It's Autumn and the Nuts Are Falling

The commercial only came on in the fall and maybe only in Birmingham, I don't really know. I can't even remember what product they were trying to sell. All I can remember are the two squirrels sitting on a tree limb arguing about the merits of the product. One says he doesn't like it - coffee maybe? - and the other knocks him off the limb, looks into the camera and says, "It's autumn and the nuts are falling". When I was lilttle that totally cracked me up and the phrase has become a standard in the family quote catalog. If anyone remembers what they were selling, please let know.

The calendar says it's fall but the outdoor thermometer has had a different opinion. After a few nice, cool mornings, the heat and humidity came back. The first of last week brought a storm that dumped upward of 8" of rain in a few hours. I was sleeping peacefully through the whole thing until the little red dog jumped up to start barking at the thunder around 3 am. It's a comfort to know that thunder and lightning will never sneak up on me as long as she is around. This weekend, the weather has been glorious and fall is finally starting to peep in around the edges of the day. The popcorn trees (I know, I know, they are considered an invasive nuisance plant but since Hurricane Ivan they are the only trees I have left shading the house) are starting to turn gold and red and the dallisgrass has quit shooting back up the day after you mow the lawn. In the mornings the air is cool and I have enjoyed sitting on the patio to read the paper and have my coffee. Little red dog uses the time to trace the paths of every armadillo, raccoon, possum, mole and vole who has visited the yard overnight.

Saturday morning I opened all the windows and let the house take in some fresh air while I did the weekly cleaning chores. By noon I was finished with the "gotta do" things and settled in to enjoy some "wanna do" activities. I finished up a couple of necklaces I started last week and made some earrings with the semi-precious stone chips I've been collecting. Both pairs of earrings are long drops with silver feather charms at the end. One set of feathers has a green enamel oval in the center. I matched them up with clear quartz chips and deep green natural emerald chips. The other pair has red coral and turquoise chips. Next job is to get better pictures so I can start listing some new pieces on Etsy.


Several months ago I bought a floral focal component made of carved mother of pearl and have been meditating on what beads to put with it ever since. Inspiration struck on Saturday night. Unakite and autumn jasper made a nice contrast to the lacy look of the flower and tiny antique gold seed beads add just a bit of glimmer to the necklace. I have really fallen in love with the colors of the autumn jasper, unakite and Russian serpentine beads I found. I paired the unakite with brown zebra stone for another necklace. Pale blue amazonite set off the earthy browns, creams and peaches of the other stones. Now I'm working on what to use with the tiger eye and mahogany obsidian rounds I have out on the workbench.


Wendy and Mel modeled a new way to wear the 80" chain and druk bead necklace I made. The look is mah-va-lous but their mobility may be slightly compromised. Ah, the things those girls will do for fashion. The gold version is available in my shop at SeaJewels2005.etsy.com.