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I keep watching for something STUNNING to appear in my sky.  And this week, the most stunning thing is that there wasn’t anything stunning.  It’s been very gray and fall almost winter-like.  Sometimes drizzly, sometimes misty, but always gray.  So here are some pictures taken just this morning (Thursday) to prove my point.  I realize now that it’s beautiful in its own way.

You don’t have to point out that this isn’t a picture of the sky - but if the trees look like this, can you imagine what the sky looks like?  Just open up a blank word document, create the entire page to a very light gray, and you’ll have the right image.  There is no variation - no tone-on-tone.  Just plain whitish-gray.

After taking the picture above, the farm dogs came up the lane, so I retook the shot - with them in it.

The grayish dog is an Australian Cattle dog, also known as a Blue-Heeler.  We adopted him as a biggish puppy from a family in town because he needed to live in the country and run.  The other dog adopted us - she is incredibly friendly, but her friendliness manifests in a low growl, which we translate as "welcome, I’m so glad to see you" but people who don’t know her translate as "I’m not going to get out of my car without sharing my sack lunch with this dog."  She has lived on our farm ever since we bought it - we feed her, get her rabies shots updated and all.  So that must make her ours, right!?  The dogs run all over and play like they’ve never been apart.  (I actually think this paragraph makes this post part of my "Critters of Gredemeer" series, don’t you?  DONE)

Both of the above pictures were taken out of our front door.  The back looks a bit brighter today because the hills aren’t so close by.  But it’s still super misty.

And so I don’t leave out you pond watchers, here’s your shot of the week:

The clouds have been thick and present all week.  And we’ve gotten some much-needed rain.  Unfortunately with the rain comes some pretty chilly temperatures.  I’m very grateful for our outdoor wood furnace, and for Prince Farming and our son who keep it well stocked.  It allows me to sit inside with short sleeves and bare feet.  Just the way I like it.

You can see more skies - sunny, cloudy, or clear by visiting skyley.  Hundreds of people are watching the skies on your behalf.

It’s hard to believe this is my 12th Skywatch post!  In some ways I feel like I’ve been watching the sky for way longer than a few months.  In other ways I still feel like such a newbie/amateur.  But skywatching is in my blood now.  Not a day goes by without some sky observation - whether out loud, or just an internal conversation (you know - with the voices).

I was heading out the door on Sunday and Prince Farming said "if you want a cool sky picture, you should take it now" (or something along those lines).  My arms were full of stuff - so I handed him the camera, and this is what he got.  I always enjoy how the mist hangs around here in the mornings - but these layers were particularly interesting and appealing and mysterious.

Last weekend we were driving into an amazing sunset.  By the time we could pull over for a shot it was too late to see the fantastic display, but I got this picture.  I love silhouette shots (probably because with this kind of light and my kind of camera - and my kind of skill - that’s all I can get).  This isn’t stellar - just a sort of "happy spot" for me - so thanks for obliging me.

This one didn’t turn out too badly - still silhouette-ish though.

The light in the late afternoons has been stunning - really highlighting the awesome colors.  I keep threatening to go for a "walk-about" to get some different fall shots.  But here is a familiar view - the light makes the place look less like a farm and more like a park.  Or it would, if I knew how to take this shot differently.  How blessed are we!?

That pile of something near the tree is where Prince Farming is digging out a tree stump.  Aren’t you glad that tree isn’t there anymore?  You wouldn’t see much of the pond if it were.  The stump was a bit hazardous to the equipment.  Prince Farming had borrowed a little excavator (you remember - for the barn plumbing job) and tried to dig around the stump enough to get it out.  No luck.  He’ll have to wait his turn with the dozer to get it out the rest of the way.  And the cows have moved to the far field - those black specks in front of the far tree-line is part of the herd.  They seem to be loving life.   Last week I saw them run - just for the sake of it.  Don’t know if it was to warm up a bit, or because something spooked them.  I looked for dogs, but saw none.  They just sort of took off.  Too funny.  The herd is going to double some time this month - our farmer friend "Uncle Robert" has been holding on to a small herd for us.  When it’s convenient he’ll load them up and bring them over.  I hope their introduction to our farm is less blog-worthy than the current herd.  You were spared the details because they came during my pre-blogging life.  But they inspired me to start blogging because of all the adventures (and mis-adventures) they created.

