HerbnArts

      Cold and wet, the day is brutally different from a few days ago when we were experiencing balmy, sunny days here in Ohio.  The effects of hurricane Sandy can be felt in the Akron area.  Spread like a wet, golden carpet on the soggy ground the leaves make their last display of the season.  In a sense, the party is over. Had it not been for the hurricane effects we might have had a week or two left of the autunmal Mardi Gras of color.  But the trees are being brutally denuded as I watch from my windows.  Even Halloween may have to be posponed due to terrible weather.  Oh well, it's not like cancelling Christmas, so we'll deal with it.  Even my sacred spot has been violated.  The leafy cocoon that housed my bistro table and chair looks cold and wet and exposed to the world.  I doubt that I will sit there again this season to enjoy a Zen moment. I knew that the season for the sacred spot would be brief, just not so brief.  Time to consider a sacred spot location indoors.  I&#

HerbnArts: Clancey's Gift... :     ...The air was warm and inviting.  Colors of gold and orange blazoned everywhere.  Loading up all the essential equip...

    ...The air was warm and inviting.  Colors of gold and orange blazoned everywhere.  Loading up all the essential equipment to help me to immerse myself into the hiking experience, I set out for Silver Creek Park.  It was a trail I had not walked in many years.  Too many of my hiking friends now no longer could make the trek, but I was determined to experience that trail  more time.  For the first time in years I dug out my walking staff to help me along the way.  Strapping my fanny pack around my middle I now had some inspirational music to listen to as I walked along taking in all the sensory experiences of the trail.  The sun was bright, the air was clear.  It was peak weekend for the fall foliage and there were many families taking advantage of this season of leaf peeping.      Armed with my trusty camera I walked with a slower pace than others around me as I stopped frequently to capture the various sights along the way.  Wild asters were still b

HerbnArts: Postcards from the Pumpkin Patch... :           Everywhere the glow of the color orange eminates as we progress through October.  It is hard to believe that it is half-wa...

          Everywhere the glow of the color orange eminates as we progress through October.  It is hard to believe that it is half-way through the month.  Today is warm, much warmer than it has been for a while.  A bit of Indian summer is upon us.  This it the time for finishing up those outdoor tasks so necessary before the freezes and the snows settle in for the next several months.  Ohio's leaves are beautiful this year.  Gratefully they are taking their time to change to vibrancy.  Always eager to steal a Zen moment.  I enjoyed my mid-morning breakfast in my sacred spot in the side garden.  Dining in my orange-colored cacoon gave me the impression of how it must be to live inside a pumpkin.  Silly thoughts from an old garden fairy?  So much for whimsy...      The breezes are strong enough to rustle all my windchimes.  Even the tiny windchime I placed in my sacred spot is tinkling its light-hearted tune.  Another wooly bear caterpiller has graced my kitchen door w