Sappy days

Here are just a few reasons why I love the autumn season:



I get a bit nostalgic this time of year and think fondly of my childhood in CT. It's a little damper here in WA compared to a New England fall, and as a result the crunch of dead foliage as you walk is a bit muted. The colors of the changing leaves aren't quite the shocking display that Vermonters and their neighbors might enjoy either.

I scrambled today, with my wife and dog, over treacherously slippery logs and under the cover of the largest trees I've known. I dug deep into the woody mulch with my fingers and crushed a chalky mushroom in my fist. As my dog bounded ahead in pursuit of a chuckling squirrel, I smiled and felt the change settling all around me.

Fall is an aptly named season, because change descends from above and rests around us. It is a more subtle season with a long approach. It is a season for letting go of the past and thinking with anticipation of the future.

boxy

Here is a box that I made recently that I'm only sort of proud of. It has aesthetic elements that alone I like, but together make for a bit of a cluttered and odd look. This is the first time that I've attempted hand cut dovetails and though they aren't perfect, I am fairly pleased with the results. The hinge is a shell from a .223 caliber that I found while hiking. I drilled a hole in it and drove a small brass nail through the top as a stop so that the lid just pivots off of the shell and cannot be pulled off.




Fall tends to bring out the creative and industrious in me. Unfortunately it also brings out the instinctual urge to eat entire platters of pasta and then nap for twenty odd hours. These conflicting desires usually result in me waking up at odd hours full of energy and artistic thought. Because of my close proximity to sleeping neighbors however the resulting manifest is endless Netflix instant play and more pasta. ACK! I sound like a damn Kathy comic.