Soma Acharya

My October – Part II

Hi Everyone! Hope you are having a good autumn. I was going to post the rest of my daily October photos last week. However, a winter storm came to the Sierra mountains, and I couldn’t help but pack the bags and head toward it. I am so happy to say that we were welcomed by much-needed snow which, for those of us who live in the west, is more precious than gold these days. So, without further ado, here are the rest of my October photos.

13th – Journalling. Our tall redwood tree loves to shed a LOT in October and I love picking up these cones. They make a beautiful red stain. Looking forward to sketching these four in my nature journal.

14th – Bounty. October is when I collect seeds from two of my dye plants, Coreopsis and Indigo. I made the little seed packets myself. Didn’t realise until I took the photo that the yellow/gold paper I used for the packet matches the Coreopsis seed pods.

15th – Trust. This little one LOVES to play all day long with his kitty siblings, but does not quite trust us humans yet. I treasure those rare occasions when I can get close to him. I had all of 5 minutes to take a few photos. Those blue eyes make me think of rain. We are a kindred soul, he is smitten by winter just as much as I am. He is Merwyn, the sea friend.

16th – Autumn afternoon. Walking on soft straw, looking at some alien-looking pumpkins on a beautiful October afternoon.

17th – Advent calendar week 2. I open my advent calendar in October. This is Harry waiting at the Leaky Cauldron.

18th – Foraging. I couldn’t find any acorns at the local park, but found quite a few oak galls. I collected a few to make iron gall ink at home.

19th – Favourite. Every October I look forward to getting butternut squash. I often pick up a few extra and store them in a dry place so I can enjoy them off season. Instead of the grocery store, this year I got them at the pumpkin patch. I never noticed the star pattern and green lines that extend from the stem on the grocery store ones.

20th – Warmth. The first fire of the season is always so special. Read by a warm fire in my little library surrounded by books and cats, then end the night listening to the music of embers before bedtime.

21th – Stargazing time. I miss stargazing during the days of long daylight. Those nights are just not long enough to set up the telescope for extended stargazing before bedtime. I would be completely lost in the spring and summer sky. However, with longer nights, I probably know the autumn and winter sky better than my own backyard.

22nd – Getting ready for the night out. I don’t even remember when I fell in love with the stars. My books and the night sky were the two stable things during my childhood. I use this one for astrophotography, and I use my 10″ telescope mostly for exploring the night sky.

23rd – Peaceful. I find the act of knitting to be extremely peaceful. This blue yarn matches the eye colour of my sweet kitty.

24th – 3rd week of advent calendar. Harry is getting ready for Hogwarts.

25th – Something Wicked This Way Comes. I read that book by Ray Bradbury in high school, and the story haunted me for a very long time. A few years ago, I mustered up enough courage to read it again, and I am glad to say that Dark’s Pandemonium does not haunt me any more. This wagon always reminds me of the book and in turn, to find my courage.

26th – Trick or Treat. Made little bags with colouring book, stickers, pencils, notepad, bookmark and of course ghoulish candy for the little monsters. I made 48 bags and they were all gone, plus additional candies and pencils. Happy little moments.

27th – Old Friend. Charlie is our oldest friend, just three weeks away from being 19. Don’t let his calm face fool you. He is super naughty and playful. I had to wait till he was mostly sleepy to take this picture of our Charlie! He loves to “sing”, which is to say he bellows his heart out. If I reciprocate by making the same sounds, he continues on with me. It’s a lot of fun to sing along with him.

28th – Charlie’s Adventure. He also has been the source of many a story and fun artwork over the years, and he has always been my Halloween kitty. I designed the patterns and made this quilt around a little story I wrote called Charlie’s Adventure. I make sure to use this quilt every October. The story and the quilt details are all here on Charlie’s Adventure if you want to share it with a little one in your family.

29th – Last week of advent calendar. Adventures are always so much more fun when shared with friends. Harry finally joins his friends for his train journey to Hogwarts.

30th – Magic. Everything turns a bit magical as All Hallows Eve approaches. I tapped into that magic to paint these pumpkins.

31th – All Hallows Eve. My little desk-buddy is ready for Halloween with his pet spider. He is a bit shy and finds Trick or Treat to be a daunting task. However, he gave it a go anyway and enjoyed it quite a bit in the end.

Here are My October 1 – 12 photos

My October – Part I

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

Tavish the twin, Pemberley the autumn forest

Merwyn the sea friend and Charlie the musician

That finishes my 31 photos for 31 days of October. It was so wonderful to reacquaint myself with my best friend, my camera. I was feeling very lackluster at the beginning of the month, but taking these photos really stoked my motivation. I do hope you liked the photos and the anecdotes. From our family to yours Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Autumn! I will see you in December.

