http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/t-magazine/michelle-obama-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-gloria-steinem-letter.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=image&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

 

http://nyti.ms/2dYJm2L

 

If you, like me, are sad when there are no new episodes of the Great British Bake-Off to watch , you might, like me, find some comfort in the BBC’s Mary Berry’s Foolproof Cooking show.

It’s fun to see Mary in her own homey kitchen and on field trips around England.  The recipes ain’t bad either!

Contact me if you want to know how to access the media.

Here in the Rocky Mountain west, we don’t get the range of fall colors a lot of other regions around the US and the world enjoy.

Yes, it is true: our aspen trees are a magnificent sight to behold, with the leaves stirring in the slightest breeze against the backdrop of our clear, azure skies.

I’ve got a few aspens in my yard, but they haven’t started turning yellow yet (thank god, fall [leading to winter] is coming on too fast)!

So, in Denver, we have a lot of golden fall color.  But, the reds and oranges I’ve loved in my former Massachusetts and Washington state gardens are missing here.

All of this,  plus the fact that I love berries on plants, explains why I am in love with my Virginia creeper, spread across my redwood arbor, right now.  You must overlook the insect-eaten leaves of the few remaining green leaves, and just admire the colors of the blue berries and the reddish leaves.  I love this effect.

 

 

Farewell, summer…it seems like we hardly knew you!

I think it’s more than obvious that I love the look of fruits/berries on shrubs and trees!  I am so happy that my 3 dwarf crab apple trees are loaded with tiny apples  this fall.

I hope the birds let my little apples stay on the trees at least until the leaves are gone and the snow has fallen.  What a look that will be!

 

One of my favorite American painters is Joseph Decker.  Decker was a master painter of still lives.  Look at his painting of Queen Anne cherries:

While I’m on the Decker bandwagon, check out these other beauties by his hand.

                                    

 

So, I guess it is no wonder I love my crap apples!  I love it when nature imitates art (I know, that is backwards)!

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/world/europe/truffles-wine-barolo-italy.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

 

In perusing my photos, this random visual association jumped out at me.

Patterns in black and white with flesh tones, sleek mammals, and created in Florence in the 60’s!  Just a few centuries apart, is all!  Florence: always stylish.

  

Benozzo Gozzoli    1460s                                                              Emilio Pucci   1960s

Well, who can blame me?  I mean, really, what is not to love?  I’ve binge-watched the entire first series of ITV’s Victoria this week!

 

Victoria is a hit!  Gorgeous sets, incredible costumes, fine acting.

Shot in luminous, almost impressionistic, lighting and color.

 

 

Victoria will be on PBS in 2017.  You won’t want to miss it!  Contact me if you want to know how to watch it online earlier than that.