What Color is a Scarecrow?

“Don't be silly, Toto. Scarecrows don't talk.”

 

The second offering this year in my Color Collage posts, centers around a Fall icon that is near and dear to my heart!  That sentry of the fields, the Lord of the Harvest himself....the SCARECROW!  Just what is a cornfield without it's mighty protector, the Scarecrow, anyway?  Nothing I say!  Every field needs a good Scarecrow to oversee the crops and keep those pesky crows from feasting on the goods before they get to market!  And the size, style and colors of the Scarecrow are as unlimited as your own imagination of course.  

So when I ask myself the question...What Color is a Scarecrow?  I do not get one particular color or color scheme coming to mind.  No, I see lots of colors...a variety as diverse as the Scarecrows and the Crops they guard.  What about you....does any one particular color resonate with you when you envision a Scarecrow?  Or do you also see a multitude of colors coming to mind?  And...do YOU have a Scarecrow standing guard in your yard during the Autumn months?  We do, but ours is a bit 'dark' if you will, not much color other than his big ole' punkin' head!  :o)

Autumn Through my Lens

A tangerine and russet cascade

Of kaleidoscopic leaves

Creates a tapestry of autumn magic

Upon the emerald carpet of fading summer.

~ Judith A. Lindberg

Today's post is a collection of quintessential Autumn shots that I photographed from around New England.  They could be from Vermont, Massachusetts or New Hampshire, depending on what ever back roads we were lost on at the time.  The one thing that always holds true there, is the color.  Even a bad year for color in New England is far more glorious than most places.  These images are from different years, but most of them incorporate bodies of water of some type or other....lakes, falls, streams.  The foliage always seem to be brighter and more lovely near the water.  I guess the leaves respond well to all the moisture!  {Sigh} I never tire of photographing and reveling in the splendor that is Autumn!  (You can click the images to view larger, as I can't fit the larger size on my page without cutting some off.)  Ahhh...New England, oh how I love thee....

And as of TODAY....I am officially on AUTUMN TIME!!!

  

 

  

  

 

 

All Images © Wendy A. (All Rights Reserved)

What Color Is An Apothecary?

As many of you know, October is the month that I commence to posting a few of my Color Collage Boards. (To view past Color Collage Boards just look through the back posts for any with "What Color is ________?" in the title.)
I am beginning my Color Collages this month with one of my favorite Hallowe'en Inspirations.....The Apothecary! In fact, I love Apothecaries so much that I designed my entire Hallowe'en Decor on them. So what color IS an Apothecary anyway? Or rather, what color comes to your mind's eye when you think of an Apothecary?

For me it would have to be Brown....a dark, muted shade that is derived from the many dusty old Brown and Clear bottles sitting up on the shelf. The creamy Tans of their yellowing labels, weathered and peeling with age. The rich Brown wood of a mortar and pestle used to pulverize spices and herbs. And the dark, Burnt Umber Browns of the large Apothecary Cabinet with its many small drawers that house the magical ingredients for the Potions, Compounds, Bitters and Elixirs.

So what Color do you associate with an Apothecary...and why?
(All images found on We [heart] It)

Blue Moon Party This Weekend!

Image © Paying it Forward - One Day at a Time

Hooray! It's Friday and a long holiday weekend here in the states!

So surely everyone knows by now what tonight is....but, just in case you live under a rock and haven't heard....tonight is the Full Moon! But it's not just any ole' Full Moon mind you....no, tonight's Moon is special because it's a Blue Moon! Blue Moons infrequently occur when there are 2 Full Moons within the same calendar month. So my birth month of August seems to for once in my life, have something special associated with it this year....something even auspicious perhaps! The first Full Moon actually occurred the day before my birthday on August 1st, and now the second Full Moon will present tonight, August 31st.
So what is the scoop on the 'Blue Moon' from the astrological world? Well the overall vibe of this Blue Moon is said to be a good one that lends itself to the Unusual and the Eccentric! Apparently it has an 'aspect pattern' known as a 'streamer'.....(and no, I have no idea what that means either)! But the gist is that this Blue Moon's coordinates put it in the sign of Pieces on the fixed star 'Skat', in the constellation of Aquarius. And that star 'Skat' is considered a 'fortunate' star which gives "good fortune and lasting happiness". It also imbues us with 'psychic ability' and 'occult interests', so we should use this Blue Moon to plug into the 'stream of consciousness'. Additionally, there is some other planetary posturing that may allow us to "receive messages from other realms".Now I don't know what you guys are thinking.....but I'm thinking
BLUE MOON PARTY!! This sounds like an 'Unusually Eccentric' good time, just waiting to be had!

