All Those Beautiful Colors

I just read that you should never ever apologize for not blogging....apparently readers do not like this so from this moment going forward I will never again apologize for not blogging, altho that guilty side of me always wants to. But no, not going to do it.

My little Cinder had dental work done on Friday.  She had 8 teeth pulled, 4 up and 4 down.  Now I know the first question is..."how is she going to eat." The good news is, that all 8 of the teeth were her front teeth, leaving her back teeth aka grinders, in tact. The grinders are just that, the teeth that grind and chew. Right now I have her eating soft foods, but so far she has had no trouble handling anything that has gone in her mouth. Not only did she get her teeth pulled and cleaned but she had 2 non-cancerous tumors removed on her body. When they brought her out to me after all this surgery, she looked at me with a "what the hell did you do to me?" look. She wasn't happy at all and pretty much ignored me for almost 24 hours. But she has perked up and is close to resembling the dog I took into the vet, minus 8 teeth, 2 tumors, and with the remainder teeth sparkling clean...Hallelujah!! Her breath was a "real knock you over crappy air flow smell" prior to the surgery. But no more and just $$$'s later she has a minty clean mouth.

It is definitely Fall here. Last night we had our first light frost, pretty much wiping out the remainder of my flowers. But that's OK, I am done with gardening by this time of the year. I have carried my camera with me whenever I go anywhere, trying to capture the stunning colors that are only here for such a short time. We have had quite a bit of wind lately which makes focusing challenging. But I managed to capture a few beauties through my lens....

The berries are just wonderful in the Fall.

A little accidental color match in a parking lot...

Glorious leaves in yellows, reds and oranges....

I love when these leaves turn color in the Fall, climbing up the tree trunks, but I honestly think it might be poison ivy...look but don't touch...

I hope that you have been enjoying your Fall color.

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter

    ~ Carol Bishop Hipps

Until next time......

Happy Birthday, Lane

Today is my son's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Lane!  Doesn't seem possible that he is 48 years old, my baby boy. I can vividly remember the day he was born, I guess all Mother's remember those special memories, can't remember each and every one of his days as a little one, but I do reminisce about that day with love. Easy birth and easy going child. A son to be proud of.

Finally planted my pots with fall flowers for the front porch and bought a pumpkin or two.  I am such a pumpkin snob, I love the ones with the gnarly bumps and interesting stems.  I specifically dig deep to find the ones that have some personality, whether it's bumps, interesting colors, and any pumpkin or gourd that comes home with me certainly has to have a fine stem. None of those chopped off at the core for me.

The leaves are changing colors everyday.  It's just like spring when the buds begin to emerge, it's almost magical how quickly nature changes.  One day the leaves on the trees will be summertime green, the next day I see changes begin, slowly.

Then the next day the whole tree has changed into it's Fall wardrobe only to lose it too, too quickly.
It's an absolute must that me and my camera do a walk-about each day to watch and capture these glories.

Bailey and I are off to dinner and a movie tonight.  Another advantage of having her here is now I have a movie partner that loves movies as much as I do.  "The Intern" with Robert DeNiro and Ann Hathaway is on the agenda.  I've heard it is delightful, and who doesn't like a delightful night out with good food, a good movie, and exceptional company.

Have a delightful weekend!!

"The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings."~ Kakuzo Okakaura

Until next time.....

I Really, Really Do

Three blog posts in a row.  I do believe that I have set a record for this entire year. How sad is that?!

I took the "kids" to the beauty shop today.....don't they look shiny & clean.  Next week Cinder goes in for dental cleaning and surgery. She has needed this done since the day I brought her home (2 years) but I have been putting it off because of the cost. But her breath is soooo bad it's become much worse than "morning breath" and you know how bad that can be sometimes, well at least mine can.  Toby doesn't seem to change from year to year, but Cinder has been spouting more gray around her face. Hmm, wonder if she wants a dye job to cover up all that gray....just kidding.

On my way home from taking them to the beauty shop, I stopped at the horse farm to check on "fall color".  The horses were in the back 40, so no shots of them, but I did spot color galore. Oh I really do love this time of year, I really, really do.

I specifically stopped there to grab a snap of the fence that leads into the horse farm.  I have not participated in Theresa's (aka TexWisGirl) Good Fences on her blog in many a day.

I liked that all the wild-flowers of late summer were still blooming, adorning the old wood fencing.
I know you have probably seen this quote many, many times lately....but it is so true for me at this very moment, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." L.M. Montgomery, the author of "Ann of Green Gables."  Thanks everyone for stopping by. I promise I will visit you all very soon!

Until next time.....

The Good News and The Bad News Next Door...

I have a good news - bad news tree in my next door neighbor's back yard.  Personally I always like to get the bad news over with first if someone approaches me with words like this, so based on my humble opinion, you are getting the bad news first.

