Fall has Fell

After about a week of days that just got nicer and nicer, we have a morning of about 40 degrees and a light rain falling. It would be nice if it were to continue to rain on and off all day.  Barb thinks it is good for her plants to go to bed for the winter with their feet wet.   After turning over a small patch of the garden yesterday, I can attest to how hard and dry the ground out there is.  The clay in the soil was a lot more like concrete than just dirt.  Barb planted some potatoes this last spring and I'll bet that we didn't get over a handful of anything worth eating. The tomatoes this year were equally as disappointing.  Oh well, Barb did her best, it was the hot dry weather that ruined things.

One of the things I love about the fall and winter here is the activity at the bird feeders.  I keep a black oil sunflower seed feeder, a couple of suet blocks and a finch feeder full.  I have a water dish out by the feeders and a heated water dish for the really cold days.  I think of it as about the cheapest entertainment you can have for the money.  So far, we have been blessed to not have a flock of sparrows hang around and most of the birds are very pretty and seem to work out a system that allows the birds to fly in, get a seed and then stage back in the tree for their next turn.  It is pretty funny when a new bird shows up and tries to sit in the feeder and not take turns.  New birds son get the message that they need to take turns and it all works out.


The creek valley below our house is really down and out of the wind.  When it is cold and windy, a lot of turkeys and deer will hang out in the valley.  I love to see a flock of turkeys come through scratching up the leaves and looking for things to eat.  Now that there is no fruit in the orchard, the deer won't show up for a month or so.  I'm sure there is a car they need to run in front of and scare the hell out of the driver.


A red bellied woodpecker just landed on the suet block and announced his arrival.  They are as noisy as blue jays.  Probably one of the noisiest days here was when a sharp shinned hawk flew in and grabbed a blue jay.  The jay's mate sat in the tree and raised holy hell the entire time.  The hawk seemed to enjoy eating the blue jay right there on the ground by the feeder.  Oh well, it sucks to be lower on the food chain than  some one else.  

Today is Dave's birthday.  We will probably take them out to dinner if his wife is well enough.  If not, we'll just buy them a pizza or something.    The other day I was talking to a pair of Grandmothers at the store as they showed off their granddaughter.   I told them that we have the world's best Lego collection.  They said that their son-in-law banned Lego's from his house  because his son kept taking the things he made apart.  I told them that when Dave was little, I would try to make a car or a spaceship every day before I went to work.  I fully expected him to take the vehicles apart so he could learn how to make his own.  After all, it is the learning part of Lego's that just amaze me.  

MUD