Happy 🎃

 Happy Halloween! 🎃 

Wanda, Glenn, Gus, Pauline & Wally Johansen in about 1958 BL (before Laila)🤠 at Halloween Party at the West Denmark parish hall.

Ready

 I don't know how many times I've done this to myself,  Aldi had boxes of daffodils bulbs last month, cheap, I grabbed 2 boxes.  A person should just keep on walking.  Anyway, I got them in the ground today.  I added them to the new Peony bed. The daffodils will come & go by the time the Peonies come up.  There were a lot more bulbs in each box than I expected, should be quite a display if they all come up.

I also finished up the winter prep of covering the A/C unit, unhooked the hose, covered the faucet, stored some furniture & covered the furniture on back deck.  I only have a few more items to put away tomorrow & then I'm ready.  Bring on winter.

I was so surprised to see these Pansies still blooming on the back deck.  They are a hardy plant, and we have not had a hard frost as of yet.

My Verbena is still hanging on. These flowers have been so pretty all summer.  I don't move these pots for winter,  so they can go as long as they can go.  

I'll pull out the dead stuff in the Spring.

Happy 🎃 Halloween.

This and that

 I had my 3 month follow up with Cardiology yesterday. She reviewed my results from the testing in May,  Stress test- no blockages noted and Echocardiogram-strong heart, normal functions.  Come back in 6 months, continue medications, call if anything changes. Cool.

Sitting in the waiting room is a dose of how grateful I am for a healthy life & comfortable lifestyle.  It is painful to see so many who are really up against overwhelming health issues.  So, my visit to the clinic had a strong side effect of gratitude.

♥️♥️♥️

Raining on and off today, so I'm doing laundry, boiled up a dozen eggs in the InstantPot & then cooked up a spaghetti squash in the pot.  I should whip up some white bean & ham soup while I'm at it.

The rain paused and my lawn guy showed up, so he's mulching up wet leaves.  I don't suppose it matters if the leaves are wet or dry,  but I was surprised to see him out there.   Rain or shine I guess.

 A few birds have been at the feeders. No travelers, I guess the big flocks missed me this year.  My favorite Tufted Titmouse have been here. Today I saw 2 at the same time, and maybe a third. 

I took these a few days ago.

Their big eyes and little crest just get me.

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♥️♥️♥️

This photo popped up on Facebook memories from 2014.  

Dad was here for Ev's memorial.

Little did we know that he would be gone the next week.

Glad we had this time together.

♥️♥️♥️

Not yet

 Still no frost. This Impatien is about done, but still surviving.

The septic tank got pumped today , another item off the checklist before winter.  The county requires the pumping every three years whether it is needed or not.  I had called several weeks ago, I was hoping that they would get it fine before snow flies. 

Only a few leaves left now.   Many more fell today. I'll have to blow some leaves around this weekend. 

I still have some pots to dump, furniture covers to put on & other chores. Looks like good weather this weekend,  I'll have to be a busy bee.

Winter is near

 The temps dropped into the high 20's last night.  My Impatien survived, but the bird bath was frozen.  Plugged in the birdbath now.

They really are red

 It is a special treat when a male Northern Cardinal drops by for a snack when the sun is out.  Normally, they feed at dusk & dawn when there is almost no light left.

Always a fan favorite, even against the fall colors, they are one of the prettiest birds in my neighborhood.

 Counting my lucky stars to have these handsome guys hanging around.

They aren't really blue

 A regular customer at the feeders this time of year, but so pretty against the fall leaves.  

The Blue Jay is not loved by all, but I do.

I've heard them called bullies, camp robbers and other derogatory names, but you cannot dispute that they are stunning in their marks and beautiful blue appearance.

"In actuality, though, blue jays aren't really blue. ... In fact, blue pigment is rare in nature. Instead, the pigment in a blue jay's feathers — melanin — is brown, but we perceive it as blue because of a phenomenon called light scattering, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology."

I will say that the Blue Jays fly in like they own the place.  Sometimes the little song birds scatter, but sometimes, they just ignore the jays.

