Fall is when the highbush cranberries start to smell like sweaty gym socks. A lot of people love that smell because they associate it with beautiful fall weather, but let us be honest, it's not altogether pleasant.
I like the fog that comes in fall. In our hilly area, it sits in discrete pockets in low areas, while the sky above is clear. It's a very beautiful effect. Here we walk through it.
I get a lot of photos of dog butts.
I love our neighborhood forest!
And we are eating GIANT ZOOKEENEEZZZ!!!
Mmmmm ZOOKEENEEZZZ!!!
It is time to put away shorts and T-shirts and get out some warm sweaters! In our tiny place, this is a non-trivial chore. I decide to do this while listening in on a webinar on "The Science of German Shepherds", part of a "Canine Brains" study out of Harvard. Raven is like, German Shepherds? I wanna watch!
"That is what my brain looks like??"
"Oh my hekkin' hek!"
My sous-chefs are excited about Fall foods.
Things that can all be roasted at once, abd they get to sample all of the veggiebuhlz!
My commute highway was down to one lane for a few days there while they fixed potholes. While I waited for a pilot car, I snapped the pretty trees.
This is Miss Ruby.
She was two weeks old when she was dumped at the shelter with severe medical needs. She was brought immediately to a local vet, where Sirius had a mama dog Danu about to give birth. Ruby had emergency surgery and went home to Sirius to be fostered by Danu, who took excellent care of her along with her own newborn pups. The photos of big ol' 2-week old Ruby next to the tiny newborn Siberians are some of my favorites of all time.
Then Mary took Ruby home to finish her babyhood and be schooled in the Ways of Dog by Uncle Pico and Aunty Ersta.
When Pico and Ersta proclaimed Ruby ready to start her adult life, she was adopted by Jodi, where she will happily spend the rest of her days.
She is now three and Jodi says she is the happiest dog she has ever known and Jodi has known a *lot* of dogs. Ruby is nothing like a lot of other dogs who have suffered severe abuse: no shyness, no aggression, no reactivity. She is sweet and cuddly and loveslovesloves attention. She is kinda funny-looking but who cares? We are all kinda funny-looking in our own ways. She has a heart full of love and gives so much joy.
The powerline trail is beautiful at this time of year, too!
And so is Creamer's Field.
But all falls must come to an end, and rather abruptly! Earlier this week we got our first snow!
And it will be a while yet until the ground freezes and the snow sticks.
For now it's just turning into mud.
But we have snuggles!
