HerbnArts

    November is moving along into December mode here in Ohio.  Today it is blustery and gray.  Sporadic rain slaps against the windows.  I've had a few days of respite from the Black Friday madness.  Working in retail certainly takes the edge off of enjoying the holidays.  But yesterday, a  Monday, a friend and I made a pleasant discovery of a favorite art gallery that was open in the early evening.  We had both commented on how it seemed so late since it gets dark so early.  It was barely 6:30pm when we drove by the Don Drumm Studio in Akron, Ohio.  "Oh, look!  They're open!  Let's go in and check out their Christmas stuff!", I told my friend.  Shopping doesn't hold the appeal it did when I was younger, the lure of twinkly stuff in specialty shops is still a draw for me during the holidays.  I am a firm believer in shopping local and shopping small, as in shopping in the small boutique types of shops and ga...

    The air was lightly cool with little movement from any breeze that barely moved the last of the autumn leaves.  Finally I found the time to have a bonfire of the downed tree branches from all the storms during the spring and summer months.  I had been looking forward to the great burn off of decrepit wood.  We had so much rain lately that it was hard to find a time when the wood was dry enough to catch fire when it was lighted. The day's plans had not worked out and I found that I was not accomplishing many of the tasks I had hoped to before the weather forces a halt to outside work. The rising moon was nearly full as it passed through the overhead trees.  Sapphire blue with wisps of deep pink clouds were the evening colors.  Surprisingly, the wood burned immediately and the bonfire became a reality.  Pulling a chair up to the fire, I sat watching it, tending it with my trusty rake to be sure all the stray branches wer...

    November already!   This year is flying away at record speed!   It is hard to think about, but at my workplace the holiday music will be played throughout the store this weekend.  Really!  Can't we wait until Black Friday?  It's no wonder that by Christmas we are all so sick of rockin' around the Christmas tree and doing the reindeer stomp.  Here in Ohio we are enjoying a few days of late autumn bliss.  It is cool, but not cold.  Sweater weather.  It's not raining (yea!).  And there are still some trees sporting colorful leaves, hanging on until the next big rain wrestles them to the ground.  I've had a bit of fun shooting a senior portrait outdoors.  It has been a while since creating any portraits like that, so I am a bit rusty, but the results have still been pretty good.  Now I remember why I like doing portrait work.  Being outdoors is always wonderful for me.  Those photos are a...