No Frost

 The frost is late this year.  Temperatures have been in the 30s at night,  but not frost temps, yet.

My rescue Impatiens will show when it freezes, but so far, still blooming.

My Verbena looked pretty rough for awhile,  but now they are having a little recovery.  I just love these flowers. 

There is a little Fall color in most corners of my yard. Sedum always has some nice fall flowers.

The Hydrangea are blushing a nice pink color.  

I'd say about 60% of the leaves are down in my yard. 

Jack Frost must be sleeping in this year.

Just a note

 I cleaned out the glove box in my car, looking for my air pressure gauge, and finding about a ream of paper that needed to be discarded.  Old receipts and registrations and insurance info, all of which is out of date.  I didn't know what all was there, so I was scanning each scrap of paper before pitching in the trash.  

I ran across this note, in my handwriting, but I have no memory of writing it.

Jude is different, so free to be anything.  

Well, I do believe that is true.  

I only wish I could remember what inspired me to take the time to write this little note.

I am glad I didn't toss it before seeing it.

Storage time

 It was a breezy, sunny day on Saturday, so I wanted to get busy and haul the deck cushions to the garage for winter storage.

But first....I had an old coffee table stashed in my walk-in closet, I wanted to move that to the garage,  to make room for the cedar chest, that I wanted to move out of the guest room, to make room for a corner desk to hold the modem/router, printer & desktop computer, to make room in the sewing room for the cutting table.  Whew, that is a string of dominoes!  And because I wanted to use the coffee table to store the deck cushions, I had to start there. 

I brought in some casters and rolled the coffee table out the front door, slid it down the steps to a 2-wheeler, and scooted it into the back corner of the garage. 

The long story of this table starts in Boulder, CO. There was a furniture store selling custom made futon couches and other furniture.  All the furniture was made out of pine 2x4 & 4x4. Rustic.  I had the futon couch & coffee table and maybe a chair,  I can't really remember.   I also don't remember where the couch ended up,  but this table made the rounds. I think friend LeAnna had it for awhile & sister Laila had it for awhile. And then I hauled it to Wisconsin.  It's got a lot of years of use left in it. 

The feet are in buckets just to keep them dry. 

Now,  in the garage,  I'm going to add casters and this will be a handy work table. I'm pretty sure I have gotten my money's worth out of this table.

For this winter,  I put my rack on it for the deck cushions.

I used to store these cushions up in the garage rafters, but I decided it was just a little risky going up and down the ladder. So, now I'm into storing things on the floor level. Safety first.

Step one of the dominoes is done, tomorrow I'll get the cedar chest moved. 

I surprised myself. After I vacuumed the closet, I thought I might as well move the cedar chest.   This chest became mine when my Mom died.  Inside was a very old, hand sewn, quilt top, a set of table cloth & napkins with had tatted edging. And some old silver set pieces-some table ware & a set of candle sticks. 
A friend of Dad & Ev's refinished it for me in about 1985, after it had been stored on Mom's garage and an outside shed.  It looked black, but after her refinish work, it's a beautiful cedar chest. 

My Mother was raised by her Great Aunt Ida, they called her 'Bubble'.  I never figured out why they called her that,  I only knew her as a very old woman living in an old folks home, nothing bubbly about my memories of her. This cedar chest had belonged to Ida "Bubble".

Right now it is storing my bike accessories and some odds and ends.  I'll work on repurposing that space later. 

Now,  I'm ready for the corner desk assembly. TBD on that timing.

Birds on the move

 Migration is in full swing.  I have not seen many 'just traveling through' birds around the yard this year.  I see in my bird journal that last year I was feeding Pine Siskins like mad and used 60 lbs of sunflower seeds in one week.  Not so today.

My only newcomer is a little flock of Finch, and mostly females.  They are enjoying the 'diner' bird feeder.  I put seeds on the roof too, so we have seating on 2 levels.  They seem to like it.

On Thursday I had a little photo session with a female Northern Cardinal.  She has the prettiest crest of head feathers.  This is one of my favorite birds and I rarely see her as she primarily feeds at dusk & dawn.

