Fall's In The Air

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. ~Edwin Way Teale

The past week or so, the nights have been downright chilly. That fall snap is starting to show up in the weather.

This time of year I feel a little lost ... the butterflies are done, the garden is nearly done (all that's left is to pick the last of everything, then pull up the plants and turn the garden). I didn't have enough "anything" that I grew myself to preserve (I had BIG plans for my green beans, but the year was just too hot and the plants struggled and produced very little). Preserving foodwise, all I have left are the butternut squash and apples.

Then it's fall and winter. No more outdoor time really. Walking the dog, sure, but ... nothing else. In one way it's a bit of a relief -- I don't have to feel guilty spending time inside on the computer. But it's also such a loss. There are days I just like to walk around my yard and smile at the flowers.

I know I'm borrowing trouble. It's only August. But, we'll most likely have our first hard freeze in less than a month. I miss long growing seasons.

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I ran into our first dog trainer yesterday at PetsMart. It was great to see her and we gabbed for a while. She was so pleased with Dakota's behavior. Even though Dakota was SO excited to see her (it's been well over a year, but I swear Dakota remembered her), she DID sit for her greeting (whined the whole time, but kept her butt on the ground).

We talked about agility and about Dakota being a therapy dog. I asked her if she honestly thought Dakota had it in her to be one. I absolutely know Dakota has a sweet temperament -- she'd never nip or bite anyone under any circumstances. But she's also a scaredy-dog and I worry about new situations (and wheelchairs and walkers). She'll put up with any kind of human treatment. She's had kids slap her in the face (they mean to pet, but toddlers don't always control their movements well), poke her eyes, step on her paws, etc. And she doesn't even flinch. But new OBJECTS can freak her out.

Take yesterday.

After playing at the dog park and bathed her. And once all her fluffiness was wet, I noticed she'd torn out all the fur on her cheekbone and it was red and raw from all her scratching. Uh oh. Only one thing to do: the cone of shame.



When I held it, she was fine. When I put it (flat) under her face, she was fine. When I curled it around her head? She absolutely flipped out, terrified. Crying, jumping, shaking ... she ended up destroying the e-collar (apparently even fairly pliable plastic WILL shatter if you hit it against the wall, the table, the banister, etc. enough times) and then just lay there, wearing the remnants, shivering.

So... therapy dog? Or not?

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You Are Sweet and Sensitive

You're the type of person who's always taking others into consideration. You are very empathetic. You like to think everything through carefully. You tend to regret rash decisions. You are tentatively playful. It takes you a while to open up to new friends. You prefer calm waters where you can drift along peacefully. You don't like waves.

The Rubber Duckie Test

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... NO. Is there a stronger word for no? If so, insert here.

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Best Friends on a Fall Day

Hold a true friend with both your hands. ~Nigerian Proverb

What better way to spend a day than with your friend? So what if you have to haul leaves to make a pile on the lawn to play in?





And then, later, use your friend as a pillow and read to her:



I think it's love....

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Here's a picture of my woodpecker that I mentioned yesterday, right before she flew away:



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So, life as usual at our house! Mondays are the best days.

Fun at the Fair

Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length. ~Robert Frost

So... We went to the fair yesterday. Probably not the smartest thing I've done, health-wise, but I couldn't stand to disappoint DD as long as I could stand and walk. Unfortunately, when we got there I discovered my camera wasn't working, so the only pictures I got were on my cell phone and they aren't very good.

Anyway...

The day was hers. We walked in and I said, "Where do you want to go?" and off we went. The "in hand" horse shows were first, where I batted about 50% on choosing the winners. Once I realized that the judge preferred the flashier horses, I did much better (for instance, in the horse/colt/filly 1 y.o. there was an amazing palomino quarter horse -- I can't remember the last time I've seen a horse with such perfect breed conformation -- but I knew the judge would prefer both the Freesian AND the Arabian over the Quarter Horse, and I was right. The QH came in third).

Then we did rides -- spent half her tickets before she decided we should check out the vendors. The sky was getting pretty black and we wanted to be indoors in case it rained (it didn't, thankfully). We bought some soap and boo-boo balm from Aunt Jane (my favorite vendor -- I try to find her every year) and then DD tried to spend her $10 that she'd saved up, but couldn't find anything she liked.

Then it was lunch (a Philly cheese steak sandwich, sans steak, lol) and a HUGE bowl of fries. After we ate, she took a look at the program and we saw that the Flying Wallendas were going to be onstage in just a few minutes, so off we went. We got there just in time! The act was a little cheesy and amateur (which I suspect was in part due to the location) -- but DD has never seen anything like it and she LOVED it.

Then back to the rides, where she bumped into another little girl who was riding alone. She opted to spend most of her souvenir money on more tickets and had loads of fun!

About that time, though, I hit the wall. All of a sudden, I was massively congested and so exhausted I could barely stand. She wanted more tickets to keep riding, but I told her we had to leave... which broke her heart. It was about 3:00 pm. First, though, I had to sit down because I honestly don't think I could have walked to the car without resting first.

