October has begun at the Hideaway, yesterday actually. We covered the swimming pool with the leaf net that will remain over the top of the water into February probably. The water temperature yesterday reached a high of 75. One of my swimming friends who visited last year would tell me she could still swim in 75-degree water. No doubt, she could, and would, and likely has. But too chilly for me. Otherwise, it's still summer here. Fall color won't visit here until the end of the month.

Last year, we traveled to the Northeast to visit dear friends in New Hampshire. And when you visit Gerry and Christie, you will spend a lot of time outdoors. And we did. This photo is from one of our shared outings. The weather was not the best and the fall color was rather dull. And in those kinds of circumstances, I like to use a feature on my cameras that create watercolor-like images. This practice encourages me to seek compositions. I am challenged to see the scenes differently, similar to my early days as a photographer when I shot with black and white exclusively.

I've tried my hand at painting. My sister is a talented painter. I am not. However, I can pursue a similar effect with my camera. I suspect it's not fair. the images my sister creates take time. I push a shutter and then add some processing in a software program. And I have a painting! I even got this image printed on canvas. I look forward to seeing it next week. By the way, this scene is in the sand dunes of Plum Island on the coast of northern Massachusetts. Just sand and vegetation and rocks, no water.