Just as I was sitting at the computer to look at these images, I heard a loud squawk.  The Pileated Woodpecker, a female, was alerting to her presence.

I am serving quite a buffet of suet, so she stopped by for a snack.

So big and impressive.  I wonder if the little songbirds are intimidated by her.

Seems likely.

Dodged

 I saw in my journal, that on this date in 2019, I had signed the contract with the scammer/contractor who was supposed to insulate in the crawl space.  

Remembering how close I came to getting scammed out of a LOT of money is a good reminder how easy it is to trust the wrong people.  

Just because, I looked him up on the civil court page.  He has a new charge of theft filed on 09-14-2021.   This time he went very big.  This actually happened before I hired him, just now getting to court.

I'd love to be in the courtroom for this. 
I'll be sure to check back on the progress of this case.

I dodged a big bullet. Thank goodness for my security cameras that gave me the info I needed to refuse to pay him anymore than the down payment.  

Whew.

Stitches out

 I made the trek to Eau Claire on Tuesday for my follow up appointment with the periodontist.  He reviewed the pathology report of the tissue he removed.  The kind of cyst it was can reoccur, so he is writing a note to my regular dentist to be sure proper x-rays are taken routinely.  I did not get the medical name of the cyst, I think it was keritinized?

He snipped off the remaining stitches that had not dissolved and I'll see him again in 4 months to check on the bone graft progress.  

It feels great to have the stitches gone and now to resume my normal diet. I was growing weary of the soft food menu.  And I am glad to brush normally again.

🌱

The weather had been unseasonably warm.  No frost yet in this part of the country, which is later than usual.  Some of my perennials are re-sprouting. I see new Morning Glory seedlings & also Lupines. The Chives are having a second growing season as well. 

My new Peony bed used to be Morning Glory land. They are sprouting just in time for a frost.

📚

I am reading a fun book called South of Luck by Jim Guhl.  It takes place in the 1940's in Milltown, WI.  A local author who lives in Hudson, WI, and it is a good read. 

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Today is just a few chores, hold the cat & read a book. Also,  a little laundry & running the refrigerator shelves through the dish washer.  

🥦🥕🌽🍅🍎🍊

I read an article about reorganization of the refrigerator.  Instead of putting the fruit & veggies in the drawers, out of sight, store those in clear trays, up where you see them when you open the fridge. Store the rarely used condiments in the drawers.  I'm giving it a try.  I do tend to forget what I have for fresh veggies, so this may reduce waste.  Once I get everything arranged. I'll post a photo.  But first,  everything needs a good cleaning.

Fresh start. We will see how it works out and I've already made a few changes.

🐈🐈🐈

Buddy, the stray, is back. He was here twice on Tuesday night.

Luck Wisconsin

 On Saturday, I took a drive over to Luck.  I wanted to visit the cemetery and see some leaves.

I missed the peak color of the leaves on Park Avenue.  This avenue was lined by Elm trees back when Dad was young.  The Dutch Elm disease took those and, according to Dad, the local Ag Teacher J. Alfred Olson, arranged for the street to be lined with Maple trees.  It is a beautiful part of town and quite a sight in the fall.  During the spring, these trees are tapped for their sap by the local school Ag students.

Note to self:  Next year, take this same shot about a week earlier.

My trip to the cemetery had a surprise.  

The Pansies that the deer ate right down to the dirt, are making a big comeback.

Not sure what these white, daisy plants are, some kind of aster perhaps, regardless they are having a good fall.

The view from Dad & Ev's bench in the fall is always so serene and lovely.  The trees are well turned and many are dropping their leaves.

I added some Fall Festive to the bench at the cemetery.  It won't be long before I'll be going over with wreaths, but for now, this looks a welcome spot of rest.

The blanket of leaves on the ground is remarkable.  Very crunchy and upon closer examination, a variety of colors and shapes.

I ended my trip with a visit and a cold beer at Bruce's deck as we enjoyed the fall weather.  Geese are overhead, the leaves are falling and the sun was shining.

Close to a perfect afternoon.