Head outdoors and find a good seat under the 'Starry Night Sky', throw back a few glasses of wine or beer, soak up some much needed 'Lunar Rays', maybe try to read each others minds for awhile, break out the Tarot Cards, do a little 'Moon Dancing', and then kick back on the lounge chair and await our 'Celestial Download' of messages to arrive from planets beyond! I even found some Blue Moon Treats to satisfy those late night munchies! (Recipe for Blue Moon Cupcakes). So what do you think? Anyone up for a Blue Moon Party tonight?!If not....no worries! This Blue Moon is still an auspicious one, so at least go outside and make a wish or two while you ponder the Cosmos, 'cause the next Blue Moon won't come 'round again until July, 2015! And don't forget to cue up King Harvest's "Dancing in the Moonlight" on your iPod while you're at it! Have a great weekend, and may the 'Good Fortune' of this Blue Moon be Yours!

(Images found on We Heart It, no copyright info)

What Color Is A Vampire?

I've decided to interrupt my regularly scheduled programming of my 'RavenWood Apothecary' tour, to post my last Color Collage post for the month of October. I will resume with the Apothecary tour tomorrow if I can get out of my daughter's volleyball tournament at a decent time. So today I ask the COLOR question.....'What Color Is a Vampire?'

There is no denying the popularity of Vampires in today's 'blood thirsty' culture! We can't seem to get enough of these creatures of the dark. And that got me to pondering on COLOR, as things often do....specifically Red of course! I mean the Vampire has to be the Halloween icon most closely associated to blood, since it is their life force. So I asked myself....What Color Is A Vampire? Or more precisely, what color(s) do I associate with Vampires and what colors do you associate with them?

I seem to have a more 'Gothic' 'Romantic' notion to Vampires, which I realize is probably historically inaccurate since they have a villainous background. But the colors of Red, Black, Grey and White are what my mind's eye sees when I think about Vampires. I think of them as dark, refined perhaps, Gothic, formal and yes, maybe a bit romantic. That romantic part no doubt stems from Gary Oldham in "Bram Stoker's Dracula". (Which I know some of you loathe, sorry.) But I just totally dug his long hair, top hat and dark round sun glasses. I found it to be kinda sexy, and I probably would have let him bite me too in all honesty...ha! And it's also been a while since I've seen "Interview with a Vampire" ala Anne Rice...but I seem to recall Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt being somewhat pretty and refined in that version too. So maybe those commercial Hollywood images taint my vision somewhat.

What colors do you associate with Vampires....anything dramatically different? And how about a Vampire Wedding? Would the phrase "Til Death Do Us Part" still apply at a Vampire wedding? Or should we say, "Immortally Ever After"?

Hello Autumn, My Old Friend - Part 1 of 2

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.

The winds will blow their own freshness into you,

and the storms their energy,

while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

~ John Muir

Well...I am sad to report that we are now home from our Autumn vacation....boo hiss! Why is it that vacation passes SO stinking fast? And why oh why do I live in Florida when there are states out there as beautiful as Vermont and New Hampshire? {sigh}Okay, enough feeling sorry for myself....moving on! Vacation was pure Fall Fabulousness as always, BUT, it was somewhat lacking on the two most important things I look forward to when heading to New England. And those two things were 1.) Cold Weather and 2.) Colorful Leaves. Apparently we got there too early this year, and right in time for a warming trend. So not only was there a decided lack of color to the trees, but some days it was literally warm enough to wear shorts. If that doesn't suck acorns, I don't know what does!!

