Tuesday, October 14, 2008

October 14 2008

Yellow Mums












Red Brown Mums

















Asters and Mums















Woods Looking North




















Woods Looking East

















Maple in the Woods


















Burning Bush





After a cold first week in October, the weather warmed to perfection and the leaves began to really show color. Now along with the dozens of shades of fading greens, the forest is full of golds, reds, browns and endless combinations of those colors. It seems to me the color is far better than last fall, perhaps because we had such a wet spring and prolific summer. Whatever the reason, it's easy to see great displays of color at every turn of the country road up around here, and all around our own property. As most of the garden dies back, the mums and asters bloom here and there, keeping thoughts of winter back for now. The birds continue to feast on the coneflower seeds in groups. We've had a huge coneflower crop this year and seeds are everywhere, still on the stalk, scattered on the ground, and I hope at least a few don't get eaten and will spring up next year.




Brittie
We now have our fourth foster dog, Brittie, who came to us in pretty sad shape but is now doing so much better. It seems that her former owners were rather neglectful of her health, by the time she got to us she needed 4 teeth pulled, and 3 lumps removed, in addition to the minor things like an ear infection and overlong nails. Good, strong girl that she is, she came through very well, and yesterday had her stitches removed and was certified as perfectly healthy. She is quite easy in the house, but outside is rather challenging, to say the least. Only weighing a bit over 40 lbs., she manages to pull both Brian and I (total weight 275!) even though we have two leashes attached to her harness. The harness was purchased because I was really afraid she'd choke herself with just a collar. She is reputed to come from hunting stock, and I guess all the critters' scents and sights out here are just more than she can sit still for -literally. As I am no dog whisperer, I'm still trying several techniques (and please do send any helpful tips along) with varying small degrees of success. Next try is to fit her with a Gentle Leader, which I've heard helps dogs that pull hard on leash. Or, I could just get a sled and not worry about the high cost of gas. I'll bet she could get me in to Pine Bush in half an hour and not even be worn out.


Brittie with Toy

















Left Side
















Right Side




















In the Dog Run