Simple Happy Things

Simple, happy things: 

- Chewy homemade Oreo brownies under a glass dome, surrounded by pumpkins and pressed leaves

- Walks in the autumn woods with friends and family

- A friend's gift of farm-fresh apples, packaged in a simple brown box

- Rafael snacking spicy lebkuchen cookies and milk at the kitchen counter

- Bright leaves falling everywhere, covering everything

- Sweet carrots from the farmer's market, scrubbed clean and served with hummus in an old teacup

- My two-year-old son, immersed for hours in nature

- Kiki catching leaves mid-flight in the air, and chasing them on windy days

- The loving bond between Raffi and his cousins

- Peeking in on my little boy napping, cuddled into his cowboy bedding

I have been taking so many photos lately that I can hardly keep up with the photoshop editing and blogging. So much beauty out in the woods....if Rafael didn't have to nap in the middle of the day we would be in the forest from dawn til dusk! 

xoxoxo

Autumn

There was a time when I led a long-distance relationship with my now-husband. Back then, he would take a seven-hour train ride from Vienna to Frankfurt to visit me, and as we ran to each other at the train station, showering each other with kisses, I was at once happy and terribly sad, because I knew we would be back at the train station in a few days, saying goodbye. 

In autumn, I am revisited by that very same feeling. I can never simply enjoy the glowing hillsides...the way the sky fills with papery leaves when there is a gust of wind...the purples and crimsons and bright yellows...or the fallen leaves outlined with delicate frost. Because, while I am gulping in all of the breathtaking beauty, I am also aching, knowing this will all be gone so soon. 

Today I thought: I can't keep you, autumn...but I can hold you in my heart. And I picked the prettiest red and yellow leaves to press between book pages. A small way of preserving my most favorite season.

xoxo

But Most of All, October

I do love getting outside, any month of the year. But most of all, October. Every morning in October, the woods have transformed. Every evening is a bit colder and darker. We feel the power and progression of the seasons so strongly every day. 

I love October because it displays the Earth's rhythm so clearly, and I feel a part of it. There is so much emphasis on the splendor and magic of nature, but also, a strong pull towards home, the nest, the dinner table, the bed piled with quilts.

Yes...most of all October.

xoxoxo

At Home

Considering all of the nature photos on this blog, it would seem we live in the forest. But we actually do spend a lot of time in our cozy little home. 

Here are a few photos I took today, walking around our place. 

Chestnuts, acorns, and other things Rafael and I have found on our walks, along with a tiny white pumpkin that an elderly lady gave Raffi from her garden. He plays with it a lot....he loves his little pumpkin. So it's a bit scraggly already. Maybe you noticed the little beech flower with the white felt ball...my mother-in-law made it, and I find it so so sweet.

Some of my favorite books, which I use to press leaves...

Raffi has some of his fall books on display in his room. His favorite right now is Happy Halloween Curious George. I gave it to him so that he might understand Halloween when we celebrate it this year.

This boy adores children's books and magazines. Here he is this morning, during one of his reading marathons. Sometimes he is in his room looking at his books and magazines for over an hour.

Rafael has a lantern, a rabbit-shaped night light, and this little Winnie the Pooh flashlight. Because it is getting dark so early, we like having little lights that we take with us on evening walks. I think it's especially important to create little traditions for cold weather and short-days. Lighting candles at dinner, turning up the heaters before bath time, taking a thermos of hot cocoa or tea on walks.

Tiny baby-boo pumpkins and a handmade autumn garland from a generous and thoughtful friend. 

And of course many, many pumpkins, in all shapes and colors. I seem to bring one home ever day in fall.

I try my best to make this brand-new apartment feel like an old house with character. One fortunate factor is that we have the corner apartment, nestled into the woods, with a river bending around one side. Of course I dream of some day owning an old renovated farmhouse, with lots of history and charm. But for now, I am grateful to have our warm, safe home, which we have filled with love and our own stories, day by day. 

xoxoxoxo

My New Daily Rhythm

A while back I began getting up early and taking jogs, as often as I could. As a result, combined with dieting, I lost thirty pounds. I have since loosened up a little on the diet, as I am currently just trying to maintain my weight and not lose any more. But I still get up regularly to have some active time for myself.

Up until now, I headed out alone, and jogged around town, sweating and blasting upbeat music in my ipod. And then, a few days ago, a combination of things changed my daily rhythm. One of these things was the fact that, after 9 in the morning, it was already sweltering hot, and walking the dogs at that time with Rafael was not very enjoyable. The second thing was that, Raffi was getting a little bored with our morning routine, and our friends kept asking if we wanted to join them on morning trips, which we couldn't go on because of our long, slow walks with the dogs. The third factor was, I really missed taking photos in peace. I had a big Canon macro lens just sitting in it's box, because it was too heavy for me to lug around when Raffi was with me.

So, the other day, instead of jogging alone on the sidewalk, I put the dogs on leashes, hung my camera with the macro lens attached around my neck, and headed into the woods. It was a gorgeous August morning, and early enough that the air was still comfortably mild. I power walked up a steep wooded hillside so that I would also get a little bit of a workout, and then took my time snapping photographs. Not only was I happy, the dogs were absolutely overjoyed, running and sniffing and exploring paths that would have been impossible with a stroller. 

Our morning walks in the woods aren't especially long; depending on when I wake up they are between 20 and 45 minutes. But they make a huge difference in my day, and for the dogs, and also for Rafael, who can now go to the zoo or the playground in the morning as a change of pace. 

Now that I have reached my fitness goals, I am so glad to be pursuing my creative ones; taking photos in nature is one of my favorite things in the world, and I have missed doing it regularly for quite a while now.

I also finally have a bicycle! After a pretty serious bike accident in my teen years, I was afraid to ride, but with the encouragement from my husband and friends, I hopped on again during our vacation in Salzburg and loved it so much that I got a bike when we came home. So, on cool mornings when there's a breeze, I take a nice bike ride to neighboring villages for a change of scenery. It has given me an amazing sense of freedom.

These are some photos I have taken the past few mornings. 

In the cool, shady forest on foot:

And in the sunny fields on my bike:

What a big difference this small change in daily schedule has made in my life!

xoxoxo