Posts Tagged ‘autumn’
eerie evening
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Fears
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I saw a light in the woods tonight
low, through the tangled branches of spruce
and the crowded stems of fir
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white in the dark –
a gleam where only night should stir
like the lamp of a stranger, lost
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but the glow was steady and still
and in less than the catch of a breath I knew
all I saw was the rising moon
beyond the hill
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I heard a cry in the woods tonight
soft and low through the tangle of spruce
and the thicket of fir
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a moan in the dark
a sob where only the wind should stir
like the frightened tears of a child
alone
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but the cries held no human word
and in less than the catch of a breath I knew
the wail of a wildcat on the prowl
was all I heard
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Copyright Jane Tims 1990
Happy Halloween
In Canada, October is a month for celebration. We have our Thanksgiving in mid-October, and, on the 31st, Halloween.
I have a few Halloween-themed post cards. I display these over our fireplace, on a string, attached by clothespins. They make a festive banner to complement the orange pumpkins and other decorations.
Halloween symbols are spooky…
but some witches are not so terrifying….
and the light of a Jack-o-lantern helps make the paths less eerie…
Happy Halloween!!!!
Copyright Jane Tims 2012
windy October drive
On Monday, I went on a drive to Cambridge Narrows, to visit an antique store and a roadside market. My goal: to buy some Nancy Drew mystery books for my collection and some pumpkins for Halloween.
It was a blustery day, windy enough to put some whitecaps on the St. John River…
The wind was especially evident along the former Trans-Canada Highway, where dry leaves have gathered in all the ditches. Since only a few vehicles use this older highway, the leaves blow into the roadway…
The day had a luminous quality, in spite of the wind. Most of the reds are gone from the trees, leaving the yellows of the poplars, the rusty-orange of the oaks and the gold of the tamaracks…
I had a successful day. I bought some small pumpkins at a roadside stand…
three little pumpkins from the roadside vegetable stand (the faint eyes in the background are the amber eyes of our owl-andirons)
I also added five books to my collection of Nancy Drew mysteries…
five new mysteries for my collection… enough ghosts and glowing eyes for a spooky Halloween
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andiron
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wrought owl with amber eyes
perches on the hearth
hears a call in the forest
six syllables and silence
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Great-horned Owl, light gathered
at the back of his eyes,
and the oscillating branch
after wings expand and beat
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iron owl longs for a glimpse
of the sickle moon
the shadow of a mouse
sorting through dry leaves
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in this cramped space
night woods are brought to their essence
fibre and bark, sparks and fire
luminous eyes
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Copyright Jane Tims 2012
covering the pumpkins
This year our garden was an unqualified failure. Between the slugs and the shade, none of my poor pumpkin vines made it to the orange pumpkin stage. But in the past, we have had worthy pumpkin patches. One year our pumpkins were so prolific, one of the vines even strayed upward, into a maple tree. In October, we had an orange pumpkin in the tree, about four feet above the ground.
my son with pumpkins from our garden, about 22 years ago
This year, my pumpkin sightings have been in other people’s gardens and in the bins at the grocery store. At least I am spared the desperate efforts of the past, to squeeze one more day of growing from the season, by covering the pumpkins before the frost.
a prolific pumpkin patch, photographed during our visit to Ontario in 2011
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covering the pumpkins
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on the mattress, these sheets
are ample, enough for warmth
and twist and tumble
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spread here, on low-lying ground
they barely cover one of twenty
pumpkins, one loop of vine
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weather channel warns of frost
will wilt these leaves, cold-kiss
this perfect orange with brown
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vines stretch, toes creep
from under, beg more time
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Copyright Jane Tims 2012
making a quilt
One of the things I love to do as winter approaches is to make a quilt. My quilts are not the beautiful, hand-stitched, carefully patterned quilts I admire. My quilts are usually patchwork and often machine sewed, although some I quilt by hand, with long, uneven stitches.
a few of the quilts I’ve made, mostly lap-sized quilts for winter evenings
This fall, I am working on a quilt for our bed, in the theme of ferns and poppies. I have used an old blanket covered in blue roses as the batting, given to me years ago by my uncle. It has a large tea stain in one corner and is not as warm as our modern bedding, but I would like to keep it for sentimental reasons, so I am using it as the base for my new quilt.
For the fabric, I am using various bits and pieces I have collected over the years. I can’t resist fabrics and when I visit the store, I often leave with a half meter of a fabric I love, even if I have no planned project.
I am planning to make the quilt entirely by machine, following a method my Dad told me his mother used. She would take an old blanket and sew the patches on by hand, one at a time, covering the adjacent seams as she went.
First, I chose a width for the patches and cut a piece of sturdy cardboard for the template. I marked the fabric with bands in the width of the template, to use as an inked guideline to keep my fabrics straight…
Then I cut my fabrics the width of the template and arrange them, right sides together and pin them to the blanket, making sure the edges of my fabric follow the inked guidelines…
Then I sew a seam…
When each piece is sewn, I open it to the right side to reveal a neatly attached patch…
Once I have worked my way around the blanket, attaching one row of patches, I will add another row, leaving one inked guideline row empty.
