All Hallows' Eve

Listen . . . do you hear

Wailing in the darkling wood?

Only wind, you say?

Fool! Hurry inside,

Bolt the door, and wait for morn.

This one night is theirs....

Down the Road

This is just to say

It was a pleasure to see

So many nice folks

Who had waited patiently

For the rest of the story.

Yesterday began with spitting snow but turned glorious as I drove to Sylva amid some of the most beautiful fall colors-- whole hillsides of red, valleys of orange and yellow -- and no time to stop for pictures, alas!

Then it was back to Madison County and another reading at the library and back home in the clear cold night. Another event in Asheville tomorrow...

Looking Ahead

Eddie wants to remind you that Halloween is drawing near. He has his costume (El Gato de la Muerte)-- how about you?

  

And I want to remind my friends in the area that I'll be in Sylva today at 2 and at the Marshall library at 6:30. Then on Sunday, I'll be at Malaprop's in Asheville at 3.  The info is over there on the side.

Look for me next week at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville, Accent on Books in Asheville, and at the Mars Hill Library.

And later in the month there's an interesting event called EAT YOUR WORDS at Avenue M in Asheville. Check it out!

While I Was Taking Pictures...

Dear friends -- I'm in quite a time crunch, with events for the new book as well as some teaching commitments that are taking much of my time. I will be around to visit as soon as possible...

...Willa entertained herself.

Emily Carr - The Forest Lover

The Forest Lover is another book from Susan Vreeland that gives us an in-depth look at an artist's life. Emily Carr (1871- 1945) was inspired by the forests and the native culture of British Columbia.  At a time when potlatches were banned by missionaries and totem poles were sold to collectors or chopped up for firewood, Carr set out to document what remained.

 

Vreeland's book is the story of Emily Carr's obsession with painting and of the difficulties she faced. (Provincial and Victorian, British Columbia was slow to accept this bold, impressionistic art.)

It's also the sad story (once again) of the treatment of the indigenous peoples at the hands of the government and the missionaries. It' s ironic to think that Christians banned the potlatch, in which wealthy people gave away their worldly goods to less fortunate tribe members.

Many of Carr's paintings remind me of Georgia O'Keefe's work.

If you read the book, be sure to check out Vreeland's website where images of Carr's paintings are paired with the appropriate passages from The Forest Lover. Boy, the internet is great for this sort of thing!

I Can't Stop Taking Pictures of Leaves . . .

k

Appalachian Ingenuity

As I've mentioned before, when the cow plague struck, we moved the Jersey Girls and the calves, Xena and Clover, out of their quarters to keep them safe. Xena and Clover were given a spot in an old chicken house and Justin threw up a fence to give them a little pasture.

Of course, like most youngsters, Xena and Clover had to test their bounds and quickly broke out. So Justin responded in time-honored fashion -- making do with what was on hand -- ancient bedsprings, a battered metal gate, a wooden pallet...

I love the funky look but suspect it won't be around much longer. Before long the little girls will be testing this too.

The Jersey girls have been given the run of the area around our house. What remains of my garden has been fenced off and they're really enjoying mowing our yard.

The downside here is that we have to have an electrified gap across our road. Stop the car, get out, open gap, get back in car, drive through, stop the car, get out, close the gap... It gets old fast -- but this is temporary --- we'll put everyone back where they were before in a few weeks.

It's like old times though -- way back, before we owned the lower place, there were two or three gaps to deal with.  A good reason not to go out much!

 

And at this time of year, getting out of the car always allows another opportunity for a picture!

Blogging Elsewhere. . . .

Please pop over to Meanderings and Muses where I'm talking about why I'll never again end a book with a cliffhanger.