Yesterday was Moonie’s first day home, and mine too from being away on a trip, so I asked what he wanted to do. I saw his little mind burn steam going back and forth between music and cookies and dancing and hugging flowers, but he finally decided.

“Art!” he shouted.

“OK, let’s do art,” I said.

“And leaves!” he added.

“And leaves,” I agreed.

Fall is the prettiest season to be in my home state of Massachusetts, so I drove Moonie up to Natick, where the Natick Artists Open Studios was in its second and final day. What a beautiful day to see 70 local artists!

We stopped to take a few little walks at Turner Pond and Middlesex Pond and at Kingsbury Grist Mill.

Moonie’s spiky hair quickly filled my cell phone screen as he jumped in front to take in the pretty view.

He enjoyed seeing the water wheel.

And “the big grindy thing,” as he called it.

But despite the pretty day, we couldn’t wait to pop indoors to see art in different studios. Even inside the Natick Center for the Arts, though, Moonie found pretty fall leaves to hug.

We walked around town looking for tell-tale green and purple balloons and other signs to announce that art was inside for public viewing. Boy, does Moonie like balloons!

We had a great afternoon finding art in studios, stores, and even some unexpected places. For example, a fitness center served as home base for a craft show featuring beautiful handmade jewelry and notecards and warm knitted things, which we hadn’t expected but thoroughly enjoyed.

But Moonie’s favorite stop in the walkable little downtown area turned out to be Gallery 55, where a nice silversmith paused in making pretty jewelry so Moonie could come get an up-close view of his character-filled workspace.

Moonie’s other favorite thing at this gallery was their collection of more than 400 antique printing plates. They were designed, many of them during the Depression and World War II, to print covers for periodicals in libraries. Moonie thought they were pretty awesome.

Our last stop – but not least, Moonie insisted – was Renew Arts & Industry, where Moonie immediately found a way to admire his reflection in some art deco pieces.

He also zoomed in on this pink phone, which he attempted to get me to buy for its pretty color (I had to pass. No landline).

He did talk me into some lucite candles from mid-last-century, however, and while I went to pay for them he excitedly looked through some of Virginia Fitzgerald‘s dress cards for sale.

He tried to decide which origami dress would look better on him.

I finally coaxed him away from the dresses by reminding him that we hadn’t had lunch. We went to Bakery on the Common, where Moonie promptly ate everything in sight, and finished it off with a local beer at Barleycorn’s Craft Brew, which gave Moonie the cutest little hiccups.

All in all, not a bad day in Natick.