This was taken a few days ago. Now? The grass is covered with leaves – not only the back forty, but the corral, our driveway, and the area right outside our doors. We had two days of rain and then a very windy day yesterday. The amount of leaves on the ground is daunting. Gulp. We don’t have to rake all of them, but we do have to clean up certain areas, especially close to the house.

And it’s so much colder now! The temp dropped 20 degrees on Saturday and for the first time, it really feels like fall around here. I’m currently covered with a shawl that I knitted several years ago, and I’m wearing a long cardigan over my pajamas. We refuse to turn the heat on this early in October.

My little Carolina wren friend just appeared on the porch railing and is chirping/calling out to, I presume, his mate. Now, he’s gone. I hope he heard a response.

I finished The Close  over the weekend. Excellent! I didn’t want it to end and I kept thinking about it throughout the day. If you are interested in this series, I strongly recommend reading them in order. Like all series, the characters and their relationships with others change over time – there’s always a back story. I’ve started Dark Ride, by Lou Berney. Another good mystery that I’m very taken with. I haven’t read any Berney lately, but I read a few of his books when I was reviewing books on this blog and my book review blog. He’s a wonderful writer.

Well. The news in Israel and Gaza is horrific. I don’t know what to say beyond that. I feel like I’ve run out of words to describe the situation in our country, the war in Ukraine, the war in the Middle East, the plight of immigrants, climate change…you name it, it seems hopeless. I have always been a fighter and an activist. And I certainly don’t want it make this about me, sitting here in my cozy home writing a blog. I remind myself every day that I can’t give in to ‘news fatigue.’  I have to be aware and awake. I have to pray – whatever way works for me. (You should know by now that I’m not into organized religion, but I do have faith and a spiritual/metaphysical belief system – I’m just not preachy about it. Preachy makes me uncomfortable; it’s the way I was raised.)

I do know I have to hold all those who are impacted in these senseless wars in my heart. But at times, it’s overwhelming. It’s too much. So I read, or paint, or clean, or mow the lawn – all of which helps me to escape temporarily. But only temporarily, because we are all one.

Prayers for peace. Pleas for peace. Is there hope?

I don’t know.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Well, it’s raining. Heavily. Again. And it will rain tomorrow, too,

As I said in the comments the other day: Cue Claudia’s scream.

I managed to grab some time to mow the lilac side of the lawn yesterday afternoon, right after we spent 3 hours dealing with a refrigerator problem. Water has been leaking inside the fridge and we did some research that showed it was a blocked drain line, which seems to be very common. After watching several YouTube videos, we tackled the problem but it involved unscrewing panels and taking things apart and we’re not sure, in the end, whether we fixed it. Fingers crossed. This is an old GE refrigerator that was made in 2000, but it’s been working just fine until recently and we certainly don’t want to have to buy a new one.

It was a crazy sort of day,

But I did get in some reading to help balance the stress and it sure helps. I’m loving Mick Herron’s newest book, The Secret Hours. He is such an excellent writer and I’m riveted to the story. Two more books that I had on hold came in at my local library, so I’m feeling a bit of pressure as, since they’re new, I have them for a limited amount of time. As pressure goes, that’s the best kind to have!

I hear my little Carolina wren chirping away. I’m not sure where he is, but he’s somewhere in the vicinity of the porch.

Comfort doll. There’s something about that face and the sweetness of her expression.

Rest in peace to Michael Gambon, who has was one of my favorite actors. I was able to see him onstage 20 years ago. I was in London and he was in a production of The Caretaker   by Harold Pinter. His performance was extraordinary and it’s seared in my memory. He was blessed with an incredible voice and I could have happily spent several hours listening to him read the phone book. He will be deeply missed.

Yesterday was my dad’s birthday. He would have been 100 years old, had he stayed with us a bit longer.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Yesterday, I noticed that most of the petals have fallen off my brown-eyed susans. Sigh. I’m sure that was partly due to the rain, but also to the change of seasons. They hang in there for so long that it almost seems like they’ll be there forever. So now, I have a few roses that bloom again late in September, the hydrangeas, the giant zinnias, and the geraniums that are in tubs by the funky patio. And the porch plants, of course.

But growing season is definitely coming to an end.

This is the pot that holds the geranium. (The frog is not real.) Since it sits next to some potted impatiens, they kindly decided to self-seed in the geranium pot. Not only that, they bloomed! I love little surprises like that.

We’ve had three days of rain and I’m over it. It rained again overnight. I need to mow the lilac side of the lawn, but it looks like that will have to be delayed until tomorrow. Too wet.

I finished the The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons  the day before yesterday. And I’ve started on the newest Mick Herron: The Secret Hours. As always with Herron, I am never disappointed. He writes intricate plots about British spies, with intelligence and a good deal of dry humor. To be honest, I haven’t been motivated to do anything other than reading. Maybe it’s the nesting instinct that comes with the seasonal change?

Although I did clean the bathroom yesterday.

Today, we go grocery shopping, so at the very least, I’ll get out of the house.

This is blurry because I shot it through the picture window in the den. This is the little Carolina wren who hangs out here and periodically perches on the porch railing, chirping repeatedly. With each chirp, his/her head goes to the right and then to the left. I researched it and it’s a definitely a call – either of danger (not in this case) or simply a form of communication. I’ve always felt that this little guy is calling for his mate. Since they mate for life, let’s hope the other little one is okay. He doesn’t call out every day, but at least once or twice a week he lands on the railing and chirps for about 3 minutes.

I think he’s the bird that sleeps on top of the porch light. We’re very happy that he likes to hang out here.

Question: my Rose of Sharons have tons of buds on them but nothing has opened recently. I’m wondering if they stop opening when it gets colder at night? Does anyone know?

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.