You can see more amazing sky pictures from all around the world by visiting here.

If any of you have missed posting a Skywatch entry for one week, you might understand how I’m feeling.  It is amazing how many skies there are to share, and missing one week just really makes a person feel behind.  But I’m going to shake these feelings of behindness - goodness knows they’re manifesting all over in my life - and I’ll just enjoy the opportunity I have now to share.  So glad to be back.  Life feels a little out of balance.  There’s nothing like a few skies to browse to wash the tension out of my shoulders (only to have it wrenched back in when I realize how much time I’ve spent visiting sky blogs and how much behinder I just got!)

Fall is in full swing.  The colors haven’t been as intensely varied as in years passed, but I’m still enjoying the colors.  And the cool air (it’s been downright COLD this week!).  The skies change too - I’ve never taken the time to observe the sky changes before this year.  It’s been so much fun!

The clouds seem more dense on some of these fall evenings.  I love to watch them - these were traveling at quite a clip.  They had some other places to see.  Wish they’d take me along!

These clouds were content just to sit and watch my pond.  And the cows.

With the sun coming up a bit later, it’s easier for me to see some colors from the Library window.  I love how the mist just hangs in this picture.  This is quite typical of where we live - sometimes it takes quite some time to burn off.

The color on this evening was SO dense it made the whole farm feel orange. 

Happy fall, and happy sky watching!  Thanks for stopping by.  You can see more amazing sky pictures from all around the world by visiting here.

We’ve been anticipating rain, I guess as a result of all the Ike activity, but it only happened once this past week (rain, that is).  The sky has been changing colors, and I don’t know whether it’s because of that storm activity, or the pending change in seasons.  The air is cooler, and I can feel fall coming.  I LOVE the fall.  Especially in these hills.   These pictures are inspired by the color changes that I’m anticipating.

There’s a reason they call this area "Smoky Mountains."  The mist just hangs.

My post (and your week) would be incomplete without a pond shot, so here you go:

You can see another really cool misty shot from this week here.

Play along with sky watch, or stop by and see all sorts of skies from all around the world here.

Today will be a short post – I promise.  Because pictures have been a bit sparse all but absent, I thought you’d enjoy a view of what makes my farm living so worthwhile.  Our home has a wall of windows that face north-ish.  In the summer time there are huge trees that impede some of our view, but I love having them there because it also impedes others’ views of us.  They’re not so close that the house is dark by any stretch of the imagination.  Our house is NEVER dark (except in the dead of night without much of a moon) In the fall, the colors are STUNNING – I can’t wait to share the views with you. 

We’ve been having some significant thunderstorms for the past few days.  Sitting in my living room is like having a front seat in an Imax theatre.  It’s just awesome.  I feel like I’m outside, but with all the comforts of not being there (air conditioning, no bugs, and no humidity).  After the thunderstorm, the mist makes the field look almost surreal.  Photography is not my strong point, and no camera can compensate for my crazy shaking hands, but you get the idea.  This is taken from one of the kitchen windows.

Here is a picture of the barns.   The furthest green-roof barn is full of hay (round bales).  It was a lot smaller (shorter) last year this time, and it mostly blew over in a huge storm.  We had the frame rebuilt, then Prince Farming and I put the sides on (April ‘08).  The middle/older barn was on the property when we moved here.  It has some hay in it, and 4 horse stalls (currently empty or filled with square bales for the relatives’ horses.  It is also home to our newest family members. . . chickens.  The closest barn will be a feed barn when it is completed.  Actually, it has a green roof on it already - thought this picture was more current.  Don’t worry - you’ll definitely see it in the fall, if not before.

This one is from the top of the mountain behind our house.  We were up there fixing the fence about a month ago, and this is a shot my daughter captured.  She took “Digital Photography” at summer camp this year, so she’s taking over my camera.  Which is fine.  She has a great eye for cool things, and is learning to frame them well.