The bad news is - my next door neighbor's back yard Ash tree is dead, I mean really dead, no leaves no green anywhere to be found.  It was a victim of the Ash Borer Beetle that hit our area hard a couple of years ago, along with gazillions of others in the suburbs.  The Ash is was a very popular tree for shopping centers, front yards, back yards and now after gracing us with their beauty for so many years, all that is left is either ground stumps after they are cut down, or the skeletons still standing.  I have a skeleton next door, a big, large skeleton with long arms that break off occasionally and come tumbling down.  And at times those skeletal limbs (aka branches) land right in my flower garden. Aackk!!!

Now that's the bad news, the good news is that there are no leaves, no greenery, thus I have been able to see perfectly clear any birds that might land on those bare limbs with no vision impairment whatsoever.  I have a bird feeder filled with sunflower seeds that all species of birds eat with gusto. They can easily go thru a full feeder in less than 24 hours in the height of the season. Their ritual is to land on a limb of the skeleton tree, swoop down to the feeder for a seed or two, drop by the bird bath for a drink and then repeat.  So eventho that tree is definitely an eye-sore, it has been the perfect stratagem for capturing some images of our neighboring birds. Some stay for the summer, some are only passing through, but if they land on those skeletal branches I can see each one in all their glory.

Birds like this....

or this....

and these.....

I know that tree is really ugly and an eyesore, but I will miss it when the neighbors finally decide it's time to take it down.  It has given me a couple of summers of unhindered wondrous bird watching.

It is difficult to realize how great a part of all that is cheerful and delightful in the recollections of our own life is associated with trees. ~Wilson Flagg

Until next time.....

It's Been Awhile....

Hmm, thought I should write a blog post since (ho hum) again it has been awhile.  Let's see, what will my excuse be this time.  Nope, don't have one. Altho I do have a new room-mate. I think I mentioned in a blog post that my granddaughter, Bailey has moved in with me. Yes, she is still with me, settling in and trying to redefine her life after it took an unexpected turn of events. You know, life is like that. You have all these plans and then boom, something unexpected weaves it's way into your game plan and all that masterminding just goes down the proverbial toilet. We all fall, we all stumble, it's what we do after that stumble that reveals who we really are. Bailey will be just fine, she is a strong woman with a bright future. Her life will be defined by what she does going forward, not on what happened in the past.

OK, speaking of going forward, let's move on with some recent images from around here. We have had an up and down kinda Fall. One week it is absolutely gorgeous, the next very cool, and then a string of really cloudy, grey days and now we are inching back to the gorgeousness. We had a rather warm September which equals late Autumn color around here. There are small changes, but for the most part it's still pretty green around here altho very dry. We have a problem with equality when it comes to moisture. South Carolina has been deluged, 26 inches of rain in Charleston while we have had less than 1/2 inch of rain since before September. Like I said, moisture equality, not happening.

What I love about Fall is

 1) the berries that were beautiful flowers in the Spring are now weighing down branches in their glory (see above)

 2) the colors of reds, yellows, and oranges

3) Finding the last of the flowers of summer

4) And the light...oh the light and how it creates that special glow....

Read any good books lately? I am dying to download the new JoJo Moyes book, "After You" the sequel to "Me Before You" which I truly enjoyed. I have quite a few on my "must read" list. Right now I have started two books, "A Man Called Ove" and "The Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah. And along with all the new TV shows, it's hard to have enough time in the day to keep up. Laundry and organizing closets are just gonna have to wait.

Hope you are having a lovely Fall. And just because she is so gosh darn stinkin' cute.....

Until next time......

A Short but Sweet Trip

It was very cloudy and all the weather apps (of which I have 5, please don't ask) all predicted rain. But my granddaughter, Bailey and I decided what the heck, we decided to go ahead and drive to Milwaukee to have lunch with our favorite little person, Matilda Mae and her Mom, Hilary. We zipped along the highway without so much as a drip until we were about 30-40 miles from our destination when the sky opened up and rained buckets. It was the kind of rain that makes you want to stop right where you are until you can clearly see the road again, and when a truck passed, you were totally blinded.  Slowly and very carefully we drove on and eventually the rain began to diminish. By the time we reached Matilda's it had stopped.

This little cutie was waiting at the door and wanted to show off her new chair.

Then after a short visit we headed out to a little sandwich shop for lunch. Matilda was sitting facing the window and when that light hits her eyes, oh be still my heart!!

I spotted this sweet cafe after we left and begged Hilary to stop and let me take a quick shot, it just reminded me so much of all the little cafes and bistros in Paris. Discovered that the owner had gone to Paris to learn to bake those sumptuous French pastries and had ordered the chairs from France. No wonder it reminded me of Paris.

Then a quick trip to a Lake Michigan overlook.  It was still very cloudy but at least the rain had stopped.

While there, Matilda needed to show us how she is so ready to walk alone, but still needs that finger for moral support.  Don't ya love those pants!!

Returning home Matilda had to show off her toy dog and what good hugs she gives.

Both she and her Dad have very expressive tongues...did ya notice.

And then I had this great idea for me and Bailey on the floor with Matilda between us for a sweet picture.  It didn't go quite as planned.  I am sure Matilda is thinking...."what the heck are these 2 doing on the floor?"  Enough said.

Until next time.....