birds of a feather...

Despite the drought (I don't think we've had any rain in September OR October, other than a 2-day deluge from Hurricane Helene), our fall weather is outstanding.  Sunny and mid-70s every day.

Lots of dew in the mornings.

Because days are warm and nights are cool, the fog on our morning walks is GORGEOUS.

Because it's still warm, we have plenty of flowers...and insects.  These invasive Chinese mantises are everywhere...

...and pregnant.

I'm gathering up handfuls of oothecas (mantis egg cases).

Lots of caterpillars this fall, like this salt marsh caterpillar.

Claudia is LOVING the extended fall.

We're STILL harvesting tomatoes, and some flowers still have a little bit of color, until the frost comes.

Halloween decorations went up a couple of weeks ago...

(many more, but for some reason I didn't photograph them...)

...and I've pulled out the quilts, even though it doesn't feel quite warm enough for them yet.  For us, anyway.  

I've noticed that the behavior of our outdoor animals is changing, though.  Raccoons, which have been solitary all summer, have paired up.

Deer, too, are starting to exhibit pack behavior.

Meanwhile, we're probably going to see the last of the turkeys soon.  Our little flock of 12-14 poults has shrunk to five in just a couple of months.

They'll disappear into the woods soon for the winter.  We, too, are ready to hunker down for winter, although it feels far away during this sunny, mild fall. 

Have a great week!  

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!

with a flannel yell...

 It's happening!

As the temperatures steadily drop, we're seeing more and more gorgeous color here.  Just last week, our trees were still fairly unchanged.  The grass remains green and the sky has been more blue and cloud-filled than ever...

...but we're now getting color, color, color!

Borga loves a fall hike.

Lots to see.  Hornet nest!

Autumn-colored fungus!

Skinks!

At home, we're still seeing lots of creatures too.  As I sloooooowly clear out garden weeds...

I'm seeing mantis...after mantis...after mantis!

I found three mantises...and three oothecas (egg sacs)...in one afternoon!

Mantis eggs will be consumed by ants if left on the ground, so I carefully placed the accidentally uprooted ones into a bush.  If all goes well, we'll have plenty of these little guys around next year!

Our apples are still viable and attracting lots of attention...

...pumpkins still ripening on the vine...

...and we're not even close to needing more than a flannel shirt for outside time.  It was 63 degrees yesterday!

Fresh air, brisk walks, apple pie, color-saturated leaves, and cats in quilts...

Happy fall, y'all!