Observations from a Sunday morning....

It's a beautiful autumn morning here on the Island.

The sun has been a friend to us for yet a few more days, her

strength for warmth fading but all the same, keeping us warm in spirit.

Tomorrow is Canadian Thanksgiving so I'm off to visit

my family for turkey and pumpkin cheesecake squares with whipping cream...

but before I do I thought I'd share some of my morning walk photos.

Today it's all about the mushrooms...

the deadly but beautiful aminita...

...the tasty little puffball

 (had some of these sauteed with garlic and kale the other night...dee-lish!)

I know for sure about 6 edible mushrooms and unless I'm 100 percent

positive, nothing goes on my plate.

A lot of these will just have to be looked at today...

There were mushrooms EVERYWHERE I looked today and poor Griffin

had to patiently wait while I bent down on hands and knees to take in their fleeting appearance...

The common name of some mushrooms conjure up images of fairey folk, woodland shadows,

deep, dark mysterious tales of yore...

elfin saddle

witches butter

goats foot

destroying angel

death cap

tree ears

Satans bolete

swollen stalked cat

green pinafore

octopus stinkhorn...

the list goes on.

And it's also the time of delicate, dripping morning spider webs...

Queen Anne's lace....closed for the season...

bed time for ladybugs...

The cool nights have given leaves their brightest dress...

Some of the beauty outside my door which I am forever Thank-full for.

Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canucks!



My turn...

When I got back from my dog walk yesterday afternoon, the UPS guy showed up...

Aaahhhh...nothin like seeing the UPS guy standing there in all of his khaki with a parcel in his hands.

Some of you may have read about the  autumn swap I joined and I was thrilled to see that my surprise was here...all the way from Brooklyn, New York.

The other side of the continent from me!

My fellow swapper's name is Amber and she lives there with her husband and 2 cats.

I liked her already!

The elegant writing and that big brass key were signs of a creative soul.

As I opened the package, I felt like it was my birthday or something...

So many special things inside including these simply beautiful bars of soap.

Now maybe some of you may not think soap as something special, but these soaps are such a treat.

Rarely do I buy myself such luxurious bars of delightful smells!

Next up was 'a book that she loved'.

Amber sent me not one, but TWO books and they both look so intriguing, especially 'The Mysterious Benedict Society'. 

I can't wait to read them.

Her card told me that she lives in the neighborhood pictured here called Brooklyn Heights.

Looks so 'New York' with the bridge in the background and all.

....and the 'thing from nature' was these pressed leaves from her street.

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a push-over for pressed leaves.

Her neighborhood must look lovely this time of year.

I miss all of those eastern fall colors of my childhood in Toronto.

Next up...'a postcard with a favorite quote or saying'...

Amber not only sent me the top two quotes on the postcard but a few more which I absolutely love...

Especially the one that is hard to see in the photo which says 

"Cinderella's trouble was that she sat waiting for some Fairy Godmother"

Amen to that!

I then filled in the blank she had left on one of the sticky notes...

I cut these quotes out and put them in various spots in my studio...

 So now this big key hangs with a few other skeleton keys I have and waits to unlock the mystery of the universe...

I think I might wait a while though...

I like a good mystery.

Cheers Amber.

Say hi to Brooklyn for me.