Happy All Hallows' Eve!

I am feeling nostalgic, remembering Hallowe'ens Past. A small sweet cowboy. A little leopard. Another little leopard. Raggedy Andy, A pumpkin. A ninja. A mustached chef. A mummy. (Even a cross dresser!) And many, many Jack O' lanterns! Lots and lots of FUN! And I am wishing I could share some "in person" Hallowe'en fun with three little somebodies far away! One sweet, adorable little wolf! And two little "mystery" trick or treaters! Meanwhile, I will get to see two adorable Minecrafters tonight! And that will be some great Hallowe'en Fun! Say…Happy Birthday, Sara!!

Cranes and magical sunlight! And sweet SAM.

The sun broke through this morning with the most amazing brilliant sunlight! Soon, an enormous "V" of Sandhill Cranes flew overhead, loudly announcing that winter is coming indeed. I saw these events as encouragement from the Universe that everything is "OK" with our troubled planet. Despite the news, despite trouble and pain and loss. Our family has experienced a big loss this week. On Monday, Josh, Paige and Piper endured the passing of sweet, precious Sam. Sam is one of our dear grand dogs. We love Sam. He has been a part of so much life, mostly for Josh and Paige and little p, but also for all of us who get to be part of life in their household, for more than eleven years! Sam was full of energy as a youngster, always a little shy, with his cute little underbite! But always so happy to give love and receive love - preferably on a lap, if you please. Or in a sunny spot in the grass. He went from being a California doggy when he lived in Huntington Beach, to being a North Carolina dog!! He has many friends and fans, all over the country. Nobody who meets Sam doesn't love Sam! We celebrate his happy, good life and we will certainly miss him in a big way. Valle con Dios, little Sammo Whammo!!!

Plantings spring bulbs. Graced by balloons!

The gentle wind currents brought many hot air balloons our way yesterday, the 2nd day of the Balloon Fiesta! It is exhilarating when they come over the treetops, firing their propane burners which make that quintessential hot air balloon sound! We will go to the balloon field next weekend, weather permitting; as for yesterday? Well, it really doesn't get any better than that. Coffee and pumpkin muffins just out of the oven....robes and slippers. We felt very happy. Fred, it turns out, is a particularly great little balloon watcher! Abby's walnut tree was visited by the teddy bear balloon! Piper's prairie-fire crabapple was graced by the zig zaggy orange one! (Ben's little piñon tree is still too short for the balloons to find.) And for today - Monday? Well, now that the morning balloons have passed (there were only five right over our house today), Fred and I have holes to dig and daffodils, tulips, and crocus to plant!

The last day for...so many things!

I guess I have been in denial. Since Tuesday, the weatherman and Tim have been saying it may freeze tonight, and I was hoping they would soon say otherwise! But, no. It is true. Except it has gone from "It may", to "It is going to...". So, given this blast of reality, I have spent the better part of the day preparing. Cutting as many flowers as I can, spraying soapy water on the houseplants that have spent the summer outdoors, then bringing them inside, cutting huge bunches of herbs, and picking the last of the pumpkins, squash, melons, and okra. I left one huge Cinderella pumpkin on the vine to turn - hoping it won't freeze hard! (The apple and pear in the picture are the only ones we had this year!) I think the carrots, beets and chard will be all right. I also had the distinct pleasure of harvesting Abby's ornamental corn! It is very cute! Good job Abby! The wind is beginning to blow a chilly breeze. I am so sorry that the summer garden is nearly finished. We will cover some things, like the new baby lettuce, but much will be....done. Why, oh, why does this always come as a shock? It happens every year. But this year I am not ready to say goodbye. I will now go out to the pole barn and get some nice piñon logs for our fireplaces. Our heater is not yet prepared for the blast of cold! Bundle up everyone! The cold is coming! TONIGHT!

Grape & Herb Harvest

One of these mornings, much too soon, we will wake up, step outside, and see that all the tender flower and vegetable plants will be droopy and wilty and well on the way to dead - victims of a killing frost! This always catches me by surprise for some reason. I grow so accustomed to stepping out the door to greet the day and I am overwhelmed by the color and beauty of the plantings, the canopy of trees overhead, and the summer-ness of it all! But already (It is, after all, October now!) the situation requires that we hold our robes or sweatshirts tightly around ourselves, pull socks onto our feet, and spout encouraging words to Fred to "Hurry, little guy! It's cold!" Of course, he knows it's cold! He needs very little encouragement to hustle, unless the coyote is nearby, in which case he must bravely stand on patrol at the fence line and prepare to escort him swiftly away from his personal domain. This terrifies me as I fear for Fred when he does this! I never leave him when this happens! He is too brave for his own good! And naive about the wild ways of coyotes! So, we are trying to save what can be saved for the winter months ahead. No fruit, of course, due to the early freezes, but plenty of grapes (Malbecs, these) that we juiced and froze, herbs that are now drying in paper sacks, and flowers, flowers, flowers.....to hold in our memories. There are pumpkins for pies and soup and Jack o'lanterns! And the arugula and Swiss chard will hang on for us awhile longer. The hot air balloons will fly "en mass" this weekend, which absolutely means....it will be cold! (Just ask Piper if you don't believe me! She was soooooo cold last year at the Balloon Fiesta!! Poor darling! Until FINALLY, Mr. Golden Sun came up!!) Happy October everyone! It is such a beautiful month!