crawling into seasonal change.

Autumn color, Dennis's tomatoes grown in the hottest place by the garage wall, always do their best there. The zucchini on the deck fizzled this year, zucchini - a dime a dozen in the fall so no big loss,   flowers have been rewarding! Dennis grew seven cucumbers, also by the garage, a few marigolds to ward off pests. Rabbits don't seem to like them.This is the rabbit that the neighbor threw a plate at, We call her Mrs. Farmer McGregor- anyway the rabbit scooted through the critter proof fence that she had put up a few years ago, and sat in our yard until I got too close and ZIP! back through the fence into Mrs. McGregor's yard.  The rabbit's suits blend so well with  brown end- of- summer grass, that I nearly step on them before I know they are there.

A crow left one of its feather sticking straight up like a flag. With my poor vision I thought it was an entire bird. 

Out of the corner of my compromised vision , the cosmos  were acting crazy. There was no wind , and no earth quake- with my camera I zoomed in on a charm of goldfinches bouncing around on the cosmos, eating their middle and tearing the petals off. Wild!  We have a bird feeder but I guess the cosmos are more enticing.

Flurry of  frantic activity and then they were gone. 

Weather is creeping in - temperate , mild, damp-ish. Refreshing I find, but am forewarned of the interminable darkness that comes with winter. That is the one thing , other than high cost of living here, that drives folks back to sky country. Darkness.

Daughter in law and son are now living in sunny Portugal. Her mail is being forwarded to us. She had been an interior designer in Seattle and receives that sort of magazine frequently. They are uninspiring - back to beige/brown/ muted green.- yawn-

When Austin comes here after working on the island- I am so pleased to see his car pull up- seeing him as well as his spiffy automobile , not influenced by his mom's designer influence- His car is cheerful  - visible!

Lil Stumpy came back this morning her family, all together.  happily being little raccoons in the rain. Amputation healing nicely. 

Lovely having Austin staying with us for a while. He will eat anything  that I cook, especially having worked all day, being very hungry,   having to commute so far- Up at 5:30 AM, returning around 8:45 pm...YOUTH can do anything! Anyway I have been cooking for a change, since Dennis can not eat anything I have let any so called cooking skills take a back seat. I have forgotten how. 

Today - dark, cool, rainy, restful....no plans, a snooze maybe. The shift in weather takes some adjustment. 55 degrees at the moment, 86% humidity, dark and drippy but not a cats and dogs day. A gentle nudge into seasonal change.  It feels a little like jet lag.