Her tummy hurt on the way home (hmmm... maybe the donuts, cotton candy and french fries PLUS loads of rides that spin you around had something to do with that?) and she was sad. She kept saying, "I can't believe it's over."

We picked up the dog at day care (where I saw another dog who looked JUST like her, only he was a boy ... another Golden/Irish -- who would have thunk it?) and went home. She curled up on the couch and read and watched "The Universe" on the Science channel until bed.

I worked until I couldn't keep my eyes open, and we all crashed. I slept pretty well, but this morning the congestion has settled in my chest. UGH.

Even so, it was worth it.

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Despite being busy yesterday, I took the time to join a cause near and dear to my heart:



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And, I also broke down and turned on the heat. It was 40 degrees out at dinnertime last night, and about 60 in my house. I couldn't stand it. So, thermostat is at 65 and all the windows are closed.

Wah. Summer really IS over.

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The Nip is in the Air

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Fall is definitely here. The days have been warm and sunny, but the moment the sun goes down ... it's COLD. It gets into the 40s at night. My tomatoes are pretty much done -- the cold is causing them to split the moment they are ripe. The few cucumbers I have are growing FAT bottoms (full of seeds). The crabgrass has gone to seed (my neighbors "lawn" is a lovely shade of red).

DH is off for the next five days and this weekend will be the last one in which he takes the boat out. We have a HUGE pile of wood to split that we took down last year, and then we need to go to our across the street neighbor and chop up the trees he had taken down this summer, then haul it over here and stack it up to season for next year. I'll probably pull up my tomatoes and start to get the garden ready for winter, cut down all the perennials that are done blooming. I want to go apple picking soon, and can applesauce this year, but after typing everything else, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed!

I'm going to miss summer, especially since they're predicting near record snowfall again this year. DH is thrilled, since he loves to go snowmobiling, but me? Not so much. I'll be counting the days to April (147 days, in case you were wondering).

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You Are a Powerful Black Car

You are a strong and dominant person. You enjoy showcasing your power. You are competent and in control. There's no one more suited to be in charge. You are very competitive. You like to win, and it even feels a bit humiliating to lose. You are always up for a challenge. You are a natural daredevil, and you're always looking to conquer a new feat.

The Car Oracle

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

I only chose it cuz I prefer a truck, and it was the only option, lol... but all things considered, much of it is pretty close.

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Fall is in the Air

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Who would think that sitting at a computer all day moderating a chat would be so exhausting? I was fried by the time 9:00 came last night! And I get to do it all over again today, lol. It was fun. It was crazy. It was busy. What a blast!

DH and DD are planning on boating today. Not much more boating weather happening up here -- it's cooling down dramatically, like someone flipped the "fall" button. Nights are down in the 40s, days will have highs in the 70s. Yesterday, I wore a sweater all day (of course, we had all our windows open and it was only 62 degrees outside, lol, but we do like our fresh air). This morning when I went outside to put the bird feeders up, I didn't get attacked by bugs ... are the mosquitoes gone? That would be a plus for certain.

In any case, my plans for today are chat moderation and website maintaining - I need to build all our pages for next week in between chatting and giving away our three eReaders (that part will be really cool).

Are you up to anything interesting?

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You Are Mocha Iced Coffee

You are bold and confident. You enjoy taking risks, especially when the rewards are great. For you, there's nothing better than the taste of sweet success. You crave power. You have a dominant personality, and most people are drawn to your strengths. You are very creative and inventive. You follow your passions, and they rarely lead you astray.

What Flavor Iced Coffee Are You?

About 50/50 ... though I do like a good mocha latte.

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Welcome Fall....

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. ~Carl Reiner

Summer is definitely over... I don't think it got warmer than 65 degrees in my house all day yesterday. I do admit it was warmer outside than inside (and I opened up my front windows--the ones that get full sun all day--to help heat up the house), but still. Brrr....

I'm planning to take down my veggie garden this weekend. The cucumbers are busy making seeds, so they are bottom heavy and bitter and the tomatoes are beginning to crack even before they ripen, all signs that the nights are too cool. I can't believe how quickly the summers fly by here. How did the settlers ever survive with a growing season so short, and a long, brutal winter? I know, many of them didn't survive, but many did and I am always amazed.

In other news, I did manage to finish the first (very, very rough) draft of my synopsis for "Stiller Creek" (I really should think of a catchier title, lol). I really hate synopsis writing, and fully believe that it's more difficult than writing the actual book.

I also created three new characters for my NaNo novel. One is a little boy who needs a name... naming is really tough for me. He's eight and has a pet turtle and in my head he looks and behaves a little like Tom Sawyer. Any thoughts?

Today is LASR day, and it's a good thing. There is a TON to do on the site. But, even so, I might try to eke out a little writing time. I'm really beginning to love this new book. When it's done, I think I'll work on the sequel to Liv next, while brainstorming my fantasy. I really love that story and, IMHO, the characters are strong and clear...but not the world. There needs to be a reason for some things that happen, and it's not clear in my mind what the reasons are. World-building is tough, and is why I tend to not write fantasy despite my love for the genre.

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You Are 55% Left Brained, 45% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Okay, so almost balanced... good for me! LOL...