Skies, #75, last flowers

 It is a change in season, and the skies have been lovely.

I bent over forwards to weed the stone path.  😓  I'm glad it is done for this year. I was tempted to use the shop vac on the weed seeds, but used a broom instead. They are ubiquitous.

With great excitement, I am sure I spotted #75 on his tree. (He's our released, rehabbed gray squirrel.) I think he's been out and about all summer. He took a giant leap from the end of the branch to the tree nearby.

He was in the front yard the day after, harvesting chestnuts. 

#75

   

 So far, all is well. #75 was yelling at Cinnamon. Both are aware of one another. 

 

The last of our flowers!

Signs of fall! The sumac is usually a lovely colour. 

But if you zoom in, there are spots of colour!

Rhododendron...

I've spotted the coyote with the hurt leg on the trailcam.

The Goldenrod is abuzz!  

 The porcupine wandered by. It sort of walks like an alligator through the forest.

   

 Yes, as YAM writes, when the goldfish have to come in it is a sign of the change in season. We're getting close.

 

Happy days birdwatching

Those poor old sumacs. I think the first home owners plowed them down to create more 'lawn.' It's been too dry for them, as they are on very shallow soil. This is the same with our other sumac patch in the backyard. They are lovely bushes.

Oct. 8th, 2016

The meadow with a touch of snow left:

The frogpond has gone to bed, the native phragmites bending over in the frost. 

The goldfish pond get a touch of ice overnight, and melts in the daytime.

The snow on the roof melted and filled the goldfish pond.

I emptied the water barrel, as we are below zero at night.

I've set up my bird feeder camera, again. I had 4 mourning doves here, at one point. 

Both cardinals have been around.

We cleaned the eaves!

Yes, 'WE!' I did have helpers, a chilly day, Sat. Oc t. 28th. I forgot the little red cleaning tool. JB brought me the broom, as well. 

 

cleaning the eaves from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Cinnamon came to check it all out. 

This is one path down to the wetland. I chopped down several dead sumacs, with great regret. I'd mulched the leaves, as well. 

JB was walking down the path, and found an antler. It's been sitting in sodium peroxide to clean it.

The moss on the roof was horrible. Well, it was pretty, and growing very well. If I was smart I'd have harvested it, but I was wiped out!

Ta da! 

As I was up top, I could hear the neighbour target shooting. It was awful, especially after the recents shooting in the US. Barb wrote about it. I need not reprise it. We could see the massive response to the tragedy.

shots Oct. 28 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

On a walkabout, I checked out Maggie Magnolia. She has borne fruit!

I've been eyeing this little sumac. We are losing sumacs. I think, during periods of drought, they simply aren't getting enough water as they sit in rocky outcrops. That said, out the bathroom window I spotted a beautiful little sumac tree. I had to take off the screen to get a better photo. 

Here we are Monday morn. I have to get the garbage out. It snowed overnight. It begins.

Winter is coming!

It's been a lovely few days, other than the frost on Monday morning! It was -2 at 6:30 when I got up. It was a balmy -1 by 8 a.m. Oh for joy! This morning I woke at 5 a.m., worrying about this proposed gun club,  and it was 0˚ C.! We have done some research, and are speaking to neighbours, similarly upset with this proposal, and we'll see what happens. 

I put the heater into the bird bath, later I'll switch it out. (Thanks, AC!) Both that and the water fountain had a skiff of ice on top. Whoopsie! With all our worries it crept up on me. Soon I'll drain, clean, and cover the water fountain. 

Despite wearing a mask in her high school, Josephine has COVID. She's not feeling too badly, which is a relief. Caitlin thought that last year the mask/no mask ratio was about 80/20. This year it is reversed, only about 20% of kids wearing masks. Thanksgiving (Oct. 10th) will be postponed. Ah well. We had a Merry Christmas on a weekend in late February/March in 2022! What the heck. 

Poking my head out front, I noticed the tops of these trees. It cheers me up.

I walked out front to see the colours better!

I've loved the sumac in Ontario. This frontyard stand is dying out, as is the one in the backyard. 

Well, here we are in the great outdoors. There were three bees on my chair. They are a bit dopey. The hornets are still about. It'll be interesting to see when they die of for winter.

My planters aren't exactly going strong, the coleus was hit by frost, but just in the front. We've a bit of a micro climate, in that the house retains the warmth of the sun. The lantana looks fine, as well as the trumpet flower and the petunias. The impatience was touched, though. It's just a matter of time!

Funny story – don’t tell the kids! JB brought me some flowers to cheer me up. I found the kitchen shears and chopped off the ends. Then, I used the shears to chop off some old cactus leaves. Then, I lost the the shears! I looked everywhere where I'd just used them. 

I was out fetching chestnuts, and found them under the horse chestnut tree! 👀 

This is what the tree looks like in spring. The leaves are dying, the conkers are dropping off as well.

I love the horse chestnuts. We had a tree beside us when I was a kid in Toronto. I gathered them and opened them up. 

Indoors, we are settling in for winter. The orchid is doing really well.

This works for some cats, but not ours. Try it, if you have a cat. Some cats perceive it as a box. 

My poor computer cord! Daisy used to like it. I repaired it twice since. I had a package of white, but it was stale. It's not a cheap fix: $16.50 for three little packets, but cheaper than a new computer cord. With supply chain issues, we could only find black in the store.  

The aquarium is doing well. I think goldfish day is Wednesday, maybe Thursday. After that the temperatures are just too cold. I have to drain it some the reach all the goldfish, and the rain Friday will fill up back up some.