color palette: blue sky & blushing tree

Every morning I sit in front of a large window through which I watch hummingbirds fight over their feeder, clouds stretching across the sky, and the coral bark maple (planted by me, ten years ago) responding in full color, to the season.

Today, the maple looks like Jacob's Coat of many colors. Yellow-green leaves blush as any tree might before stripped of its mantle. The sky is blue, a solemn promise that the chilling nights are but a hiccup before spring asserts itself again. The red in this palette reflects begonias blooming in pots on the stoop.

Oh, October!

strong swimmer

In three seconds Nik will open her eyes, grip the scruffs of the dogs' necks in one hand and with the other swim to the surface and safety. Nik is a strong swimmer, but even so, she struggles to keep them all from drowning in the warm, indifferent sea.