At least it didn't rain

 Darn, I'm still cold. I was nicely bundled up yesterday but getting my house up to 70 degrees is proving to be difficult this morning. My plan was to rake leaves but I do not want to go out there just yet. I did fill the bird feeder and throw out more seed for them, knowing they are colder and hungrier than I am.

Cold Halloweens kind of spoil the costuming but at least it didn't rain so I could still wear the Jell-O. I forgot that whenever I bring it out I get to have lots of conversations about  Jell-O Art and the creative process and that was unexpectedly super fun.

The customer interactions that I did have were wonderful as usual and though sales were pitifully few at least I sold something. That would have been harsh to make the effort to show up and then lose money. I mean, I kind of did, because I spent more than I made, but I've been stocking up on a few farmers' products since I don't expect to see them as much going forward. I really miss the farmers' market in the winter but it is so hard to go out on a Saturday in the offseason, I just don't. It's a fine luxury to do other things on a weekend besides work and prepare to work and recover from work.

Met some new members yesterday in all that leisure time and although they weren't new, we hadn't really looked much at each other's booths before, which is the upside of not being very busy. Hearing members talk about their work is always illuminating, even if it might be their usual spiel they give every potential customer. I am not personally familiar with the joys of every craft, though we often share that we do want to try a bit of everything as we are generally a very curious group of people.

Hearing about their explorations while they searched for the craft that stuck reminded me of my own art journeys and that they will never be over (until I am....) I'd almost forgotten the old story that Jell-O Art made me an Artist but there I was telling it again to someone else who had no idea what the nuances and depths of Jell-O Art are about. Maybe a new Jell-O artist is in the making!

Costumes were subdued but I had to force myself to "Haul the Ass" as my friend put it, since I have just faced market as a chore to get through recently. I want to have fun, but it seems risky since people are out there who would like to spoil it. So I didn't get elaborate, just took it and two Jell-Os with me and hoped I would feel like putting them on. I was quickly encouraged to do that. It's fun wearing something no one can really see from the front. As at Fair, the bustle is super popular and even though I didn't make it myself, I am glad I made use of it. It was so timely I could make presidential jokes so that political aspect was also unexpected and extra fun. I told one person "Quiet Piggy!" to their shock and I only did that once, as it was so unpleasant. It didn't make it funny. I haven't enjoyed at all watching an old pedo lose his control and let his venom out, so like most people I know I am more than ready to not have to think about these "jokes" any more. I tried to just take everything as a compliment. 

 The bird hats are one of the most fun products I have made...so many birders in the world. One returning buyer got a Meadowlark and we got to chatting. I told him I had seen a bird I wasn't sure of in my yard, which had very distinctive spots on it's breast, and he knew right away it was more than just my guess of a small thrush. He knew that the Swainson's Thrush has a reddish tail and that those have mostly migrated, but that it was surely a Hermit Thrush which I had looked up in the Sibley's but the picture didn't really highlight the spots. I looked in a few more books today and it was definitely right. I've been trying to pin down the Fox Sparrow for a long time as Lotte mentioned it in one of her journals but it wasn't one of those. Close though. I'm going to see one someday. I have been reading a book by Christian Cooper about birding and he describes waiting for hours for a bird to show itself, talking about the succession of migrating warblers in Central Park NYC, but I am not as patient and mostly just get lucky when they drink at my watering stations or perch in my trees. Maybe one of the joys of aging will be spending more time sitting with the binos patiently waiting. 

The thrill of a new bird never gets old. We also talked about plants and I have a potential new one to get, Coyote Brush, which is native to California. Reading about it just now, I probably won't put one in, but it is a late fall bloomer and he said he saw so many species of pollinators on it that he was astonished. He was really a naturalist, and I'm not as interested in the insect world, but maybe I could be. I have definitely noticed that all of the flying things are not finding enough plants to feed on right now. I suppose we might want to put in more plants from the southern reaches of our range, because of the climate zones creeping north, so I'll keep it in mind. Bug life would certainly hold plenty of material for hats, and I am often asked for them. Nothing is more fun than hearing some person really get into their favorite subjects, whether that be clay or little flying creatures. 

I'll be going to market for the last day, next week. It might be only a few of us, but those goodbye hugs and last "See you Saturday" moments are important to me. None of us know if we will really return, and that gets less certain all the time. Yesterday was mostly about friends, and feeling lucky to have them. I'm going on the last day for those friends. We'll be packing in the dark, but it will still make us feel good on the way home.