Autumn Whimsy & Wabi-Sabi

Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.   – Nora Ephron

We have decorated our porch for fall here at Crabtree. I had so much fun picking out this years look.  After walks in Kennedy Park this time of year, we often stop at a farm stand in Lenox called Farmer Don’s. All of that walking and hiking makes us think of dinner! The farm stand is tended by the farmer and his daughter.  It is a ritual that I adore every summer and fall.

This year, Farmer Don’s, was loaded with fabulous gourds and pumpkins ~ I had to stop myself from buying them all!

Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly Cucurbita and Lagenaria.

I feel like it is so cheerful and whimsical. It makes me happy. I like to be a garden fairy sometimes ~ so I surprised my neighbor too!

~ my favorite quote of all times for this time of year ~

Advice from a PUMPKIN ~ Be well-rounded ~ Get plenty of sunshine ~ Give thanks for life’s bounty ~ Have thick skin ~ Keep growing ~ Be outstanding in your field ~ Think big!  ~ Ilan Shamir

A big decorating trend this year along with all of the Hygge and Lagom, is an ancient Japanese term, Wabi -sabi. The art of imperfection and impermanence.  Although this is not a new concept, it is now a big trend for home decor.  Think natural flaws, nature and not generic. Beauty & simplicity too. Wabi-sabi!

“But when does something’s destiny finally come to fruition? Is the plant complete when it flowers? When it goes to seed? When the seeds sprout? When everything turns into compost?”
~ Leonard Koren, Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers

I got thinking that as the season changes, it is the perfect term for that rustic feeling fall gardening brings. My old birch logs, the bumpy, lumpy pumpkins, and the whimsy of the and gourds. And, with summer still lingering, the bright geraniums still hanging out among the orange hues.  This could be a very wabi-sabi moment!

This past weekend we went on the Berkshire Pottery Tour. I love the rustic pottery we saw at a couple of the stops.  Now that Jeff is taking a pottery class, I feel like maybe I might like to do that too. All of this pottery is quite wabi-sabi. The imperfectness, that is perfectly perfect! That little pottery bowl with the red peppers in it is very wabi-sabi, as is the handcrafted table, Jeff made with reclaimed wood.

Julia has moved home from California, after two and a half years!  She is working via Satellite, a couple days a week for the Madison Gallery, where she worked full time in California.  She will travel there when needed, and continue to search for her new career too. We can’t wait to see what is next for her! She is fun to have around, and adds a lot of laughter and comedy to our home again!

~  Family News ~

Sadly, we lost our little Margot, aka Margie.   She was heartbroken after our Max died, and just couldn’t go on.  It was heartbreaking for the entire house, and we are beyond grateful to those lovable little ambassadors of Crabtree Cottage.  They made our house a home, and filled it with endless joy.  We are mad, crazy animal lovers, who I can honestly say, had no idea how much we loved those two little dogs. The loss was deeply profound, and very traumatic.  Within three months, we lost both of our beloved family pets.

~  My sweet little dynamic duo ~

Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love. They depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands your heart.

Well, with all of that sadness, we had to do something to feel better. And, we did!! Welcome Baby George and Reese!  Talk about wabi -sabi!  We brought these new love buckets into our lives in June! It’s another whole blog, here is a peek at their absolute adorableness.

Here they are on their first vacation on Martha’s Vineyard!

I now wake up each morning with a smile on my face again.  I may still have some healing on this journey, but my joy and gratitude, are beyond measure. I get to do this beautiful dance of new life, and new love, all over again!

Thank you for coming by my blog today. Blessings for a beautiful autumn season!

Memory…is the diary that we all carry about with us.  ~ Oscar Wilde

The Magic of Autumn

“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” ~ Oscar Wild

It has been an amazing transition into the Autumn Season here in The Berkshires.  Although “they” are saying our fall foliage splendor is delayed and muted, we find some of the colors absolutely awe-inspiring. Perhaps it may be peak by the weekend!

Here are some scenes from around The Cottage: As you can see most of our gardens are put to bed for the season, but our annuals are still thriving because of the lack of a real heavy frost, and my obsession of moving plants around for cover when there is a threat! I think the red annuals look great with orange so until they get frosted they are part of the theme too.

I may not have fall window boxes this year, if we don’t get a hard frost!

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”  

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

We have still been in our summer routine because of this weather. Hiking in the morning on weekends, and more often than not, hiking in the late afternoon during the week. It is our favorite form of exercise, and because we love the woods so much it is the ultimate fall activity too.  

Here are some scenes from our favorite hiking destination – Kennedy Park.  Dog friendly and just as tremendous in the fall. Everyday seems like a new adventure with the seasonal changes.

These two cuties are considered geriatric according to their dog ages. Max is 15 and Margot is 14. No one would believe how they trot, dash, and gallop through the woods. Jeff likes to take the most difficult trails and not only climb at a fast pace, but challanges us all as we run to catch up with him. These two stay right by our sides!

“There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood – touch of manner, hint of mood; And my heart is like a rhyme, with the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.”  ~ Bliss Carman

Autumn is especially delightful for a picnic too! We had a really sweet, and very simple little picnic with my parents at Beartown State Forest a couple of weeks ago, then we went pumpkin shopping on the way home at Taft Farms in Great Barrington.

Advice from a PUMPKIN ~ Be well-rounded ~ Get plenty of sunshine ~ Give thanks for life’s bounty ~ Have thick skin ~ Keep growing ~ Be outstanding in your field ~ Think big!       ~ Ilan Shamir

I love to see how people decorate for fall. From simple to over the top, it really is interesting to see how people approach the Harvest Season ~ we have a very sweet street with older homes and great gardens. One day when I was working on my fall decor, I saw a garden fairy put pumpkins on my neighbors front stoop!

The Hayes House, right next to ours, has the best old fashioned porch. We love to hang out on it with them. Sandy loves the change of seasons too, and always decorates her porch so beautifully. She always gets it just right!

Another sweet and simple Franklin Street garden ~ simplicity at it’s best.

Another sweet one, a bit more of a traditional version on this front porch ~

And of course we love to eat! Even though today is the coolest of the fall days so far we have been eating a lot of soup! This is Roasted Tomato Soup with the last of our garden tomatoes. Here is a link for the recipe click here:  Barefoot Contessa Roasted Tomato Soup

I had been listening to a local radio show about an upcoming Chowder Cook Off and was inspired to make this old favorite of ours from The Basics Cookbook, my first introduction to cooking when I got married. I still use it to this day! Click over to my facebook page for this recipe.

We are trying to eat seasonally around here now that fall has arrived. I was inspired by a sweet potato recipe in our local paper. It was so good!  It really was tasty, nourishing and satisfying.  Pop over to my facebook page for the recipe.

Tonight with the very last of my garden eggplants I am going to make Eggplant Carpaccio. I had made the zucchini version of this in the summer with the last of my zucchini and it is a new favorite. It is company worthy too! Here is a link for the recipe: Zucchini or Eggplant Carpaccio

Today is the coolest day so far, and perhaps it’s a good night for a fire ~ although you would never know this from these pictures that I just snapped this morning. We have been in a transition stage here with that kind of summer vibe, but I think that may be changing! Time to cozy up with a warm cup of tea, a good book and some indoor Hygge for late Autumn.  I have been bringing the outside in a bit but that is a blog for another day! Thank you for coming by my blog today.