-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. They are always a source of new inspirations. Please pay them a visit.

My October – Part I

Posted on October 12, 2022
by Soma Acharya
Bookmaking, Kitties, Knitting, Photography

Hello Everyone! After six long months of being confined indoors, by the time October arrives, I am desperate to step outside and breathe in a lungful of fresh air. I have been missing taking photos with my DSLR camera and lenses. So, very suddenly at the beginning of the month, I decided to do a mini everyday photo project called My October.

1st October – First travel dates are set. Poring over maps and making notes for best photo spots and times. I typically do most of my photography either very early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The window of photography per day is very short, so I have to make the most of it.

2nd October – I always read The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury in October. I used to visit an old bookstore in Los Angeles. The proprietor was a wonderful lady who saved this copy for me. The shop has since sadly closed down, but the book has fond memories for me. I have even read it by campfires, so there may be a few soot marks here and there in the book.

3rd October – Yellow Chrysanthemums. I have had this wee plant for close to two decades now. The extreme heat wave this year took a toll on it. I spruced it up however, and the buds are starting to bloom like starbursts. This means my favourite seasons are here.

4th October – October colour – Orange. “Hi! I am Tavish. Nice to meet you.” He spends his days with me while I work in my room.

5h October – Getting ready for some extensive photography days. My camera and I go way back. My best friends and my security blanket. It is well-travelled and bear many marks of spending time outdoors. Now it is time for some generous TLC.

6th October – A little treasure. I had the most wonderful art teacher in high school. She had a fabulous teacher’s assistant who gave me this reference photo for painting. I lost the painting, but the photo survived. I don’t know if this kitty even belonged to anyone, but I feel like she belongs to me and she has become my oldest kitty friend. I get most anxious when I misplace this photo. Now she is going to reside in my sketchbook, which is more of a painter’s notebook. The photo actually has some splatters of the green watercolour paint I used all those years ago.

7th October – Getting cosy. Much to my delight, it gets very cold in my room and I love to get cosy and warm. The old blanket is my most favourite. All my kitties have grown up on it. They pile up on it on the cold days when we read, watch tv or play video games together. I am wrapped in those memories whenever I use this blanket.

8th October – Mud-stained boots. I love to do photography in what is known as “bad weather”. If I am to be a storm chaser, then I better keep my gear in tiptop shape. Time to clean these up, check for damage, and have them ready for the outdoors.

9th October – I open my Advent calendar in October! I get the Lego Harry Potter one every year and save it until the next October. I love to walk into my room every morning with a cup of coffee and open those little windows, one per day.

10th October – Garden surprise. We have two HUGE trees flanking our backyard: a black walnut tree and a redwood tree. They both shed a lot starting in October. Sometimes I come across little treasures on the ground that the trees drop for me to find. Here’s a little look at what happens far up there, at the top of the tree. I had to use my macro lens to take the details, it is tiny!

11th October – Sun glow. Our Japanese Maple sadly suffered much heat damage from the steady 49 C / 120 F temperatures we had for a few days during late summer, and from the drought. The sun-facing leaves are all burnt. We started the TLC right away and are seeing signs of life returning. The leaves turn into little rubies glinting in the last firelight of the sun. I get to see the drama unfold every day through my window starting about this time of year while I sit at my desk and work.

12th October – Late autumn Forest. I often imagine hearing a sudden whisper of winds blowing through the leaves, and a part of the forest floor transforms into a cat form. She goes by the name Pemberley. Just like the wind, she is never still.

An extra photo – Before I wrap up I want to share this little story with you. Recently, this everyday bullet journal I made travelled to its new home. During an email exchange, she shared about the things she made from my quilt patterns and how they are enjoyed by her family, one of whom lives in Italy. She also mentioned that this journal is going to travel to Spain to her granddaughter who is studying there. I love hearing these stories specially on the days when I am lacking motivation and wondering if all the artwork I do and write about has any purpose.

The journals are available in my shop.

If you are new here, I suffer from really bad allergies to the point where I can’t breathe and get chest constriction. Even though I am super excited about being outside after so long, I have been feeling a bit lack luster lately. I can always rely on photography to give me much-needed focus. So this is first half of My October. It is such a magical month! Let me know your favourite thing about October. I love to read little stories in the comments.

Until next time,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. They are always a source of new inspirations. Please pay them a visit.