There are still some colored leaves lingering in the woods, creating a lacy effect against the darker fir trees.
As I was walking in the woods taking some photos, I heard a "harrumph!" right behind me! Startled, I turned to find this squirrel complaining that I was too close to his tree! Then he curled up on this branch to keep an eye on me.
Our Halloween man has been sitting on the porch with a pumpkin in his lap for a few weeks, and we just noticed that someone has been making a meal of it! Right in his lap, next to our door. The brazen critter must be sitting on his legs - what a sight that would be! Bunny, squirrel, mouse? We'll have to keep our ears open for that nibbling sound . . .
Well, it was just last Friday that I was standing on dry ground in this area! By Saturday night it had filled up; obviously we had a bit of rain. If you look at this photo from Friday, I was taking pictures standing by the cedar tree that you can see at the center back of this shot.
And the birch leaves are all gone, except for a few lonely hangers-on like this one.
A wonderfully slimy white fungus growing on a log in the swamp.
And on a nearby stump, clumps of brown mushrooms.
The streambed is beginning to fill up - so far mostly from the amount of rain, but soon the whole watershed will fill, beginning with the pond on the uphill part of the property, it's overflow running downstream to fill the sphagnum bog, then the water winds through the flat forest area, with this being the last part to get the water before it goes into the pond across the driveway. It's always interesting to watch the progress.
HAH! Well, here is a blast from the past - my friend Fred sent this scan of one of our pig roasts - right foreground is the pit we dug for roasting the pig. This has to be about 30 years ago - how is it possible we are so slim and dark-haired?? But, you can see that I was taking photos then, too. This makes me want to dig through my boxes of prints and see if I can find the shots I took on this day.
I took this shot yesterday (the middle small photo below), but got a book out of the library about playing around in Photoshop, so here is a result. I changed the saturation, and used one of the artistic filters, added a black border and drop shadow, then put it on a beige mat. Always fun to learn new things!
A storm blew through last night, and there were some amazing clouds in the afternoon. Of course, the sun is setting at 4:30 already - hard to get used to!
This big black cloud was visible from everywhere, prompting me to go to the beach where I could really see the sky.
As the sun went down, the cloud shifted, and the light glowed on the edges.
The leading edge of the cloud picked up some of the light, too.
Art day was at Carol's today - and EVERYONE showed up, even a guest! Clockwise from lower left: Audrey, Mary ann, Suze, Jamie, Andy, Carol and Janet. Suze is headed back to FLA tomorrow, so it will be a while before she's back with us. Mary ann will hopefully be able to come often!
Carol shows her caricature quilt. 
A new project - "FLOW" - a pin made with a combination of inspirations. The fine wire twining is a technique learned from Marilyn Moore, and the pin and flattened ends ideas are from Mary Hettmansperger.
The Whidbey Weaver's Guild sale was yesterday and today - I had a shift as cashier, so go to see all the beautiful items that were sold! There was a great turnout, and it looked like sales were high. Above, the Greenbank barn is reflected in the duck pond.
The adjacent wetlands sported a whole flock of great blue herons - several line the edge of this pond.
The farm from up on the hill top.
Handwoven scarves at the sale.
The pink table. The items were arranged on tables according to color - it looked great!
