When orange and black rules

What is it about this time of year?  When I go outside on an early Fall morning, the smell of turning leaves, the dream-like hue of overcast sky, and crisp air brushing against my skin has me reciting 19th century poetry.  If you revisit my blog around this time last year, Dickinson, Poe, Prevert, Robert Frost and Li Po were the poets whose inspired words captured this moment for me.

As a young child, Halloween meant little more to me than the time of year when I got to play dress up outside of the house and ask strangers for candy.  Which was quite daring in itself on any ordinary day.  Just exactly what our parents tell us not to do, right?  Watching my young adult grow older, this time of year has developed profound significance for me.  

The patter of rain on a pile of yellowing leaves brings my mind to the past.  I'll reminisce about how my son once jumped with gusto into leaves or wonder when the trees lost their leaves in different cities I've lived in.  All it takes is a quiet morning alone with a steaming mug of tea and suddenly I let myself get whisked away into Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market.  

Fall wistfully transports us to times past, while we still feel the flush of summer upon our cheeks.  Not yet ready to hibernate, the afternoon sun is relished on long walks.  Every morning when our dog, Owen, and I go out, I feel thankful that the garden has survived another night without frost.  Tomatoes taste even more succulent, because I know it will be another 10 months before they taste sweet and juicy again.  

This is the time of year when orange and black rule.  Their meanings run deeper than branding a holiday season.  Black signifies the trepidation we feel in our hearts as the nights lengthen, as well as the longer, darker nights.  Orange's inspiration is the last of the season's harvest, those butternut squash and pumpkins, the ripened leaves blanketing the green grass, the lingering warmth of the sun's rays.  So, this season as I'm wearing the orange and black socks my husband bought me, I'm not merely participating in the commercialization of another holiday.  Instead, we are all honoring this moment in time, paying homage to autumn, before it passes.   

                                              Ghosts Galore card by Blackbird and Peacock

Rain, rain, rain & new inventory

The weather in Upstate, NY is always kooky, but the last couple of weeks the East Coast has been bombarded by two hurricanes.  Today the surrounding schools, colleges, and gov't offices were closed due to flooding.  I feel a tremendous amount of appreciation that our house has been undamaged and all of our friends and family are safe and sound.

                                                     8 Bit Ghost Halloween Cards 

It is said that April showers bring May flowers and the same is true in my Etsy shop.  The chilly weather has forced me indoors, so I've taken the opportunity to begin adding new inventory to Blackbird and Peacock.  After such a long brake, I'm pretty excited to start showing off the new cards and journals stamped with Joe's rad designs.  The ghost is my fav and I've been waiting for him to turn that into a stamp for over a year.  

                                                 8 Bit Ghost red moleskine journal

I'll be adding some more Halloween merchandise soon, but there were some other new designs we turned into stamps recently.  I had to make a few journals using them so I could show the designs off.  

                                           8 Bit Balloon Geek Birthday red moleskine journal

                                                      Retro Bicycle moleskine journal

Ghost Stories

Do you believe in ghosts?  On July 31st, my friends and I were able to document an incorporeal being haunting this abandoned house in the Catskill mountains.  Unquestionably, it was the scariest moment of my life.

Although the house was clearly empty, before we crossed paths with the "white ghost" we felt the eyes of someone or something watching us.

At first, the ghost evaded our attempts to come close.  I was able to capture it in the image above from about 80 feet away using the zoom function on my camera.
Eventually White Ghost warmed up to us and we were able to snap some fabulous shots.

Standing in such close proximity to a real life ethereal being sent chills running up and down every part of my body, but I kept telling myself how important it was to record this moment for posterity.

Although White Ghost vanished into thin air within minutes, its presence will haunt my dreams until the day I die.