Go, green!

What is that dark green I can see through the leaves from the front door?

Rick and Brian got all the metal siding they had (Rick miscalculated) installed on Sunday, two and a half sides worth. There is still much to do to complete it, but it looks like something now.

As does my sweater. I tried it on Friday to determine the length needed, and knit on. Before Sunday ended, the body was completed. I have two skeins left, one for each sleeve; perfect!

I went with green for Monday supper, too, making vegan Pozole Verde for the first time, with zucchini from this year's garden and some dehydrated tomatillos from a previous year's harvest. Brian and I like it; Rick wasn't thrilled. C'est la vie.

There is vibrant green in the landscape, even though fall colors tend to take center stage this time of year.

That's it for now for all the colors around . . .

Moulting

My working title for this second post of the week was “More Autumn Appreciation,” but yesterday a stereotypical Pacific NW front blew in and we're still getting buffeted by wind, rain, and blowing tree debris. The trees that have yet to turn (like the Japanese maples at the front of our house) might still bless us with fall color, but a lot of others are 'moulting' – like half my hens right now. 😉 I took the photos above this morning.

But before those dreary views dawned, I had taken many others here and around town to share with you:

sunrise and valley fog from our deck

color on my deck

color along our driveway

color in the vineyards stretching off to the east along our lane

color planted in front of a vineyard

early camellias in town

starlings in the sky on my way home (I'm watching for murmurations!)

from the parking lot at work

deep valley fog one morning (no tree 'islands')

"Make zzzzz's while the sun shines"

a small harvest before the rain came; the volunteer kale is SO good

Happy November(!) from . . .

Autumn appreciation and more 'awful pie'

Once again 'we interrupt this program' with breaking news. Blaise was dead when I went down to do chores this morning. I don't know what happened; it didn't look like she struggled so hopefully she passed away peacefully in her sleep. She and Bitsy have been laying down more than usual the last few days, but both always got up when I went into their stall to refresh hay and water. She wasn't that old, not yet ten, but she's been frail since she nearly died after getting beat up early in the 2022 lambing season. Now Bitsy, who has lived almost exclusively with her dam since her birth exactly seven months ago today, is now with the rest of the ewes and ewe lambs. You may recall that the one time I put her and Blaise in the pasture with the flock, Bitsy ended up three-legged lame. So far she is sad and confused, but otherwise okay; if that changes, I might just put all four ewe lambs in the stall to make sure all of them are weaned.

Baby Blaise, 2014; my first "flashy" lamb

Always my sweetheart, 2018

 

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Now for the season at hand. Autumn kind of snuck up on me; one day I realized that the days were shorter  and the grass was greener, but I hadn't noticed the fall foliage I usually enjoy so much. Once I started looking for it I caught glimpses here and there, at home, in town, and in between, but the timing seems off. Still, I've been collecting photos to share; I hope you enjoy. 

Fall showers mean the return of fog.

this dogwood in town is a fall feature

Shaggy mane mushrooms in the arena; another fall feature!

First harvest.

Autumn means raindrops on spiderwebs.

More shaggy manes.

And color in our garden this morning, seen while I was mulching rhubarb plants, picking tomatoes and zucchini, and snacking on a few ripe strawberries:

There is more to pick: beets, volunteer kale, sweet peppers, basil, parsley, some small eggplants, and possibly more tomatoes.

This evening the house was 63°, so Rick built our first fire. Humans and dogs are all enjoying it. 😁

That's it for the third post(!) in a week from . . .