Giving thanks … colour is all around us
I spent a couple of hours over the weekend, taking images of things around the house and garden that have recently made me internally smile. I’m sooo grateful for the beautiful Septembery sunlight days that we’ve been experiencing and the colourful signs of autumn approaching too. Somehow it makes the slow winter creep, seem less daunting.
Often we are in too much of a rush to get somewhere or to get something done quickly, that we walk by and ignore beauty on our doorstep. I’ve been patiently waiting for my Orchid to produce an shoot that turned green and travelled skyward. Once this had happened, the flowers are now just beginning to open. How amazing is nature !
Even the apples in my breakfast bowl have been rosy on the insides lately : )
I’ve noticed how other fruit are super colourful too, and outside the leaves in a neighbour’s garden are flickering with reds, oranges and fiery hues.
A few of the trees have just begun to discard leaves and turn them flame-like on the floor.
This orange squeaky toy is a real fav of my dog Boo. Yes noisy it’s true, but everytime she plays with it I have to smile at her excitement. These less colourful birds were drawn on remnants of Mark Hearld’s wallpaper.. how else do you use up small pieces too precious to throw away lol ?
Boo likes to keep an eye out on who’s passing by from time to time. Thankfully her obsession for doing this has lessened. Is that a cat.. or a snake in the grass !
Sometimes the excitement is all too much !
Seed pods are everywhere at the moment… spikey, protected and encased, with their inner, shiny and jewelled rewards !
A new studio rug has been an all round hit. Boo can now fly free from her carpety prison bars.
To be honest one of the things which hasn’t made me smile this weekend was discovering this huge spider and seeing what a massive web it’s been busy assembling. The web (not the spider) is the width of these double doors and about a metre in height ! and excuse me but when did spiders in the UK get to be so big ? (Urg).
Fortunately this was the exception and to celebrate here’s a leafy bouquet I gathered to herald the start of the Autumn.
I finally like the fact that my blog has now over 200 daily email followers and I got a little notice to say it has received over 1000 likes, 2,500 comments and over 450,000 views since it began !
A big THANK YOU to everyone and please keep telling your friends about my blog and commenting on the posts too. This blue glass star is mine, one I brought back from Africa and recently rediscovered.
Try and take a moment out of your busy schedule to see what is around you that might make you smile, and do let me know what you’ve found as a result of reading this.
A happy week of colour to everyone !
fishinkblog.com 
I think the blog is great. jo lamb
Thanks Jo, always a pleasure to hear : )
Beautiful words, beautiful pictures, adorable Boo … everything I do (even the giant spider), look around us is simple and full of wonders. And you know as well as grasp …
: ) we share thoughts
Heartwarming and inspiring – thank you for all the time and energy spent creating your blog
My pleasure, I also appreciate your comment too, Happy Day
Gorgeous colours and thoughts as always Craig! The sketches and leaf bouquet at the end are my favs, although I still want to take Boo home with me!! xxx
Luckily she doesn’t have a passport for Italy otherwise I’m sure she’d come willingly.
Its Lovely to see someone enjoy natures wonderful gifts, I love the autumn its my favourite time of year, so much vibrant colour and beauty abound. Thankyou for sharing, It is a sure sign of a quality individual who appreciates the natural world.
Thanks John for your appreciative comment. I didn’t know the spiders were the females actually, do you know this because the males are often small ? I’m not looking forward to them moving inside… perhaps I should make some cosy, furnished, outdoor spider homes for them 😉
By the way Im sure you know but those large spiders are the females, they come in from the cold at this time of year, so you may find her nearer than you think!
Wonderful images great blog many congrats on 1000 likes ! 😄
Thanks Karen, an achievement which could only have happened with the help of all my readers. Thanks to everyone
Hi Craig, Love the colors and beauty of God’s creation. The apples… Pink Lady Apples? Just wondering. Boo’s curled tail ‘hiding’ in the Mother-in-law plant, made me smile. And that spider, I think we’d have a better idea of it’s size if you had placed your hand next to it for comparison… 😉 We seem to be having a bumper crop of spiders in our area this year, and some have come inside… bleh. Great blog Craig. I often leave your blog open on my computer to better enjoy your photos. The bouquet of leaves is very attractive, but the others have their merits too–enjoying them all. Really like the still life of shells, rock, weathered wood and leaf patterns. I have heard that orchids are easy to grow?? Your’s is so pure and lovely.
As ever thanks Joy for your comments which also make me smile. Not sure what the apples were, perhaps Pink Lady but i don’t usually buy those so I’m foxed.
Full marks for spotting Boo’s tail in amongst the mother-in-laws-tongue plant, which belonged to my nan and I’ve looked after these last 30 years.
My hand is going no where near that spider thanks all the same for your helpful hints lol
Orchids are quite easy to look after it’s true, but you can wait years for a new shoot to grow that turns into a flowering stem and not just an aerial root. Easy to overwater too sometimes but generally not a fussy plant.
Lovely to think that my photos sit on your screen on the other side of the world and keep you amused.
I like the internet. So what have you discovered around your space that made you smile ?
Actually Craig, your post inspired me to go for a leisurely bike ride around town, and besides the over-abundance of spiders around here, I have spotted a Praying Mantis and a woolly worm. Took lots of leaf and house pics and hope to post soon on my blog… Your ‘Nan’ is your Grandmother, correct? I once made the mistake of asking another English blogger if he actually had a Nanny when he wrote about his own ‘Nan’. I also had the Mother in law plant a few (actually about 25 years ago) years back and lo and behold it bloomed one day… white, stinky flowers on a long stem.
Great to hear that my post inspired you to do those things. Spotting a praying mantis.. wow what a treat ! Yes my my grandmother is the same meaning as my ‘Nan’. I also have had the rare occurrence of getting a white flower from my plant, although it smelt quite tropical and sweet, it has only happened once in all the time I’ve had it.
Yup it’s a flowering plant that keeps making me smile every time I use my loo. It’s an African violet which was the first pressie my 14 yr old bought me, from his school fair…..possibly when he was only 6? It has been rather neglected …… Watered occasionally when the soil became that parched it actually shrunk away from the sides of the pot. But now it has miraculously bloomed. How can you not smile at Mother Nature
Thank you for reminding me again how the simple things in life are truly beautiful. Gonna print off the leaf photo and stick it on my works PC to bring in the outside for everyday
Xxxx
Lovely story Sarah, thank you for sharing it and that’s what I hoped to inspire. : ) You need another african violet to take to work, perhaps a cutting whilst it’s blooming ?
That’s really testing my horticultural skills ;-/
Pssst… Craig… I linked to your blog from mine… my nature ride.
Thanks for doing that, long may the inspiration continue.