Autumn Beginnings along the Backroad

While camping in the Abiquiu Lake area, we explored along some backroads and came across some beautiful sights.....and at least one that made me chuckle! The above image falls into the beautiful category. There was no breeze, and the lake was like a mirror, with this beautiful result!

As we drove up the the road to the 10,000 foot peak, this was one of the views out the window of the Jeep. The colors are starting to turn, and it was rather breath taking.

And, here's the chuckle! I wasn't really sure what was going on here, but it looked like the four folks in the front of the image were sitting and watching the man in the back part of the image who was fly fishing. I never really thought of fishing as a spectator sport, and that's why this made me chuckle - couldn't you just hear the TV announcers trying to make this sound suspenseful to keep us on the edge of our seats? (tee, hee!)

Enjoy!

October So Far!!

Here are some photos that I've taken throughout the month so far! This first photo was taken yesterday when Jeff & I took a drive thru the Sandia Mountains near home. Some of the aspens were just beautiful as they changed to that wonderful golden color they get in the fall!

This image was also shot yesterday morning. We stopped at a trail that had some pretty colors going on, altho these green trees were a nice entry to the colorful aspens beyond. I sort of think of this as the path less traveled....and as the poem goes, and that makes all the difference.

I took this photo from the rooftop parking area at work. I just got out of my car, turned around, and there were Tweety and friends! This was taken during the Hot-Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, which occurs the first 2 weekends in October and the week in between. It's the largest hot-air balloon gathering in the world. Happens here in ABQ because of the great "box" winds that exist here. Basically, that means that winds blow in one direction at one altitude, and in the opposite direction at a higher altitude. In any event, it's a fun time and this image seems to capture the spirit of the Fiesta!

Another great sunrise as seen from our back patio.

And the color of the sky for this sunset was pretty cool, too!

Enjoy!

Altered House

Here are some photos that I took of a mixed media piece I created a while ago. I was just too lazy (or busy??) to take photos of it and get it posted!

A dear friend sent me a wood block shaped like a house. I painted the wood block, but left the wood rather rough. I really wanted to keep the rough exterior, just like a real house. I then thought about what home meant and what home and family was, and this quote summed it up quite perfectly. The family is the building block, the key to an ordered society. I love it.









Here's the back of the house. The roof is corrugated cardboard that I brushed color on, so that the undercolor still shows through. Handmade paper was placed over the top part of the house with a transparency I made placed over the back of the house. The transparency is a colorful background with the image of a bare tree on it. I took that photo a while back, and it's a great photo for a number of different reasons. I added a metal leaf that I believe I inherited from a friend (she gave me a bunch!). It just felt right to have a couple of lone leaves on the piece, to sort of symbolize the autumn, when having a warm, loving home is especially wonderful.

And, this is the front of the house. You can see the quote in the lower left hand corner of the house. Also on the front of the house is an old ruler (remembering measuring how much you grew every so often??), an old photo of a family gathered around their car, and more autumn leaves. The house is adhered to a wooden base that I also covered with the corrugated cardboard that I used on the roof. I used it for the "front stoop" as well because I really liked the texture of it.

I do hope you enjoy my creative efforts!