An adventure

 Last week, I was supposed to visit a new client. Joe still can't shop, with his back, so I did an online pickup order. Off I went. No problem. When I arrived home, I left the car out on the driveway in the sun shine. Our driveway is 100m long, and I left my purse in the car, ready to leave for 2:45.

Out I went to start it for my volunteer work. The car was totally dead. We hadn't driven anywhere for a week. What with Joe's back, and all. I hadn't thought anything about it! Not only that, but I'd left the keys in the ignition. Rookie move.

I thought that the lights would automatically go out. They do not if the keys are in the ignition, methinks. 

I quick call to CAA and I patiently waited outside. It was sunny and beautiful, thankfully.

There was lots of action!

 

Dave came with his portable recharger. He suggested I keep it running for 30 - 45 minutes.  

Rather than letting it sit there idling, we decided on a drive to Smiths Falls. 

They are still harvesting pumpkins in Lombardy!

Smiths Falls is an interesting town.

Dinner was great. It was early, and it was quiet. And I had leftovers! 

Look who I found across the street from the plaza! Our rescuers. Happily the car started after dinner.

In the fields, a huge flock of Canada Geese.

I did an edit, as the power lines were marring the skies. 

The pumpkins arrived at the stand.

The car started the next day, no problem.

Sunny days, cooler nights

The weather has been interesting. There are trees that are looking amazing. 

Sunny days, cold night with frost in the morning. 

 

Oct. 2nd I noticed this! 

It had to be a pileated woodpecker, like these.

Setting up the trailcam in front of it, I found Oct. 12th that there was no evidence of a woodpecker, but more damage was done. MYSTERY!

I wasn't optimistic! 

 

I have hung on to these photos hoping I'd catch the culprit, but all I found was a Downy or Hairy woodpecker. Not the Pileated Woodpecker I'd expected.

The critters are on the move

I've noticed several critters coming around. They are looking for the bird feeder, I am sure. It isn't up yet. I don't even have any bird seed. I'm having trouble finding the critters on the Crumbly Acres camera. There was an update for the app, and, well, you know how that goes.

 

 

 I took the turkey carcass down to the frog pond trailcam. Butch got it.

 

   

 There was a mouse in the lower left corner, as well!

 

Cinnamon walkies

It was -1 ℃. Thursday morning. We had a hard frost. 

The deer have been out and about. That cool weather! They gather together in herds in winter. Apparently, this is the place to be!

  

 Cinnamon and I went walkies. He was outside with me and asked to go to the back 40. He was a good helper. I set up our bears, and he sat with me on the edge of the pond. There were no frogs, they are asleep for winter.  

There are fish in the goldfish pond. I snagged one of the little orange ones and brought it in. The others are hardy, I think. 

Anyway, we went out back. No owl this time. Fungus!

And cedar trees!

Red Maple

 I've been watching our maple tree. Some photos are better than others. 

ash-leaf/box elder maple, I think

This is the view from the highway.

I wandered down there, and saw three red cars go by. I thought a red vehicle might compliment the maple colours. I waited, and waited! 

Finally, I gave up as the orange car seemed to do nicely!

The traffic has been noisy. People are in such a hurry.

 

October has been busy

🍂 Fall Chores

There is lots to do outside. I'm just taking my time. Someone put his back out and he's still looking after it.

• Tuesday I did the leaves, mulching them and the pine needles, and did some lawn. 
• Switched out the bird bath for the heated bird bath. (Thanks again, AC!) 
• Tried to put the bird feeder stand up. Crooked. Gotta try again. It started raining after I rested. Pfftt.
• I caught another little frog. Almost. No luck. I missed. Twice. Jeremiah sleeps for the winter.

The water fountain is covered, and ready for winter. The pagan lights need some help. A couple of strands are not working. Nothing lasts these days. You have to be really careful in matching the plugs. (Non-mental note!)

 I had wrapped up the bench swing, then the winds blew! I started again and secured it a little more effectively! I don't mind doing a job once.. 😏

Back to it. THIS is secure!

The sun has disappeared for a few days. No precipitation to speak of, but there is a chill in the air. The sun warms me up enough to manage outside, but it's been hiding. I played with these two images. I could not decide which I prefer.

Dark skies! I mulched the leaves again. It is terribly satisfying.

Joe has been watching football on his TV. Nutmeg likes to keep him company. It's not cold enough to put a fire on, but that day is approaching.

Just for fun, a brief power outage. All the clocks had to be reset! 

The good news is that the biting bugs are slowly going to sleep. We've ticks. Nutmeg brought Joe one, and Cinnamon shared another with me. Since they invented the anti-tick goop for cats, things have improved. This year is about the same as last year.