After I have finished the rows of patches, I will add long strips of fabric to fill in the empty rows and to cover the rough edges left by the first rows of patches.
I will have to pin and top-sew the other edge of this strip of fabric, to cover all the raw edges.
Then, when all the edges are hidden or turned in, I will top-quilt all of the patches with the machine.
The last step will be to select a fabric to cover the other side of the blanket. I think I will attach this layer with ties, another old-fashioned method of making a quilt.
I’ll show you the quilt when it is completed, probably next year!!!
Do you make quilts and what is your method???
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Copyright Jane Tims 2012
Mountain Road adventure
Last week, we decided to take a drive along Mountain Road. This is a trail extending from Mazerolle Settlement outside Fredericton, New Brunswick to Newmarket, near Harvey Station. We used to take it regularly when my husband and I first knew one another, over 30 years ago. In those days, it was a narrow road built along the side of Porcupine Mountain. It was overhung with hardwoods and crossed the upper part of the Woolastook Game Refuge. We decided it would make a good drive on an October afternoon.
The drive started with a sighting of White-tailed Deer near the road entrance.
Then we stopped briefly at an inlet of the St. John River, to watch a Blue Heron take off and circle the cove.
Although there are a few houses along the first part of the road, the area is generally uninhabited and the woods on either side of the road were still natural. The trees were beautiful – oak, maple and beech were all in various autumn hues.
It has rained recently, and as we went further along the road, its deteriorated condition became evident. Culverts were heaved at several points and we had to take our time as the waterholes in the road became deeper and deeper.
Although the road bed was generally solid, we could feel the tires slipping sideways in a couple of the puddles.
At last, unable to see through the muddy water, and wondering if there were any big rocks lurking there, ready to hang us up, my husband decided to turn back. It was foolish to proceed with summer tires and no winch to help us if we did get stuck. In the old days, we would have pressed on, willing to walk to the nearest main road, but arthritis interferes with foolish bravado!
Later, we’ll try the road from the other end. Perhaps we were through the worst, and pavement was just beyond the next big puddle.
Copyright Jane Tims 2012
www.nichepoetryandprose.wordpress.com
apple picking time
October has taken hold and now signs of autumn are everywhere. Color seems to be the theme… the orange of pumpkins and gourds, the yellows and reds of the maple leaves, and the red of ripe apples.
On our way to the lake, we drive past orchards of apples. Most of the apples have been picked, but some trees are still laden with fruit. For me, the orchards are full of memories, of picking apples with my family when we were younger. I remember how much fun we had, my son and niece and nephew excited to be able to run free and pick the apples, and the adults thinking about the apple pie possibilities from those loaded trees.
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orchard outing
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wooden bushel baskets
of laughter, the delirious tumble
down the avenue of trees, shadows ripple
among the dapples, Cortlands tied
with scarlet ribbons and boughs burdened
to reach for us, my son grown tall
on his father’s shoulders,
stretches to pick the McIntosh
with the reddest shine,
small hand barely able
to grip the apple
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Copyright Jane Tims 2012
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for:
water, clear fresh water (we just got our well back after 7 days!)…
my family and the chance to share Thanksgiving dinner with at least some of them…
the glow surrounding our house this time of year (from all the maple leaves, changing color)…
the wind that blows on the hills above the lake…
and my collection of Thanksgiving post cards….
Happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone!!!
Copyright Jane Tims 2012
a pair of eagles
When we spend time at our lake property, we often see Bald Eagles. They nest in the large White Pines along the edge of the lake and I sometimes find their feathers near our arbour, suggesting they visit our place when we are not at home.
Today we watched a pair of them circle high in the sky, soaring effortlessly on the updrafts. They flew in sync with one another, so coordinated in their movements, they could have been dancing.
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fragments about wind
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the trees move as though branches flow from a bottle
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this morning I found
oak leaves on the sidewalk
and a young acorn with the nut missing
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a pair of eagles soars
wings lifted on
scant molecules of air
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Copyright Jane Tims 2012
a moment of beautiful – sunset over the St. John River
the space: the St. John River at dusk
the beautiful: sunset over the river
Last evening as we drove home after a visit to my sister’s home, orange was on my mind. I was thinking of the bright orange pumpkins in the gardens, the orange of Japanese Lanterns, the orange of the turning leaves, and the orange of the running lights on the trucks on the highway. Then, as the sun went down, we were treated to the most beautiful orange, the color of the sunset over the St. John River.
A lovely introduction to the month of October……………..
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hauling sun
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eighteen-wheeled tractor pulls,
hauls the loaded b-train
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gears down for the grade, snags
light from the sunset, wanes
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and leaks from the headlamps
pushed forward into night
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ahead, on the dark road,
a cone of borrowed light
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Copyright Jane Tims 2012
nichepoetryandprose 