Farewell to October

This was our first October in our new home in the hill country of Texas and I just can't help but marvel at how beautiful it was.  These are the last pictures I took of our yard in all it's October glory and I just had to share.  The last few nights have been pretty cold and the images in these pictures will not be seen again for another year as frost has nipped and transformed just about everything including my nose!  I pulled out the heat lamps for the hen house and our dog Maisy and decided not to cover any of the plants in the yard because there are just too many and I'm okay with Winter having it's way.  We have mostly perennials and evergreens, anyway, but I was really sad to see my beloved Zinnias go.  Also, I hated losing the basil and figs.  The figs were so close to being ripe my mouth was watering, but alas, they are not going to make it this year:(  I hoped to harvest some Winter squash and tomatoes from the Fall garden, but no such luck.  All the blooms and baby squash and tomatoes are gone, too.  Next year I will know to plant the Fall garden earlier and I'll be better prepared for the cold season.

I am happy to say that the lettuce, arugula, kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, mustard greens, sage, and chives are holding up nicely, as they should.  The first head of broccoli made it's appearance last week!

Goodbye, October.  It was good.  You will be missed.

Outside Lisa

Standing Tall

Standing Tall, originally uploaded by outside lisa.

I recently signed up for a photography e-course called "You Are Your Own Muse" with the amazingly talented Vivienne McMaster. It is a study on self portraiture. This is such a fun and adventurous journey for me and I am learning something new about my style and my soul each and every day through the lens of my camera. All the while, we support each other through our online classroom and flickr group. There are some really amazing women participating and I am delighted that many of the women I met at Squam Art Workshops were drawn to the same course. This is going to be really fun!

I took this photo in the pasture near our house at dusk and over-exposed it for effect.

August 13

Dylan on the Frio, originally uploaded by outside lisa.

Dylan on the Frio

I love this picture of my beautiful step-daughter, Dylan. I was so happy seven years ago, when I first introduced her to tubing the Frio River, that she loved it as much as I do. It is a place that stole my heart when I was just a girl and I think it has stolen her's, too. I love this picture for so many reasons, but especially because she is about to head off to college and this is our last tubing trip before that milestone. It embodies her creative, playful charm and leaves me smiling and remembering when I was her age and had the whole world at my feet. I love this girl!

August 12

Sunflowers in my Garden, originally uploaded by outside lisa.

Sunflowers in my Garden

August Break 11

Driving Miss Maisy, originally uploaded by outside lisa.

Driving Miss Maisy

August Break 10

Em's First Pigtails, originally uploaded by outside lisa.

Em's First Pigtails

August 9 Photo

Tomato Preserves
     I intend to post the highly experimental recipe for my tomato preserves as soon as I am sure they are going to set.  So far I am disappointed in their consistency, but time will tell.  The flavor is wonderful, though, and the color exquisite!

August 8 Photo

August 8~  

I love this photo.  It captures not only my beloved pink Zinnias, but also a beautiful dragonfly who stopped by to visit my garden.  I missed two days of entries in my photography assignment, but I think I made up for it with this one!  Enjoy!

August 4 & 5 Photos

These are the photos I have submitted to my photography assignment (Susannah Conway's August Break) for the last two days.  Enjoy!

August 4-  Plums & Zinnias

These beauties all came from our garden!

August 5-  Kitty in the Short Grass

August Break

I recently signed up for a fun photography assignment I found on Susanna Conway's blog.  Her photos are amazing and her philosophy is inspiring.  I need to practice taking better photos, so her August Break exercise is great for me since you have to share a photo every day of August.  No rules (thank goodness, since I already missed the second day!)...just fun.  I thought I'd share my photos with you!

August 1
Kitty, Kitty Sallie

I took this picture of our pretty kitty, Sallie, one evening while playing on a blanket with my kids under some pecan trees in our yard.  Secret:  I had to put her back up in the tree four times to get this shot!  She was like "Why???"

August 3

Looking to the Sky

We have been watching a nest of swallows on the porch outside of my bedroom for weeks.  Just yesterday I noticed for the first time that the babies had left the nest and were all lined up looking to the sky to take flight.  I couldn't catch the hummingbird that kept flying up in front of them as if coaxing them to blast off!  Beautiful little birds.  It was amazing watching the parents take such care in building the nest, feeding the babies, and teaching them to fly.  They make quite the mess on the porch, but I don't mind.  We just dodge the poop and they tolerate our occasional loud music and sounds of play.