Ruby Tuesday: Paint My Door

For reasons known only to the former owners, my front door is pink. This does not please me.

In the near future, it will be either this warm shade of red or the dark pine green. (The siding is beige with white trim.)

Which do you like, Tuesday Tribe?


*P.S: We were supposed to find something Thanksgiving-y this week, but all I have is a leftover from last year. Still, there's a bit of red here and there.

For more Ruby Tuesday, stop by at Theteach's place and check out the other entries.

*P.P.S: For those who asked, here's what the rest of the house looks like. So... red door? Green door?

From Havenwood: To Bee or Not To Bee

When we bought the new place, we inherited a bee hive. Actually, we inherited quite a few, but most were paper wasps and yellow jackets that have since been evicted. This one, however was a honey bee hive, and I wasn't at all sure what to do with it. I didn't want to harm the little beasties, but I didn't want them stinging us, either... Please click here to continue.

A Good Fit for Fairies

These mushrooms grow along the pine border in the background of the photo in my last post at Havenwood. They are huge, at least eight to ten inches tall and equally as wide. The day after this was taken, the one in the foreground had a bite out of it, probably nibbled by one of the many deer that come through there every day.

The fields and woods around here are just studded with all kinds of amazing mushrooms. Recent heavy rains have brought in a bumper crop of them, and I simply can't resist a daily foray into the underbrush in search of the exotic and vaguely mysterious little creatures.



This one and the next are also inhabitants of the pine line. The one above is about three inches tall, shares the edge of the path with the big boys above, and looks like an egg yolk hovering just above the ground. The next one is about six inches tall, and seems to prefer the deep shade back near the tree trunks. See the others in the background?



Unfortunately, the rains have also increased the mosquito population to nearly intolerable levels. As long as I keep up a brisk walk, I'm relatively safe. But within seconds of stopping for a photograph I am enveloped in a stabbing, buzzing swarm. The last outing cost me 16 new bites. Totally worth it:



Is this cute, or what. It's only about an inch high, and is growing all alone in the middle of a mossy path around the pond. Deeper in the woods, these mottled brown fellows grow among the roots of oaks and beeches...



Apparently, given all the bites around the edges, some small animal finds them tasty. Below, on an old rotting log, these fragile, ethereal beauties jostle for light like a flight of angels hurrying home to Heaven.



It is difficult to pay attention to camera settings while being eaten alive, so these could be better, I'm sure. Dedication to the perfect shot only carries me so far. But these are my favorites so far, and I hope you like them too.

There is so much work to be done here, and running off to the woods with a camera while cabinets need scrubbing would have been unthinkable a short while ago. However, under my new set of priorities, pleasurable pursuits trump domestic duties. Because I say so.