Tag: Autumn

End Of The Season

Three little squrrels sleeping in our walnut tree.

This is the same tree that I wrote about previously when I said it felt like the squirrels were throwing walnuts at me. I looked up at the tree when I first went outside today and I thought I saw a couple of nests. Squirrels nest look much like a birds only larger. I went back in to get my phone so I could zoom in on the nests and to my surprise all three were squirrels sleeping on the branches. Not one nest in the tree.

All three squirrels sleeping soundly in the tree. The ornery things that throw walnuts at me every fall and tease my dogs all year long. We have a tornado warning siren that goes off every Friday to test that it is working properly. It went off as I was trying to get some photos and I thought I had missed my opportunity, but no. They slept right through it. I went back in to let the dogs out and get somethings to do a little yard work and they still slept.

At the back of the fenced yard is a climbing rose. When I went out with the dogs I saw this and had to share it. It is so rare to see a rose on any of my rose vines this late in the year. If you look at the bottom right of this photo youwill see a tree stump and what is left of the hulls of several walnuts. Those same ornery squirrels sit here and chew the hulls off of the walnuts before they carry them off to store for winter. They make sure the dogs see them chattering to get their attention.

When we first moved here we had a very freindly squrrel that would get almost close enough to touch. He would chatter at us and we would put stuff out for him to eat. He lived here long enough that his fur started turning gray. That last time we saw him he looked silver from head to toe. The following year he was no long here. I suppose he didn’t make it through winter that year, but he lived longer than I think most squirrels do. I miss him, but these three newer squrrels are quite amusing and maybe they will be more friendly in time.

I spent a little time clearing out some of the tomato stems out of the raised beds. It was about to storm so I had to quit and go back in the house. I will do a little bit every day it’s not raining and have it cleared by the end of this month. If the weather doesn’t turn too cold I will rake up some of the leaves to cover the raised beds and to finish filling our compost bin. That is how we keep the soil in good shape for for planting each year.

While I was working I checked the red lettuce that I had left in the garden, to go to seed. It is finally getting close but still not quite there. I am hoping to have enough seed to plant more than usual next year. I have collected seeds from the bell peppers already. Tomorrow is another day, so weather permitting I will get a little more done then.

More Autumn Color Changes From our Back Yard

What a difference a week makes. Last week this tree was dropping walnuts all over. It seemed like it was throwing them at me. It was hard to keep up with throwing them out of the fenced area where the dogs play. One of my friends mentioned that walnuts are toxic to dogs so I researched it and according to PetMD and several other sources, black walnuts, which these are, cause several health risks in dogs.

By yesterday the leaves had all turned colors. Last night it rained pretty hard and this morning most of those leaves are on the ground. The leaves of all the different trees change color and drop their leaves at different times, this time of year we have quite a variety of colors. Soon there will be no more green leaves and a month from now almost all the leaves will be on the ground.

October Memories Costumes “Square Crows” and More…

Saved by the Huntsman

October has been a special month since I can remember. My grandfather was born October first. My youngest sister the 2nd, My niece the 18th and my youngest son the 25th. Many other relatives and in-laws also share October birthdays. We have tried to do something special many of those years. This year we won’t be having many trick or treaters, because of the pandemic. Trunk or Treat spots are being set up in certain areas to make it easier for kids and their parents to follow guidelines, so I thought I would post some of my favorite memories and photos of October decorating and past costumes for Halloween.

The Square crow

Our first Square Crow

One of my first memories is not long after we moved to our home, my niece nephew from Ohio, would come visit and spend the night every so often. We did not have kids until several years later, so we really enjoyed the visits. On this particular visit it was October, so we decided to do some fun decorating with the kids outside on our front porch. We built a scare crow Starting with making a face on a pumpkin. Both were too young for carving a face, so we used permanent marker. We set that on the step and built the body around it. Some old jeans a flannel shirt, Gardner’s gloves and a hat all stuffed with straw. They loved it. My nephew was not talking much yet, but my niece called it her square crow. We got so tickled at her we have called them “Square crows” ever since.

Dress Warm play Clothes

Several years ago, my sister brought her grandson over for a visit. After a short time, he decided he would like to play outside. The air had cooled quite a bit by then and he was too chili but hadn’t brought a jacket or anything warmer. I was looking around to see if I still had anything from my boys when they were little. Finally, I found the plastic bin full of outgrown Halloween costumes. It was not yet time for Halloween decorating or costumes, but it was all I had.

I asked my sister and we asked my nephew, her grandson, and he got all excited. I got the tub out and let him go through all the old stuff. He found a top half of a costume that came down past his knees and a mask that covered his head and ears so he would be worm.  So, he got dressed warm enough and we went outside.  We both had fun with him chasing me around and making scary noises. We used to hang all the outgrown costumes along our fence as part of our decorations, but this was also a great way to use the old costumes.

I will be adding other October Memories throughout the month. Hope you enjoy them. You are welcome to tell us some of your favorite Octobers too. Just post in the comments.