We have been enjoying the fall weather this weekend, and the wood stove was burning at night and in the morning to fight the chill that now overtakes the mountain when the light fades and the sun sets. The leaves are showering down from the trees, the undergrowth is yellowing and dying back, and the animals are preparing for winter. A few deer hunters have tried to come up, but have been chased away when they see us (apparently they do not take the signs we posted very seriously).The house is still being worked on, and the last of the chinking might be done this coming week. The new insulated windows are in, but the trim needs to be completed and painted. Someday the work will be done, but that day is not today...
There is more light streaming through the windows due to the foliage dropping from the trees, and the views are starting to open up again. Soon we will be able to see the ridges of our surrounding mountains appear.
The color is not as spectacular this year, probably due to the summer drought. It is also early, so the color has not reached its peak quite yet. Hopefully next weekend it will offer up more of a painter's palette then this one......but I am not really complaining, as it is still lovely to look at. The days are still warm, so we sit out on the screened porch, enjoy the slow breeze and watch the leaves rain down.
This weekend we have friends staying with us, and they brought their Spaniel named Sophie along. She is probably the same weight as Claris' big Lab-head, but she can hold her own and pushed Claris around. It seems that Claris is enjoying it, though. We are going to have to find her a new permanent companion soon.
Sophie loved sitting on the porch; she watched for any potential creatures to chase or bark at. She and almost fit on the ledge, and it was fun to watch her watch the world outside! Claris found a few fun things to chase in the bottom meadow:
She also had a nice visit with her buddy, Cinnamon:
I wonder what they have to talk about? They seem to be chatting about something very important. What on earth could they have in common?The meadow was starting to dry out, but there were a few new bright colors to see. The honeysuckle bush berries were bright red against the green leaves. It is supposed to be an invasive species, but it does have its charms.
Claris enjoyed bouncing around, sniffing everything to try and find more creatures to scare up and chase. Sadly, only the deer offered up any fun. The other smaller ones were probably off trying to find a place to hunker down for the winter and had no time to play...
I cannot wait for next weekend already...
