apple grapple

The last pumpkin.

We've had a few more beautiful frosts...

Winter is coming...quickly.  But still...ootheca!

Ootheca!

Ootheca!

I'm finding them everywhere.  And despite our rapidly-falling temperatures, I saw a praying mantis, alive and well, a couple of days ago!

Still seeing a few mushrooms...

I dug up my dahlia tubers this week and was pleasantly surprised.  I did not fertilize, stake, or in any way care for my dahlias this year - they grew and fell in my 'weed patch.'  I had to follow the flattened stems to their bases for the tubers.  Some vole damage, but still a nice crop.

I mowed the garden and will leave it as-is until spring, when I'll lay down paths again and pull up the dead weed stumps.

We picked as many apples as we could...I estimate around 50 pounds!  Good thing, because the wind picked up and most of the remaining apples dropped.

These apples draw deer out of the forest at sunset.

Those sunsets are spectacular!

Days are shorter, and cats everywhere are curling up on blankets.

In other news, we've been stocking up for the arrival of our new pup.

Truth:  as a homebody with generalized anxiety issues, big disruptions to the home environment land me into a funhouse-mirror alternate universe, where everything familiar is distorted and slightly sinister. Even knowing this, I've been struggling a bit with this new pup since she came home yesterday afternoon.  She isn't interested in toys, food, or treats.  When I try to take her outside, she just shudders against my ankles in the cold wind.  All of the training videos prepped me for a frisking, treat-loving pup that I could immediately start to train and bond with, and I'm at a loss with how to handle a puppy that only wants to lay quietly in my lap.  We're hoping that a little bit of time will draw her out.  I won't be able to relax until we're in a definitive and familiar schedule.

Enjoy the last bit of fall!

Pics Fix

After 18 months in storage, and after living 18 months with blank white walls...WE HAVE PICTURES.  Oh, how I've missed you!  Everything that I hang has a special significance. 

A tiny (and only remaining) photo of my great-grandmother's house, where I spent many happy afternoons playing in her garden.  A photo of my landlady from my college days, a wonderful surrogate mother to me, along with her daughter.  A Western Union telegram from the Navy to my great-grandmother in 1945, asking if my grandfather was old enough to enlist.  And a children's art piece - bears and bees - both great loves.

I also added a quilted wall hanging to that corner.  It's so bright and cheerful now!

A photo of the grandparents who raised me, with the "surprise!!" letter from my grandpa to his parents, informing them of his sudden wedding.

A hallway lined with my favorite children's art...a trio of framed Victorian bird puzzles in the entryway...and lots of other beloved nature prints in other areas of the house.  Other favorite family photos, too, like this one, which shows my grandpa and his siblings riding in a goat cart in 1926 (note:  my great aunt is still alive!).

Lest I seem like a wall hog, Todd is happy with whatever I want to put up.  :)

It's also been so wonderful to see my pottery again!  My Emma Bridgewater mugs and dishes pair nicely with my navy-colored German pottery.

There are still some stacks of things that don't seem to fit anywhere just yet, like on the bottom shelf of this cabinet...

...but things are slowly falling into place.  It's amazing! 

Now that these things are done, I can turn my attention to some seasonal tasks.  Dahlia tubers don't do well in our cold winters, so they must be dug up in the late fall...

...and stored in some water-retaining medium, like compost, until spring. 

Mice are loving our slightly-warm barn, and the live animal traps have to be checked and emptied daily. 

Todd walks them out to the edge of the property and releases them.  They'll find another place to live, or become food for one of our beloved outdoor animals. 

This season brings such beautiful sunrises.  Winter is my absolute favorite with creams, peaches, and pale blue.

We get some bright colors too!  I can see the sunrise from my office window, and it's amazing how every day is a bit different.

Meanwhile, the cats stay blissed out on their heat mat.

But they're also kissing on the couch...

...or participating in fabulous late-afternoon group naps.

Have I mentioned that I love this season?  There are no group naps in summer!  :) 

Have a great week!