'snow more snow!

It's amazing how quickly things can change.  In the span of a week, our favorite hiking trail changed dramatically!

Our little bit of snow...

...quickly melted as we returned to bright blue skies and warmer temperatures.

Still, I could see rapid changes in the leaves.  In only three days, the red leached out of these oak leaves.

A benefit to 70 degree temperatures in November is finding new plants!  This is an herb known as shaggy or gallant soldier, from the Latin Galinsoga (strangely, the genus itself was named after Spanish physician Ignacio Galinsoga, who was not a botanist, but someone who was famous for his anti-corset views).  

Wild ginger has also been sprouting!

I've been seeing caterpillars again...

But sadly, these extreme temperature fluctuations are too much for our local praying mantises. I know I complain about them, but it's kind of sad to see them splayed about like this.

I do like the opportunity to get a closer look at their wings.  Their veining is so much like fall leaves.

With this latest temperature drop (73 to 29 degrees in a single day, the latter being overnight temp), I'm afraid we've seen the last of the red leaves...

...and berries.

We're working outside while we still can!

I mean, Todd is.  ;)

Have a great week!  

this is the end, beautiful friend

Halloween has come and gone!  We concluded our 31 days of horror movies with "Rosemary's Baby" and some spooky homemade Almond Joy bites.

We went to a costume-optional Halloween party a couple of weeks ago.  We've gone multiple years and everyone always wears a costume...this year, it was just me, Todd, and someone's teen son.  I worked on my costume for a week (Puritan woman getting burned at the stake for being a witch):

I took ashes from the fire pit to smear on my face and arms.  Unfortunately, my hat and apron were more 'French maid' than Puritan lady, and at least one person asked me if my costume was 'dirty wench.'  Meanwhile, Todd threw his costume together day-of.  He went as a LEGO brick.  He cut holes in a cardboard box, used cut-off yogurt container bottoms as the protruding studs, and painted the whole thing red.  Since it was hard to eat while wearing a cardboard box, he took it off once we got inside.  Then it was just me and some teen in a costume.  Sigh.  Better luck next year!

Of course, Pepita participated.

Weather is still warm and sunny, with impossibly blue skies.

still so green!

So many "I can't believe it's November" moments, like when I found wild strawberries blooming in the yard.

Still, we're having some nice color.  This is our neighborhood, taken from the car with my terrible cell phone...

...and some trail pics.

And house:

lilac leaves...one of my favorite!  

We've had some insane sunrises.  These are going to look unnaturally enhanced...but they aren't!

Despite the advanced date, we're still seeing bees, butterflies, and other insects.

a clump of brown marmorated stink bugs

Berries are still everywhere.

from a couple of weeks ago...leaves have changed by now, but still berries!

Speaking of berries...these might be wild gooseberries or some weed that is some variant of a wild tomatillo, but I love them.  They grow in our side garden and I pick them every year in the fall.

After they dry out, they resemble tiny delicate lace cages.  They're so pretty!  

Even the morning glories on the porch are still going strong!

It's going to be near 70 today, but as Jim Morrison said, this is the end, beautiful friend.  The forecast by Sunday is 24 degrees and snow. It's time to set up Falafel's shelter and then hunker down by the fire.

Pepita approves.

Have a great week!

coyote crazy

 I'm loving all the red berries right now.

honeysuckle

rosehips

burning bush (both)

Boneset is lining our walking path, another sign of fall.

So are shotgun shells...sigh.

Other fall beauties include goldenrod...

...and wild asters.

Pale jewelweed is blooming too.

I loved this plant as a kid.  If you squeeze their seedpods...

...they burst!

No real leaf color yet, other than a few random reds and yellows.

The problem is the rainfall.  Although we've had semi-frequent short sprinkles this late summer, we're at 50% less than normal.  September, normally a really rainy month, had only two rainy days.  Looking ahead for the next week, more temperatures near 90 degrees and no rain.  But mornings and nights are cool and we have atmospheric fog...

...and plenty of dew.

Mornings are chilly, usually in the mid-50s.  I love to open the windows and let the cool air in.  I can't open them at night...coyotes are howling all around us and would wake me up in the night if I didn't sleep with windows closed and earplugs in.

Lots of evidence of them running through our yard on a semi-regular basis...

coyote feces

...and they're showing up on our trail cams, too.

Another sure sign of fall is the return of the brown marmorated stink bugs.

Our screens are COVERED with them and they find their way inside, too, looking for a warm place to overwinter.  They're a big agricultural pest but don't harm humans (other than with their stench if you squash them).  They're always out in force right before it gets cold.

I love this transitional time...lots of cozy baking...

...and stolen moments with a good book!

(never really alone!)

We'll see what early October will bring.  I can't wait!

Have a great week!