Lions and Tigers and Pumpkins...oh my!

Last year I made a trip to Jones Tree Farm, in Shelton, CT.  They have one of the best selections of pumpkins I have ever seen.  They also have acres and acres of Christmas trees...so if you do not have a chance to make it there for a pumpkin, you can try to get to the farm for a fresh cut tree!  The farm is over 150 years old, family owned and definitely worth the drive. In the "spirit" of Halloween, I wanted to share some of my photographs from last year.  Enjoy...and have a safe and Happy Halloween!

What are your plans for a spooky Halloween?

Fruits of the Season

march farms, bethlehem, ct

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween.  I do appreciate the holiday and I do love all the beautiful sights and smells of autumn...it's just the actual day I am not all that big on.  This year we went apple picking instead of pumpkin picking, which I was perfectly happy with.  We visited a farm not too far from us in Connecticut that we had been to in the past, March Farms.  We drove off into the fields (they also offer hay rides!) and followed all the well marked signs and filled our bags to the brim with apples.  The orchard is well layed out and the staff is really helpful in noting which apples are best for cooking and which ones are best for eating.  After, we visited the corn maze, which is fun and educational!  To get through the maze, you need to answer a series of questions where you learn about composting along the way.  On the way out, it is a must to stop by the store to pick up some fresh baked apple cider doughnuts.  We barely made it out of the shop before our bag was opened.  

March Farms does have a pumpkin patch.  We were a little early this year...so I ended up getting my pumpkins a few weeks later at the local market.

Any pumpkin carving plans in your future?

life as a square

I am professionally trained as a photographer (among other things).  When I spent my years at RISD, I majored in photography and was drawn to the medium format films and cameras, mainly because of the square frame and the square crop of an image.  As I explained to my students this summer, I was trained in photography before there was digital photography...something that is quite hard for the youth today to grasp.  Therefore, there was no cropping of images on a computer or instant viewing of what you shot like there is with a digital camera.  You got what you got, and dealt with it later in the darkroom.  That is actually what I loved and still do love so much about analog photography and film.  Capturing an image on film, and then the waiting, the anticipation, and surprise of what will come out, or what sometimes doesn't come out.  For my birthday this summer, Tom gave me a Diana mini.  I love it!  The mini is great because it takes 35 mm film, which can be developed at most local pharmacies and the processing isn't too expensive.  Also, even though it uses 35mm film, the camera internally crops the usual rectangle to a square, so you still get the square frame of the 120 film that the regular Diana takes!  These are some of my favorites from the summer...

tom's car climbing mt. washington

cliff jumpers...lake placid

hot dog, lake placid

earl...bradley beach, nj

feathered friend

dan, tom & spot (getting a free ride)

keith, tom, hope & spot

tent city

old truck...bradley beach, nj

♥

I currently have my first roll of 800 speed film in the camera.  

Can't wait to see how it comes out!

acorn harvest

So I have been working on a month long freelance tv styling job.  It has been fun, different, and is a lot of intense work...it's also been nice to be back around the tv world again.   This weekend however, I took a little break and had some time to relax.  On Sunday morning Tom, (my husband), and I went walking in one of our favorite places, which we happen to live right down the street from, The Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.  The reservation is part of the Westchester County Parks, and is over 4000 acres of beautifully preserved land.  When I woke up on Saturday, I noticed how all the leaves had really changed. Almost overnight it seemed like autumn arrived!   As we started into the reservation, it wasn't the only the leaves we were noticing, but below out feet and as far as we could see, the ground was covered with acorns!  It was as if someone layed down a lovely carpet of fresh acorns for us to walk on.  Now I don't know if you remember, but only 2 years ago, there was an actual acorn shortage in the East Coast; so the the abundance this year is pretty amazing and quite satisfying to see!  I loved looking at all the different species of acorns.  We also collected many that were in good shape and of proper size to use for my felted jewelry and holiday ornaments.  When I returned home, I placed the acorns we collected out on my front porch in a basket to dry.  Later that afternoon I noticed a "friend" stop by to inspect my bounty!  I suppose he was as excited as I was by the fruits of the season :)

maps of the park are available and trails are well marked

this was my favorite acorn...i thought it looked like a cute house

perfect caps for crafting!

even acorns change colors...who knew?

caught in the act!