autumn colors

It's that time of year when every minute of the day the colors in the trees seem to be getting richer and more intense. There are a lot of oranges, reds and yellows setting them off in high contrast blue skies with billowing clouds. Washington's best weather is normally during the month of October. Usually it is very pretty with these rich blue skies and big puffy white clouds sailing overhead. The temperatures are mild making everything more comfortable except the cooler nights sometimes means more aches joints and bones. Still it is a great time of year for most people with lots of festivals and exciting things to do and a renewed energy that comes with the beginning of a new school year soon to turn to holidays.

This last Sunday I was ready for a walk to the open house. It was in a kind of landmark of our neighborhood. The remodeled "round house" down the street was built about 100 years ago. Renovation after gutting and an addition to the back which is also round it is now full of light where it used to be all covered up by a big conic roof. It opens out to the small and well preserved garden that added a small lawn between brick paths and mature evergreen shrubs.
Newly wed neighbors, Dan and Peter and my downstairs neighbor Kiley with her pals all arrived at the open house the same time as my visit. Everyone was excited to see this glamorous new/old home and there was a continuous flow of people passing through the many rooms and open spaces. They saved almost all the trees on the lot including about four 40 foot  holly trees and one enormous oak tree that stands less than a foot from the front porch it's towering over the house on the east side.
I took a few pictures on the way and in the house in addition to some of the other walks this week here are some of the autumn views in Brookland.

The front door of the round house remodeled and open to the public; oak tree on the left, holly on the right and rear.

Owner of the round house looking to sell it now came out the door as I was trying to capture the porch ceiling reflections. 

looking from the door past the original gingerbread shingles  at the holly tree trunk and 10th St. NE 

view of the open kitchen/living and dinning room space on the first floor overlooking the garden to the rear

central stairs go up to the 4 bedrooms and two baths on the second floor under a skylight occulis  that fills the well with light

the view of the roof top sky light over the hall stairs

this small bedroom felt like a tree house 

the next street over from ours is lined with these great red maples 

neighbor planted coxs combs along her fence and that was a dramatic color discovery for one walk 

the delicious red maples are blazing this week 

orange-yellow berries on new curb side trees 

Virginia creeper is such a great color everyone should have some it's native! 

Turkey thicket field across from our apartment building hosts a big mature red maple 

Chesapeake bay house autumn artists retreat

cirrus clouds blew in to view for a week of perfect weather 

first arrangement of wild and garden flowers Keith built upon arrival

view from the bay window at dawn one morning 

sun rise on the bay

Kudzu grows up and over trees in the little valley by the red house 

Unknown bug in the field

the boats docked in Chesapeake Beach by the railway trail 

green heron at the edge of the water hunting tiny fish thousands of them were visible from above on the boadwalk

one of many great blue herons stalking

beautiful cirrus clouds and crisp autumn air make for perfect walking weather by the bay

Mallard ducks on the waterway below the board walk trail

wild magenta purple morning glory on a barbed wire fence; ample seeds collected to add to our garden next season

King fisher perched on a pole along the waterway squawked  and fled a closer perch when we passed on the boardwalk 

white snowy egrets on that distant pier and in the shallow water's edge

on the ride home we pass in a Nature Conservancy's preserve and there was a flock of 9 wild turkey's strolling in a field at the edge of the forest.

Here the turkey's are marching off into the shadows aware of us but not panicked by it... still the photo from the car seat wasn't the best. 

beginning to notice some color in the eastern clouds as they approach the bay from the west.

we rushed over to the lake to get the best views of the sunset looking west

Rain had been in the forecast all day but not until sunset did we see any clouds 

by the time we made it to the lake (10 minute quick hike from the house) we began to see not only clouds and colorful sunset but what looked like rain falling

We headed back to the house as it began to get darker since we didn't bring a flashlight

from the bridge where we talked to a few of the fishermen who showed us their catch the white of the clay cliffs by our house are visible across the bay

