First snow

It snowed yesterday morning. It wasn’t exactly the very first snowfall of the season—not the first snowflakes, anyway—but it was the first to accumulate. It also was the first on a weekday and during rush hour. It put me in a grumpy mood walking out of my house; there was nothing I wanted less than to drive to work with snow falling.

By the time I was halfway to my destination, I felt differently. It was an absolutely lovely winterland/wonderland. All of the trees and bushes were coated in snow, but their still-clinging leaves peaked through. Continue reading

Halloween in the rearview mirror

As promised and predicted, with Halloween over I am watching the local wildlife have its way with my pumpkin. That’s my squash in the photo above. Squirrels were trying to take away pieces of it within an hour of its arrival on our front porch on Halloween, and I really wasn’t able to protect it for long. Thankfully, they started by expanding one ear into a gaping hole—in other words, a part of the carving that faced to the side. But now…just look at it. I came home from running errands today and discovered that it had been dragged all the way off the porch to the sidewalk and tucked partially in the garden foliage. I righted it and moved it fully into the foliage, then left it to rot and continue providing food for critters. Continue reading