Farewell October

Trying to get the perfect angle. 

Welcome November and the holiday season!

Acrobatic Chicken

A couple of our young chickens fancy themselves acrobats. 

I do not know what made these birds want to walk on the fence railing around our pool, but it was hilarious! 

These pictures were taken by Rachel several days ago, "For your blog," she said to me. Since then we have had rain, cold, and the first fire of the season. The smells are wonderfully cozy, and the crackling sounds are music to my ears. One of the worst things about all this coziness is trying to drag myself upstairs late at night, away from the fire and into the cold upstairs to get ready for bed. At least the cold combined with the warmth and comfort of my bed makes it easy to fall asleep at night. Sometimes I wish I could hibernate. 

Today the sun is shining and the members of the Pricklepants Society will soon be heading off to Starbucks for warm lunch and cozy book/life discussions. I think I feel like a hot pumpkin-spice latte today.   

Staying Happy

Sometimes, amidst the changing of seasons and lives, I feel too busy and restless to really enjoy life. My latest life project has been trying to find a small part-time job in our little town and I've been a little impatient about it. I feel like there's something in life that I'm missing out on, that destiny is passing me by. When that happens I find it hard to be my usual cheerful self and I don't like the feelings that take the place of wholesome happiness.

So late last night, while writing in my journal, I made a list of things to do to keep myself happy, and not let my inner moody "Hulk" take over.

1. Read Books More
I am generally a happier person as a bookworm (obviously).

2. Write About Good Things
Keeping up with my journal has not been top on my list of priorities lately, and when I do write it seems like it's always to complain. So I must write more and write joyfully.

3. Think About Good Things
The sad or angry feelings that come upon me come mainly from inside. It doesn't matter how beautiful the day is if I keep thinking of negative things.

4. Spend Time Outside
As long as the weather is fair I must spend time outdoors everyday, even if I just take a ten-minute walk through the garden. Fresh air and sunshine are as good for the spirit as the body.

That is the basic list to practice. There are other to be kept up with, housework (which I do enjoy to a point), knitting, playing music, but I don't want my list of requirements to become too long. That would just be counterproductive.

My amateur (or lazy) photography never seems to do things justice. You can't really see what I saw when I took this picture. I think one of the most beautiful things in the world is sunlight shining through leaves on a tree.

Behold, the Jack-A-Choo!

It's a Jack-O-Lantern made out of a tissue box and illuminated from the inside by red LED's (light emitting diodes.)

Made by Rachel, naturally. 

More October Pictures

I know this is pretty much more of the same, but all the fall colors have intensified in the past three days.

October is so very photogenic. 

October Colors

Yet amongst the changing colors of fall... 

 

 ...there still remain a few remnants of summer.