the leaf.

In the waning light of a post-daylight savings time November, I decided to take advantage of the conspicuous lack of snow and go for a walk along the Erie Canal. The canal is only about a 10-minute walk from campus, so it's quite normal to see many Nazareth students, as well as community members, taking advantage of the path that runs along its edge. On this particular Tuesday, I set off armed with my apple, camera, and book a little after 4pm, just after I had finished my classes. I walked for about forty minutes before turning back, so the sun had already set by the time I returned to campus. I never did end up sitting down to read at all, but I spent time capturing some of the last fall light and, of course, carving a well-inspired leaf into my apple before eating it.

Here are a few of the pictures I took along the way, some of the inspiration for this particular carving:

the hedgehog.

I'd like to introduce a little hedgehog the came into being a few weeks ago (I just uploaded pictures today). He is the first carving I've done in a long time, despite the near end of apple season. I started university this year, so I've been swamped with work, and it took a little while to get used to life on campus and try to get over missing Belgium (which still hasn't been successful, by the way). But at least I finally found time and enough inspiration to get back to my apples, and I think mr. hedgehog was a good new start.

here's a closeup: