A Perfect Autumn Day in Pictures

The weather was glorious this weekend… bright sunshine, fresh autumn air, and a balmy temperature of 63 degrees. Since Lydia and I spent the majority of Saturday indoors at the Westminster Farmer’s Market, I could hardly say “no” when the kids asked to go to the park on Sunday.

We set off in our little red wagon, and I carried along my “paint basket” ~ actually a Sterilite shower caddy ~ to work on my latest portrait of an Angel Cat.

Lydia followed behind us, taking pictures of me pulling the wagon. I had forgotten to bring extra lenses, so she had to practice with the telescope lens already on the camera.

Of course, when we arrived at the park, I spent more time photographing the kids playing, and pushing Jacob on the swing, than working on my cat painting.

Many of the birch trees were already stripped bare, thanks in part to Hurricane Sandy’s 70+ MPH winds on October 30th.
The ground was covered in a thick blanket of crunchy leaves, which the girls wasted little time jumping into… and starting a leaf throwing fight.

They took turns burying each other….

The effects of Sandy were evident, with fallen and chopped trees lying everywhere.

Lydia, a bare-footed wood nymph, feigning sleep upon one large trunk.

We weren’t the only family enjoying the beautiful day. A large group was celebrating a child’s birthday at the park, and my kids were excited to mingle with kids their own age.

Jacob in particular was drawn to a 3-year-old girl dressed in iridescent fairy wings. They fluttered from swing-set to monkey-bars to merry-go-round like a pair of moths.
I would have taken a few shots of them together, but I wasn’t sure if the girl’s mother would appreciate my posting her daughter’s picture here online.

There will be opportunities later when Jacob begins dating in earnest.

My curious sweetheart, in need of a haircut, is asking me to read aloud the graffiti scrawled into the tunnel slide…. “Exit Here” seemed appropriate.

When the other group of children were called into the pavilion for “cake and pizza”, it was our cue to pack up and begin the trek back home.

With a promise from Mommy that there would be cake and pizza for our dinner, too!

We Painted Rocks For Easter

This Easter, instead of participating in the traditional egg hunt, and coloring a couple dozen hard-boiled eggs, we decided to paint rocks.

You might attribute some Biblical symbolism to rock-painting, however it was mainly due to my unwillingness to make a large bowl of egg-salad. LOL
Dyed eggs have to be boiled and eaten, eventually, or else they’ll be wasted…. and I prefer my eggs raw for baking sweets!

These rocks will be lasting tokens of our Easter memories, and can function as home accents, bookends, votive holders, paper weights…. argued my logical side.
On an emotional level, I’ve always been in love with the shape, weight, and texture of natural rocks.

But these rocks wouldn’t stay “natural” for long! Heehee

We began our Easter afternoon with a “rock hunt” at the local park…

Looking back, we should have taken a road trip to the nearest river for smooth egg-shaped stones, but they were in a hurry to get home and paint them!

We took our three-baskets-full upstairs to my art studio, where I’d covered the carpet with plastic bags. I’d considered using cloth, but was afraid the drying paint would “glue” the rocks to the fabric….

They borrowed a few of my old brushes, and bottles of FolkArt Outdoor weather-proof craft paint.

Mia also decided to paint her face! Fortunately, it washed off with soap and water…

Lydia abandoned her brush, and opted for “hands-on” application.

Jacob lost his patience with the painting process early on, deserting us in favor of “Man Time” with Daddy: playing video-games. :OP

We let them dry for a couple of hours, then placed them inside one of the Easter baskets for display.

[Three days after Easter, the rocks have assimilated into their "toy" collection... to be found, and stepped on, all over the house.
You can't do that with real eggs!!! ]