Beatrice Paw-ter

 This was the drive through our local hiking forest, just down the street, a couple of weeks ago:

But now we've got a lot more brown!

neighbor's barn

front yard...leaves are falling!

Grass is still so green and we've got blue skies every single day.

Bicyclists are still out daily...we've got to be careful on these country roads! 

Even though we've had a light frost...

...there are still plenty of flowers blooming in the garden...

...including roses! 

Gardening and I have had a falling out this year, but I still went out and gathered seeds for next year...just in case.

It's the most beautiful fall.

hornet nest fragment

Amazing sunrises!

Amazing fall baking!

carrot cake for a birthday girl!

apple fritter bread with pecans

And amazing additions!  This is Beatrice.

She's feral, but very strongly feels that she could be persuaded to stick around.  At the very least, she is willing to take our offering of daily food and shelter and come almost close enough for a quick pat.  Her feral cat house is set up right in the garden.

She likes it!

She's got a tipped ear, which means that she's been spayed.  She's awfully small, but hopefully she will stay close and we can keep her well fed through the winter.  What a sweet girl!

(our other sweet girl)

Temperatures are finally starting to fall.  Maybe soon it will be time for...SNOW!  

!!!

the Halloween gene

 Fall weather has been amazing.

I could go on and on.  Blue skies, mid 70s, just perfect!  Todd has been able to get a lot of work done on our porch, digging up old posts and securing them in concrete.

We had a great Halloween!  For a treat, I made chocolate skulls.  I melted chocolate chips and painted the inside of a mold...

To make it a little bit healthier than the store-bought stuff, I sweetened natural peanut butter with a bit of honey.

Then another coat of chocolate and voila!  A little imperfect, since these were mini cake molds, not candy molds, but they still worked...and tasted great!

We donned our Halloween gear...

...and finished the season out with a The Fly ('86) and Stepford Wives ('75) double feature!  

Since the weather has been so nice, Claudia has been outside almost every single day.

Our indoor cats are unhappy about this flagrant violation of established territory boundaries.

Although they play a little fast and loose with personal boundaries themselves!

I do many of my physical therapy exercises in a supine position, plus my daily heat pad rests.  

The cats rarely miss them!

Nice walks...

...pretty sunrises...

Gorgeous leaves...

I'm loving this season!

senior living

 More beautiful leaves!

Lots of hiking!

Pepita is ready to hit the trails.  She balks a lot less in cooler weather.

I've found some gorgeous mushrooms...

shaggy mane mushroom

jack o'lantern mushrooms

golden scalycap mushrooms

...and some late-season chrysalises.  

common buckeye

monarch

Fall baking...

*apple* upside-down cake

...and a little visit from one of our resident seniors!  Claudia goes outside almost every day for an hour or so to get some fresh air and a little exercise.  

Our other senior get exercise, too, when she does "pajama yoga" with me every morning.

Up in time to see the sunrise!

A happy fall!  

Don't forget to vote while we still can!