Doodle Time

                             

Want to make a meaningful, unique holiday gift for that special friend?  How about trying a little doodling.  Look for patterns anywhere -- in nature, online, in books at the library -- or simply create your own.  With just a black marker and a small piece of paper, the materials are easily accessible and won't break the bank.  Have fun and remember that when doodling there are no mistakes.

Thanksgiving reflection

"Be yourself; 

everyone else is already taken."

                                          --Oscar Wilde

Gratitude

Lost in the Woods

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees."

                                                           -- Henry David Thoreau

Crunchy Underfoot

"The rustling of the leaves is like a low hymn to nature."

                                                                                          --James Ellis

Fall Mosaic

"It looked like the earth was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon."

                                                                           --Sarah Addison Allen

Dock in the Bay

"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature.  It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature."

                                         --Henry David Thoreau

Stunning

How fortunate I am to live in an area where the fall foliage is stunning.  Annually most Iowans look forward to the cool nights and mild autumn days when Mother Nature works her magic and creates beautiful forest tapestries of reds, oranges and yellows.  Although many leaves have now fallen, just a few days ago I snapped this photo as I walked along a stretch of the Maquoketa River between Manchester and Delhi.

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."

                                                      --William Cullen Bryant