Originally uploaded by tomygardenpath.

We are writing this week about windows and doorways. My poem is a two way window shot, looking out and looking in. I was in the kitchen one late winter afternoon, with the radio on, making a fair amount of noise, as I do when I am home alone.
As I worked, I watched these turkeys cross the back yard from my garden, using silly walking on ice steps. They must of heard sounds coming from my kitchen, or maybe noticed the light, I don’t know. Anyway, they came up under the window and stood for a while. I did what any of you would do, I grabbed my camera, and climbed up on a chair and shot this photo out the window. So here is the haiku, and another one about another kind of window–a window to the sky.

winter travelers
make their way to my window
across frozen snow

bright sky visible
through one narrrow aperture
white pine reaches up

for more haiku go here

Originally uploaded by tomygardenpath.

A few years ago, we bought my mother in law a hygrandea bush for her new house. This past week when we were visiting, the bush was covered with blooms. She wanted to share some of them with me, so that I could make a wreath, so I bought a bunch home.
I didn’t dry any flowers this year, except for a few bunches of lavender. In the past, my ceiling has been stung with all sorts of everlastings. Strawflowers, sea lavender, cotton lavender, helichrysum, globe amaranth, statice, sweet annie, and teasel are just a few of them. One year, I even grew eucalyptus from seed, but realized, after successfully getting it to grow, that I could not stand the fragrance in the house.
Most of them are easy to grow, and pretty to look at in the garden. You might want to give it a try. To dry, just hang the flowers, stems on, upside down out of the direct light.

Originally uploaded by tomygardenpath.

My husband I spent some time over at the shore yesterday. The day was mostly bright and sunny and the air was fall-beautiful. We stopped at a market in town for a picnic lunch and got to Fort Williams just after noon.
After lunch, I spent quite a while climbing around the cliffs taking photos. Being a weekday, the trails were not that busy. We saw the new Cat Ferry come in while we were there. The ferry transports people and cars from Portland to Nova Scotia each day.
The shot above was taken from a cliff north of the Portland Headlight. More photos are posted from the park are posted on my photo journal HERE.

Originally uploaded by tomygardenpath.

Here is another shot from my inlaw’s woods. An old wall runs along the road, built long ago. It is the domain of the chipmunks and squirrels. You can see that the light barely gets there, even on the brighest days. This chipmunk darted in and out of the holes in the stone wall, teasing me. I am sure that he knew he was quite safe.

Originally uploaded by tomygardenpath.

Notice that the leaves are still green in this shot. My husband and I went up country to see his parents yesterday. I was expecting to see more color than we have here. They are further north, and higher than we are. I think our elevation here is about 11 feet above sea level, and we already have a few colored leaves.

These chickadees were very friendly little guys. Being nosy, they came to see what I was doing, when I was trying to get a shot of a chipmunk on the rock wall. The shot of them came out best, so here it is. Our state bird, here in Maine, is the black-capped chickadee, and can be sure you will see some if you come for a visit.