We had a really great time staying in the Ruppert's red house by the Chesapeake bay this past week. Keith and I packed up everything we would need, including food and linens as well as tools and supplies to make our respective artist projects and drove only 40 miles from our apartment to the bay house Molly and her family offered us to use as an artist's retreat last week. We spent a day getting unpacked, setting up the studios we needed and then rains came and we were ready to work inside. Once the rains passed we were ready for a good long walk and there is always plenty to see and enjoy. I left my Internet and TV at home which allowed me to be very focused on my quilting projects and resting in between with good food and company. We took turns cooking, I made breakfast and lunch then worked while Keith made dinner and our late night egg white & bran galette with fruit, a routine we began while dieting that we keep because we love it so much. We went one day to Chesapeake Beach to the great little thrift shop. I got an armload of quilting fabrics and sheets plus two hand knitted wash cloths two dress shirts two pair of pants and two ceramic vases for a grand total of $7.50. Astounding to walk out with so much for so little. Then we took an ambitious walk on the boardwalk and trail along the old railway path. Nature abounds there with tidal marsh and flowing waterways that empty into the bay. Forest and fields... birds everywhere and a few wild flowers for the careful observer were a delight. I took a limited number of photos for the whole week. Total came to 46 in the end many of those of the amazing sunset and storm that passed over Fairhaven Cliffs the last evening we were there. We got drenched on the warm walk home but it was worth the wet spell to see the beautiful sunset and get a record to end our week with a dramatic show of colors. It is such a blessing to have an occasional retreat from the city where we saw wild turkeys, bald eagles, king fisher, blue herons, crows, ground hogs,deer and more creatures to many to list. Keith heard owls several times very late in the night but I slept through the concerts of hooting on this visit. We enjoyed a night of star gazing on the deck a few times and walks on the beach to collect drift wood and cuttings for Keith's work. I tried my hand at reed cutting (bamboo) to make some pens to draw with like Vincent Van Gogh used. I did only one drawing this time but now I have a collection of bamboo to cut as needed for more this winter. For me completing the Rose-star quilt basting was a major accomplishment for my week but I am going to post later on the quilting accomplishments when I get a few more photos to show.

a little orange as winter approaches

On the corner off tenth and Michigan is a line of oak trees that have shown very beautiful orange late in the season this year and even more last year. There seems to be a variation in the colors each year or maybe I just miss the good days some years.

Anyway, I was out walking to deliver books to the post office a few times this past week and saw some interesting clouds in the sky. The cirrus type I believe but after about an hour hunting on The Cloud Appreciation Society's cool website, I couldn't figure it out for sure. I took a few photos to record this unusual overhead phenomenon that were swirling left then right and seemed to be falling out of the sky like little cloud tornados on my way home.

I came home from figure drawing the red bearded man Jon who is one of our favorite models, to find I had a new bouquet of orange orchids and bird of paradise flowers. Nice to draw in the morning and enjoy throughout the day but I wanted to share some orange with you all too! So here are a few shots of the orchids....

end of year sky show

sunset silhouettes

blue sky pink clouds

colorful clouds - three towers

three towers and the oak

up a little left of the stop light 

detail of black sky

back yard view

a detail from the sky showing the moon lower left and tiny pinpoint Venus upper left

The past two evenings Venus has been moving closer to the new crescent Moon! About the time the sun sets on the last day of 2008 the show will culminate in a conjunction. I can't wait to see the sight with my own eyes. It is going to be cold but hopefully very clear. I went out tonight to pick up the car from garage and tucked my camera in my pocket to go watch the sun set at the intersection of North Capitol street and Michigan Avenue by the MacMillan Sand Water Filtration Ruins. There is an open view of the evening's sky and the domes of the filters silhouette with the trees as the sun slides below the horizon. The crescent moon was visible before darkness arrived but venus came out a little later. It was beautiful. It is very hard to take pictures of such small objects in the dark sky without a tripod. Hope to get our tripod out tomorrow night! Meanwhile here is a little of what I saw tonight. The few clouds that were in the sky as the sun set were great color catchers. I also took a few more in complete darkness back in the alley at home a little after sunset.