Our Weekend in Photos 10.15.2013

As you can see, our weekend was all about pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins. We spent our Saturday sloshing through mud and puddles, our arms loaded with a harvest boon. Saturday marked the 50th celebration of the Catoctin Colorfest, a fall festival here in Frederick Country. The streets of sleepy little Thurmont--the type of town you drive through on your way to somewhere else--suddenly bursts with tents, booths, and vendors, their tables piled high with textiles, candles, paintings, pottery. The items trend from the typical, like a handmade scarf, to the surprising, like beeswax-dipped and scented pine-cones (maybe you've seen them before...I hadn't. I was impressed.) I went telling myself I wouldn't buy anything...until I saw the handmade coffee mugs.,,and then the aforementioned scented pincecones...and then the little white pumpkins...and then the local apple cider...you see where I'm going with this? There's just something about fall festivals...the crisp air, the crunchy leaves, the snuggly scarves...that loosens the pocketbook.

Isn't October just perfect? I can't get enough.

Meet Solo

Allow me to introduce ten pounds of cuteness.
A few weeks ago, we welcomed this little pitbull pup into our home. Mark called me at work to tell me he was driving to Balitmore to see this spotted puppy; about thirty minutes later he called back: "Oh my god, he's beautiful. I got him." Next thing I knew, I was frantically running the aisles of PetsMart, looking for a bed, bones, bowls, and chow. It all happened in a whirlwind, but we haven't regretted a moment. Even when he has peepee accidents on my floor. (In all honesty though, he's learning really well. He's only 12 weeks old, after all. Such a baby!)

Solo--named for rock climbing, not the cup--loves to cuddle, play tug of war, and wag his butt. Not his tail, his whole butt. And what could be better than coming home to a two-pawed bounce, waggy butt, and happy kisses? There's nothing. Nothing happier than your dog greeting you at your door.

{Hard Way Home}

Today's rainy day recipe: a sleepy pup, a mug of pumpkin spice, and a lonesome train whistle. May as well make the most of the muck.

{Some Things about Fall}

• The fat red apples and warty pumpkins overflowing the farmers' stands on Market Street. 
• The way leaves dance and skittle across the sidewalk
• The two-pawed pounce of my puppy, chasing after. 
• The trees drooping over Culler Lake's bank, dazzled by their own reflections in the water
• The slantwise cut of a sudden wind, biting your lungs with a hint of winter.
• The first blend of cut grass and wood smoke--earth's headiest aroma.
• The clutching of coffee mugs and the burrowing into blankets
• The sky grey above and the leaves below bursting with stolen colors. 

What do you love about fall?