Inevitable

Change, that is. I've never been one to hang my hat on expectations (though I am prone to ponder all possibilities), which saves me much of the let-down from things turning out differently than I expected or counted on. Good thing, because I never could have imagined how life has played out thus far!

Enough personal philosophy. Here are some recent changes.

Last weekend was the tipping point between peak color and fall 'falling.' I took the photos above driving over the hill on Friday after our visitors left. By Sunday, there were more leaves on the ground than there were still on the trees and grapevines. (There was still color in the evening sky Sunday, though!)

My "sandbox" (riding arena) collects a lot of leaves in the fall, so I cleaned it up Sunday using our riding lawnmower with grass-catcher. It works a treat when it's dry, and it has been – unusually so for this time of year.

My Japanese maples are still putting on a show (that's an English walnut in green and gold), and our double-flowering cherry hasn't yet caught fire, so there's more beauty – as well as leaves – to come.

Brian was able to bring up his Physics grade so he could play in his team's last soccer game Monday night. As it was, they started the game with one person short of a full team, and another got kneed in the ribcage at the beginning of the second half and had to sit out the remainder. They lost, but my boy played well in his last high school soccer game.

The geese definitely sense the changing season. They were streaming over the park during the game.

My crafting focus has changed, too. I finished spinning the 'crazy batt' singles and shifted to gift-knitting. On Sunday I started a hat for my farrier from one of the skeins he gave me; I'm going to knit his wife one from the other skein. It feels good to be working the needles again, and I learned a new cast-on (the tubular cast-on for 2x2 rib).

Now for the biggest change since the last blog post; there will be no lambs born on Boulderneigh next spring. Sarai and Blaise aren't going visiting after all because of unforeseen circumstances. That's okay; next spring is sure to be plenty busy getting Brian ready for graduation, maybe college, and certainly future changes. I trust it is for the best.

That's it for now from . . .

Enter Time Machine

For the uninitiated, Time Machine is a back-up app on macOS. My laptop's recent hospital visit was made less stressful by the knowledge that I had backed it up fairly recently, so wouldn't lose much if the board had gone bad. I could simply connect it to the external hard drive and use Time Machine to restore to it its most recent 'memories.' Since Time Machine shows back-ups stacked with the most recent in front, I decided to share my photos in that order, too. Shall we start with this morning then?

My gold and emerald world on the way to the barn:

Back from chores, here comes the sun:

And there go our visitors, my dad's second cousin and his wife, clutching a loaf of homemade bread and a jar of apple butter. So wonderful to connect with them again!

I've had too much going on to take advantage of the very short window in which shaggy mane mushrooms are prime for picking. These two near the house are already on their way to dissolving into inky slime:

 With Blake elsewhere on a conjugal visit (which is still going well), the wethers are much cuddlier. After a lovefest earlier in the week, I decided to put them in the arena to work on the grass and weeds that have sprouted up since Brian finished weeding it. They seemed to enjoy that, and weren't difficult to catch and halter when it was time to go back to the Ram-ada Inn lot. Good boys!

The sunrise on Thursday morning:

The sunrise on Wednesday morning:

And what will probably be Brian's last soccer game of the season, the afternoon before my computer died. (The team has one more game this coming Monday, but Brian's Physics grade plummeted.) The trees near the field were spectacular!

That's a full-fingered, full-featured post from . . .

Back in my own country

Incredibly, I am typing this on my laptop. Although I don't yet know how much it will set me back (at least there's a ceiling on the amount), you can't beat the turn-around. I drove it to The Apple Store on Tuesday, and it was repaired and returned to me by FedEx in 48 hours.

During the interim I felt like I was on a voyage to Lilliput. Forced to navigate the information superhighway on the much smaller platform of my iPhone, one fat fingertip struggled to do the work of ten digits, aging eyes strained at too-small words and images. So frustrating – but thankfully short-lived. Whew! (I know; first-world problems, right?)

Pictures later from . . .

Well, this just might work!

Yesterday morning my laptop went dark. I tried various resets to see if the screen would work again with no luck, so this morning I was waiting at the door of the nearest Apple Store (an hour away) when they opened. Now I wait.

But while I wait, I decided to see if it’s possible to post from my iPhone.

Lo and behold, it is! Adding this photo was awkward, but at least I can show you how stunning my favorite tree looks right now. I’ll probably post more on Instagram while computerless because it’s easier, but I’m glad to know this option exists.

Going visiting after church

After an inspiring service and a glorious drive home yesterday, I decided to go visiting. (Rick and Brian went on an emergency vet call after church.)

I haven't spent any quality time with my ewes in too long! Sarai's twins Bardot (the gray 'mop-top') and Bridget were the first up and pushiest. (Sarai said 'hi' and then back to eating.)

Beautiful Blaise, who will hopefully have more beautiful black gulmogets next spring!

Bree and her daughter Bette quietly ask to get in on the love-fest.

(That's their aloof dam/granddam Vienna chewing cud in the background.)

Bernadette slipped in the back for a chin rub.

It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon at . . .

Workin' it

The fall farm colors are workin' it – the show is changing daily.

Brian (#8) really worked it last night in a winning soccer game. He normally plays defense, but in the second half the assistant coach (the head coach was at the hospital welcoming his firstborn!) switched everyone around, allowing several (including Brian) to make a goal for the first time. I only took photos in the first half, though, before the rain settled in and we all got very wet.

Most of their games this year have been played at this city park because their school field is being renovated. It sure has made for beautiful backdrops!

Oh yeah; Chuckie knows how to work it.

And Blake, if all goes as planned, is going to 'work,' too!

My old man ram left this morning for his breeding gig after I visited his destination yesterday. I failed to get any photos of the stunning location, the cute flock of Babydoll Southdown girls (which he somewhat resembles in this photo!), or the sweet Great Pyr guardian dog who watches over them, but the Babydolls' owner sent me the photo below as soon as they got him installed. She said Goldilocks, their boss ewe, greeted him with a nose touch, so 'so far, so good'!

She said she would try to get more photos of him with his little breeding group of three (a ménage à quatre?).

Now I'd better get to work on my long Friday list!

That's it for now from . . .