Well Into October Already

So far, the highlight of October has been a visit from our nephew, Wit.  My brother's family moved from Ohio to Arizona last year and this was a promise made to Wit, that he could come here and go hunting with Uncle Sam.  And they did.  They got several squirrels last week and even made stew from them.  Wit was here for almost a week and we really enjoyed having him here.  It is so nice that he loves to come and spend time on the farm.  He even helped me put together the corn shock and hay and pumpkins to make the yard festive for the season.  

Fall has come in wonderfully, with all its beauty and cooler temperatures.  I think we may get our first frost this coming weekend.  But we will still have some lovely days.  I have a lot to do outside.  I cooked some more pumpkin and made puree for the freezer this weekend.  Yesterday I prepared the garlic bed and planted a lot of garlic.  I still need to collect the  maple leaves from the yard and mulch the garlic.  I harvested a lot of basil yesterday and chopped it up and froze it with some water in ice cube trays for use in recipes this winter.  I still have lots of peppers in the garden to deal with, though last week I attempted to make hot pepper jelly.  I say attempted because it is not real hot.  It could use a little more heat.  But it is tasty and that's what counts.  Sam has been busy getting firewood cut and stacked and it is about time for me to get out and cover it with tarps to keep it as dry as possible.  

It is all work, but it is work that makes you feel good at the end of the day.  We also enjoy other outdoor activities in the fall:  Sam has been spending time in his tree stands as bow season is now open.  Last night he was able to spend time observing 3 mature bucks rattling antlers together not far from his tree stand.  He said they were all 8-pointers and were not seriously fighting, but maybe warming up for when the real competition for does in estrus starts.  He was thrilled to see this.  He said he has never had a chance to see this before.  No arrows were loosed.  

A late afternoon walk this time of year is wonderful:
First we pass some alpacas.

Then down the road and after about 3/4 of a mile we will turn and go into the woods

Then there is the creek to cross before we wind our way up the hill and across the hayfield to the pond

 




Grover finds it hard to stay out of the pond, but he refuses to jump from the diving board.  

The way home is mostly downhill.





An early morning walk earlier this week with my camera caught these images:

A big green caterpillar on a fence post









Another of my favorite trees, a huge old oak
 

  And proof that nature eventually prevails

 

                                                            

Grover and I are off to another agility trial this weekend.  We were unable to get a qualifying run at all at our last trial, so we still need 2 Q's in Open Jumpers with Weaves to move up to Excellent.  We have been working so hard on our weave poles which has been one of our biggest problems, so maybe we will do better this weekend.  It is a 3 day trial in Zanesville, and we will be there all 3 days.  I think Sam will join us on Saturday evening so we can go to Weasel Boy Brewing, a craft brewery in Zanesville.  He and Rowdy will come and stay overnight with us and then Sam can watch Grover and me run on Sunday and then Grover can go home with him and I will stay and work the rest of the day.  That's the plan right now.  As always, it is subject to change.