began with us camping in our tent in the front yard because the Carbon Monoxide detector went off (not to mention I had been feeling dizzy and nauseous most of the day while working from home).  A simple trivia book left in Josh's truck by one of his friends probably "saved our marriage" on an ill-fated trip to visit my parents (horrible I-35 traffic with two roll-overs, the puppy throwing up all over the back seat, trying to just buy a cup of coffee but having to stop 4 times until actually getting one, and then missing our exit and driving an extra 30 minutes out of the way...).  Finding out Miss Kitty has renal failure.  Spending $1500 in vet bills because our new puppy had a tough start health-wise, and countless other little things that just add up to one blur of a hectic month.

SO here were are in July.  Still a bit of a rough start to the month, but this past weekend has been happily received.  Our good friends from Houston came to visit for the 4th of July.  Wonderful food, kayaking and paddleboarding on the lake, a shuffleboard tournament (we let them win since they were guests...), did I mention good food, and watching the bats fly out on South Congress bridge and the fireworks over the lake while listing to the symphony streaming on an iphone while perched high in Josh's office with front row views galore.  To finish out this much needed escape from the chaos of late, Josh and I went on a date night this evening to the Long Center to listen to the symphony on their front lawn.  We took a picnic dinner - tuna salad with baguettes, smoked mozzarella pasta and Belgian chocolate mousse for dessert.  Even the weather cooperated - 84 degrees, breezy and cloudy with the occasional clap of thunder in the distance.  Lounging on a picnic blanket, drifting away to the sounds of classical music with my wonderful husband by my side - it was the perfect way to wrap up the weekend. 

Happy to be back on the ole' blog - hope to post again soon...  meanwhile, a few snapshots of summer thus far.

The new puppy, Cole.  He is the most difficult to capture on Polaroid... wiggles way too much!

Miss Kitty staying cool in the shade on a hot summer day.

The two boys... blurry because it's their first Polaroid together and they won't stay still... training in progress...

A perfect Sunday evening at the Long Center, listening to the symphony.  Isn't he handsome!!

Early morning walk has me drooling over an old truck.

Prelude to a Storm

Outside, the rain is softly falling, the last drops of a storm from earlier this evening.  A spur of the moment walk to the park gave witness to ominous clouds rolling in and low growls of thunder trembling the earth beneath our feet.  A shift in the wind and you could feel the sky preparing to lose control - air thick as molasses, scents of damp soil, underbrush and wildflowers.  Even though we were far into the open fields, the clouds hung low, heavy and cumbersome.  With each step the darkness followed closely at our heels, the wind picking up speed, our pace hastening, making our way back home before the storm.

 

 

Adventure Before Noon

We hit the road at 6 AM.  Destination, Enchanted Rock.  Watching the sun rise over the Texas Hill Country is pretty spectacular to witness.  My polo film wasn't in its best form on this trip - the gusts of wind while hiking on "the rock" probably didn't help... oh and my neglect to check the exposure setting... I was kind of distracted.  Blue skies for miles, crisp cool air, wildflowers, the hubs, dog and myself on a family adventure.  Hello weekend, oh how I love you. 

Salt & Sea

A perfect day hiking a stretch of the Northern California coastline through  Little River and Mendocino.  The day before had been rainy & cold without a peep of sun.  This particular morning we were greeted with brilliant blue skies dotted with puffy clouds and crisp ocean breezes.  We set out mid - morning, after another ridiculously indulgent breakfast.  It was about a mile to reach the headlands trail from the Inn, through cypress trees and tall grasses - and me anxiously looking around every curve in fear of a mountain lion sighting.  The risk was worth the reward - through the thick brushy trail, a wide expanse of ocean and crashing waves greeted us - as far as the eye could see.  We stood there for a while, just admiring and taking in the beauty of it all.  Then Josh started exploring, walking further out towards the ocean on the rocky Cliffside - I started saying my prayers, please don't let the Ocean eat Josh, please.... (you'd think I would just enjoy the beauty around me instead of worrying so much... ).  Thankfully, he made his way back safely and we continued along the trail.  At one point I was lingering behind, trying to snap the perfect shot when I heard Josh yelling - my first thought was he was being attacked by that mountain lion...  more prayers and obscenities and prayers for saying obscenities after a prayer... and I found him safely standing on the cliff pointing towards the ocean.  Whales!  We got to see the whales migrating.  A whole pod of them - spouts of water shooting through the air and you could see them surfacing - we really couldn't believe it.  Everyone had been saying to be on the look out for whales since this is the time of year they are migrating, but we just dismissed it because what was the chance we would even see them... people spend hours, if not days searching the seas in hopes of a sighting.  And hear we were, just walking along, me afraid of mountain lions and then all of a sudden, there they were.  I didn't think I would be as excited as I was - it was such an experience to witness them!

From there we decided we needed to take a picnic out by the sea.  One of the inn keepers suggested we go out to Point Cabrillo Lighthouse for the ocean views and picnic tables.  So we packed up our lunch from the local grocery store and I grabbed a few goodies from the Inn and we made our way to the Lighthouse.  We took the long way to get out there... probably about a mile hike, and we were pretty hungry at this point, but the views really were incredible.  Our lunch consisted of chicken salad with freshly baked French bread, seaweed salad and a couple of no bake cookies from the Inn.  We had a front row picnic table view of the ocean - you really couldn't have asked for a better way to dine.  I'm not really sure how long we sat there, but it was hard to leave. 

It's hard to leave this blog post now.  Going through the polaroids, taken just over a month ago - time really does fly.  So today I'm saying a little prayer of thanks - thankful for those perfect days that make all your worries go away.    xoxo