(My son on the zip-line)

But never one to dwell on the negative for too long...I decided I would not let it dampen my commune with my old friend Autumn! Besides...what is 'shorts' weather to you northerners, is still sweater weather for me.

(Yours truly, happily flying zipping across an autumn ravine.
All I need is a pointed hat and a broom! )

So on our first day there, we drove up to Stowe Vermont and up into Smuggler's Notch to do some Zip-Lining. We've zip-lined before in Gatlinburg, TN, but ArborTrek's ZipLine at Smugg's puts that to shame. It was truly incredibl,e zip-lining through the tree canopy in Autumn. High above the mountain sides, over streams and gorges....from one tree platform to another. It takes almost three hours to complete, has really long zip lines, (with one being almost 1000 ft. long), and two rappels off the platforms to the ground below. That was new for us....we've never rappelled before....and I must be honest and say that it was scary and I didn't much care for that part. The harness actually bruised the ribs in my back. But I'm glad that I did it, and I would most certainly do it all again. Yes, I'm pretty sure that the Smuggler's Notch Zip-Lining will now be a family tradition every time we go back to New England, because it was just that fantastic!The color was just starting to turn when we arrived, which disappoints me because those lucky jokers who had reservations on the day we came home....were zipping through a multi-colored Autumn wonderland. But...beggars can't be choosers, and I'm just grateful to have been there at all.

(My daughter acting crazy on the zipline,
and giving me a nervous breakdown.)

So after we finished zip-lining, we had to travel back down through Smuggler's Notch. And since it was so beautiful outdoors, we decided to pull off at some of the viewing areas and climb up the rocks on the side of the mountain. The color was better in this area, although it was mostly bright yellows and gold with a little oranges here and there. The kids took off up the mountain to see what they could see, while I found myself a big flat boulder up on the mountain side and decided to lay down on it and try to connect with the earth's energy. This was pure bliss for me!

I laid there feeling the coolness of that rock while staring up at a canopy of golden leaves. The warmth of the setting sun filtered through just enough to make the leaves glisten like real gold. The air was cool and dry, and had the most incredible earthy smell to it. It smelled fresh and clean...of herbs and leaves and moss and earth....it smelled like only Autumn can smell. And as I laid there, I was quite certain that it was my version of Heaven. I would gladly tarry there for eternity if only I could.Then I thought to myself..."if only my Halloween friends could be here enjoying this very spot with me"! For only THEY can truly appreciate and understand the depth of what Autumn offers to its 'Autumn People'. YOU all...could appreciate the solitude of laying on that massive rock, staring up in complete bliss at the glory of Autumn. So you know what I did? I decided I should take a few shots UP...so that I could share with you what I was viewing from my vantage point. I laid there on my back and lifted up my camera and shot what I saw above me. I was feeling very connected to the cycle of life, to the changing seasons, and to the earth itself....when my blissful solitude was broken by the excited shrieks of my children....calling out to me that they had found a 'treasure box' up in a cave on the mountainside. Knowing their active imaginations, I "yes deared" them while trying to get back into my zen space....but they were relentless. I HAD to come and see it right that very minute. Of course I was somewhat peeved that I had to trek myself up the mountain to see some imaginary 'treasure box', but my son insisted it was real. The hubster then appears on the scene and confirms that it was indeed real. So I struggle to release the magnetic force that was connecting me to my rock, and carefully climbed my way up higher on the mountain, not sure of what to expect.

I had visions of some pirate chest perhaps....or more likely, an empty fast food container that they found and filled with pinecones, rocks and other 'treasures from nature'. But I was way off! They had indeed found a 'treasure chest' of sorts, and it was purely accidental. My son spotted it up in the crook of some rocks, so he and his sister decided to investigate it. And what a VERY COOL find it was too. Turns out...we opened that box up and discovered something brand new that we had no idea existed until that very day.

So I'll stop here and share our discovery with you in my next post.
All Images © 2011 Wendy A. and ArborTrek (All Rights Reserved)