Another frosty morn!

I love it! The change is welcome as the light levels are so pretty, shining through the leaves.
The maples are a lovely yellow. The poor catalpa tree's leaves just go limp  and fall heavily to the ground. It makes it easier to see the blue jays on the tree!


The other catalpa tree is doing fine.


Look at the frost on the table. I didn't touch it. The frosty dew stops part way across the table. I would presume that the warmth from the house prevent it all from frosting over.


The back yard still has colour.


Then, in the front, the maple on the driveway. I don't remember them looking this lovely. This is our 9th fall here.


I toddled down the hill to the meadow. The leaves are a carpet of glorious colour. The smells are so lovely. The noise of the leaves as you swish your way through them.


Now, here is some fun. I have a set morning routine. Blog, exercise, then amble down to the trailcameras. This is the tree, facing the meadow, where the camera has sat for two months of more. I'd forgotten that I'd moved it as I wasn't getting anything other than butch raccoon! Me bad. ("Don't tell the kids!")


Down beside the dock, a little dragonfly!


The frog pond has some water in the bottom from our massive rainstorm. We had about 50 mm (~2") over two days. This will protect the critters over the winter. It'll keep them as they hibernate, estivate or brumate, or whatever!


Aren't the maple leaves pretty??!!


A little bitty oak tree!


Then, the lovely alley through the old cedars. I love this spot. I've cut out the dead branches, the leaves die if they don't get any light, and cleared a path.


My 'Christmas tree' is looking good. It's comforting to have outdoor lights.


I could see Annabelle interested in something. I think it was a water snake, you can see it snapped at me. The only other thing it could be is a rat snake. (They don't bite!) This one was aggressive and I think it was a water snake. Annie didn't know what to make of it.


Both cats were out front in the sun, so we moved them indoors to let snakey do its thing.


I moved it into the sunshine with a big stick, so it would warm up. I'm thinking it is look for its hibernacula. They spend the winter underground in holes, nooks and crannies.

A hibernacula is a place in which a creature seeks refuge, such as a bear using a cave to overwinter. The word can be used to describe a variety of shelters used by many kinds of animals, including insects, toads, lizards, snakes, bats, rodents, and primates of various species.

We checked up on it a couple of hours later, and it was gone. All was well with our little world.