Well, the election is over, and I need pictures of cute cats more than ever.

Todd stayed up reading "Sermon on the Mount" while watching coverage and marveling/despairing at the results, and I just moped around the house for days.  We fully expect to lose our health insurance and have to close our business in the next two years, but there are quite a few other people who are going to suffer a lot more.  We talked about what we could do and visited a progressive local church on Sunday.  We are going to get involved locally, hoping to make a difference against this red tide that's going to erode away rights, freedoms, and protections.  Sigh...and I'm spending more time working on hobby projects, which is soothing, and having a few more sweet treats, ditto.  I wasn't planning on posting this week, but we've seen the last of the fall colors...

...which seemed worthy of mention.  In this past week, we've spent time with friends...

a hike in Indianapolis

a crafts-heavy slumber party with a friend's daughters...we made these!!

...tried to focus on positive things...

horses across the street

a pretty splash of color in the woods

...and spent a lot of time in pajamas...cat in lap.

Holiday puzzles were finished...

...and games have been played.  In short, life has been moving on.  

Frances gets it.

Beautiful sunrise the other day.  Here is the progression.

I'm too grumpy to make a positive metaphor about this.

Thanksgiving will be here in a couple of weeks.  It will be nice to spend time with friends.  Laugh, have some good food, and get on with the business of moving forward and looking ahead.  Being positive, making positive changes.  2025 is going to be interesting.  

Have a great week!  

the warm storm

 Last week was "peak leaf week" in our neck of the words.  Our daily walking trail was just amazing.

Around the house, too...amazing color.

It's been so warm, though, that Todd has continued to mow for exercise.  In shorts.

New flowers continue to pop up.

Bees and wasps continue to bustle around fallen apples.

It's going to be close to 80 F today and tomorrow...in November!  No rain, though.  It's such odd weather.  

We celebrated Halloween in our usual way.  Making treats to mail out to friends and family...

...and making a last-minute treat for ourselves.  Wanting to make it a little healthier, I took my favorite healthy pumpkin cake recipe and cut it in half, making five small cupcakes.  A cream cheese glaze and a dash of sprinkles makes the perfect Halloween snack!

We finished up our 31-day Halloween scary movie marathon with a "Blair Witch Project"/"Rosemary's Baby" double feature.

And now we turn to something even scarier:  the election.  Todd and I have been sickened over the transmogrification of the Republican Party and the possibility that they might gain control.  If you are a Christian whose faith informs your voting choice, please read this "Medium" article and consider its words.  A few choice excerpts:  

Jesus was unequivocal about what it means to follow him: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind… And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37–40).

Trump’s entire being violates this core teaching. His rhetoric is rooted in division, derision, and contempt. While Jesus calls us to love our neighbors, Trump has systematically attacked and demonized immigrants, people with disabilities, communities of color, LGBTQ+ people, and women.

A vote for Trump is not a neutral act — it’s a choice that supports a worldview fundamentally at odds with the radical, inclusive love that Jesus embodied.

The contrast could not be more stark: Where Jesus lifts up the poor, Trump exalts the wealthy. Where Jesus welcomes foreigners, Trump builds walls and threatens to deport. Where Jesus heals the sick, Trump tries to strip away their healthcare. Where Jesus speaks truth to power, Trump wields lies to maintain power.

Jesus envisions a world where the last shall be first, where enemies are loved, where strangers are welcomed, where truth prevails.

Trump envisions a world where the powerful dominate the weak, where enemies are crushed, where foreigners are demonized, where lies are weapons in the pursuit of power.

And if a core task of the follower of Jesus to help bring about the Kingdom of God in this world, nothing does more at this moment to actively prevent the coming of God’s Kingdom than a vote for Trump.    - Andrew Springer for "Medium"

Food for thought.  Have a great week!  

blazing gazing

I love October, especially later in the month.  I have put away my summer clothes and am happily in jeans and sweaters again.  Mornings are crisp, and our daily drive through Morgan Monroe State Forest to our hiking trail is just the perfect way to start the day.  

It...is...gorgeous!

Another place we love to hike locally is Bean Blossom Bottoms, a 336-acre wildlife preserve about 10 minutes from our house.  It's too mosquito-filled in the summer, but fall is sublime.

Oak tree

Swamp rose hips

cattails

white-tailed deer

maple

lion mane fungus (a delicacy!)

winterberry

It's been warm enough for insects to continue to thrive, like this dew-covered dragonfly...

...these woolly alder aphids...

...and even spring peepers!

When it gets just a little bit colder, they'll burrow into the mud until spring...but for now, they're still out and about.  

Incredibly, despite cooling temps and absolutely no rain, I'm still getting tomatoes from the garden...

...and flowers too.

This time of year, the light is just beautiful.  

Claudia in full retirement mode!

We're surrounded by state forest and the trees are just amazing.

It looks like we have at least 10 days of "more of the same" weather coming.  Open windows during the day and quilts at night...heaven!

Have a great week!