First snow!

Apparently, we got our first snow this morning at around 2 a.m.

I was sound asleep and missed it.

Rope toy

"Good morning, Rope Toy. Did you have a nice night?"

"I'm a frayed knot."

Housey photos

Cricket still has some puppy traits. When we were looking for her, I lowered my minimum age range because Starbuck was only 10, and we wanted one that would be sufficiently younger so Starbuck would be less likely to suffer another loss of companion. I said I'd go as low at 3. Bad idea! I think Cricket, at 5.5 years old a the time of her arrival, is the youngest we could handle. One of her problems is she likes to destroy her bed, so we bought her a bunch of toys:


We also bought her a new bed that is canvas. In fact, it's the same as Autumn and Linden's old bed was:

She loves it so much she now often chooses it over the couch!

Roo still prefers the couch:


Fuzzies in repose:


"I want to sit next to Dad."
"No, *I* want to sit next to Dad."

Squish

UNGGH

"Oh no! I'm sliding off!"


GGGAAAHHNNGGGG... UNGGH...


RRRROOOOOO...


"I fit here, too!"

Stuff occurring, life going on...

Fall's colors are still out, but a bit marred by a near-constant drizzle of the past week. On the last sunny-ish day, I had snapped this photo from the porch:


Along with, apparently, this photo of Starbuck, the Amazing Boneless Husky, and her Sofffty Schnozz:
\

Now, to maintain dog-photo parity, here is a photo of Cricket with her fishy:


It is SUPER IMPORTANT that I share those with you!

The weekend before last, we finished splitting and stacking our last pile of firewood for the year, just over 2 cords of spruce:

(This pile is in addition to the 2 cords of spruce and 4 cords of birch we tackled earlier this summer. And by "we" I mean mostly DL.)

Quite a few of the spruce pieces were super gnarly!


And twisty!


And needed to be split with a wedge and sledgehammer!




I hate stacking and usually make a wobbly mess of it. DL stacks wood like the most responsible of the proverbial three little piggies:


While we toil and sweat, the dogs lounge in the sun:

First several uses of salmon

Asian salmon:


'Merican salmon:


Asian salmon with 'Merican veggies:

Puppies!

There is a lady wandering around campus nowadays with a pair of perfectly plush lab puppies. She says she brings them to school and work to socialize them, and welcomes pets and visits.

I'm such a good citizen that I always stop to help!

Ruff n tumble!


Fatty fuzzies!


"Oh, a treat?"


"We'll sit nicely for a treat!"


How stinkin' cute are they?!?

Photos from a hike a few weekends ago

A few weekends ago, M planned us a day hike at the Coal Mine Road, which passes some half dozen ponds stocked with fish, and ends at an old coal mine. It was a surface mine, now mostly reclaimed by nature.

Mount Hayes! (There is some Hayes on the horizon. Heh!)


Donnelly Dome:




A grader day has come!




Selfie!






MOOSE!








It was just before the height of Fall's beauty. Two weeks later, the colors near our house exploded into these!




I snapped this photo on campus last week. Super beautiful!

SNUGGLES!

Autumn and Linden used to do a Dance of Joy in the yard when we got home--they'd rip circles around the cabin, race each other and me up and down the driveway, and growl and chest-bump. Starbuckeroo and Cricket don't do a Dance of Joy... they run out, pee, run back in, and demand cuddles.

"Hello, Human!"


"We await our cuddlefest!"


SQUEEZIES!!


SNUGGLEES!!!

(Directly after this photo was taken, Cricket jumped up and used her front paws to push me back onto the couch, whereupon she flopped her full body on top of me. Roo jumped off the couch and moved to the other side so she could demand pets from closer to my head.)

SNUGGLINS!!!!!!


SQUEEZINS!!!!!!!!

It's Fall!

Rainbows!






Yellow leaves on the ground!




Red dogwood!


Blue sky!


Sun dappling through trees!


Herby stuff!


Schnozzles!


"Um, excuse me, but are you going to also pet ME?"


SQUEEZIN!


First fire of the season was lit on Saturday, the 2nd of September!


SNUGGLIN!