Macon, MS
Whether gray or cloudy or sunny, the sky under a tree canopy always seems to be ripe with possibilities — just like a new year and a new week! Enjoy looking up!
Macon, MS
Whether gray or cloudy or sunny, the sky under a tree canopy always seems to be ripe with possibilities — just like a new year and a new week! Enjoy looking up!
The holidays are full of traditions. It’s one of my favorite parts of celebrating. On my mom’s Christmas tree, we have a combination of ornaments from my childhood and from hers. Now, we’re adding my own kids’ memories. Every year I enjoy looking at the older glass ornaments with their discolored spots and chips — the evidence of many years of Christmas joy. They remind me of home. Here’s a look, and merry Christmas to you and yours!
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I think I mentioned that we are spending the week at our family farmhouse for Thanksgiving holidays. I’ve taken care of a few client details remotely this week, but for the most part I’m enjoying some down time and concentrated time with my kiddos. I brought a few arts and crafts projects that we’ve been enjoying, like the stamping designs I shared yesterday — a good thing because we’ve had a few rainy, cold days. Still, not much can keep us from exploring gravel roads and hay yards while we’re here, so I thought I’d share part one of views from our farm journeys. Overcast November days make for a nicely monochromatic palette, at times. I love the mood that flat light and neutral colors create. I hope you’ve have a chance to wander this week.
I’m excited to share the first post of photos and images from our recent Fall Break trip to Memphis. We’ve visited Memphis several times, mainly to enjoy the zoo and Mud Island, but we’ve always stayed on the outskirts. This year, I decided I wanted to give the kids a little more of an urban downtown experience. So, I booked our rooms at the Marriott Spring Hill Suites right on Main Street at Court Square (I definitely recommend it). One of the big draws for me in choosing that hotel was the back door access to the Downtown Trolley. The backyard of the hotel is the Court Square park space — another plus, but I’ll share more evidence of that later.
The Memphis light-rail Downtown trolley system has operated since the 1993. The system runs as the last line of Memphis’ original streetcar system, which closed in 1947. The vintage trolleys are from around the world and are each over 40 years old, but have each been restored with brass seats, transom windows, antique fixtures and hardware. The restoration makes for a sufficiently rickety and ambient-filled ride through the Downtown area. We spent our trolley rides on the Main Street line moving up and down the thoroughfare with the sound of bells, wheel lurches and cranking metal. Dark wood, rotating seats, brass window latches and watching for our stop, it was enough like an old-fashioned train ride to intrigue the kids. When we chose to walk instead of ride, the fun came in watching for the trolley and trying to gain the driver’s attention to elicit a beep of the horn. We all cheered when several drivers obliged.
I love the clarity of the light this time of year. Sunny afternoons so often produce such saturated color. The Sasanqua Camellia on the corner of our house is in full bloom now. Back in the spring, I wrestled with it (in some gravity-defying ladder acrobatics) to prune down branches that were above the roof. Now those limbs are filled with pink blossoms in varies stages of exposing their yellow centers. Even the spent and wind-blown petals on the walk surrounding the trunk seem alive with fuchsia and hot pink. Enjoy a glimpse, and I hope your Monday is filled with bloom…
Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of Small Pond Graphics. I sometimes fancy myself a frog kisser— a documentarian coaxing poignant moments from unexpected places. This blog has evolved from those moments.
The small Pond FIELD GUIDE is part diary, part sketchbook, and part wish list – an archive of ordinary wonders. For years, this space has housed my stories – creative ideas, vintage inspiration, our forays into curious places, and the simple artifacts of quiet of conscious living. Through watercolor, photography, and illustrated tales, these pages uncover the blessing of ordinary days and the wonder found in authentic places and pursuits.
I invite you to open the boxes.
Peek into the drawers.
Rustle through the pages.
I’m honored to have you here.
© Haley Montgomery for Small Pond Graphics.
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