I found a tiny, dead bat in one of my g'houses as I was sweeping it out today and it made me sad. I suspect it was trapped inside the structure when I made the door shut after we stretched new film on it. I've seen a bat flying in there often, and perhaps it slept the summer days hanging under a bench. They look ever so much tinier folded up in death, with its wings tucked in neatly and its little mouse face.

Our spring is again gushing out of the hillside and I have given thanks for its return. I suspect the fish in the pond are thankful as well, as the constant renewal of water from deep in the ground keeps an area of the pond free of ice in winter and for that the deer are also appreciative when they come to drink.

The little 'invisible' chores one puts off forever are now getting done bit by bit. When I come into the house from outside chores, it has a pleasant aroma, like apples or spice. Seeing as how I have quinces and a bushel of apples in the solarium, I suppose it would. My shallots, peppers and herbs are braided and hung at the kitchen fireplace and the oven has been getting a workout.

One can go do outside chores with no coat now, or take off for town likewise to do errands. I have let my dog Tubby come with me, so he can bark at the Angus bull down the road........his passion. My new car stills smells of brand new car, and my little spotted dog has deposited many tiny white hairs on the black upholstery. I suppose had I gotten white interiors, he'd have shed from his black spots. LOL.

I got a sobering reminder that Thanksgiving is fast rolling around, and the feast is at our house this year. I don't have to put much creativity in it, as my family expects the traditional menu in spades. You know you are long in the tooth when a cooking book doesn't even need to be cracked.

My henhouse has been mucked out and fresh straw lain, and the hens are still giving me enough eggs to share, but not drown in. They deserve a rest until spring.

The stars seem to be twinkling exceptionally bright, even on cloudy nights and the moon has been rising orange. Autumn is nice.

I too noticed the shorter days, redder evenings and how it "felt" like Thanksgiving. This is my first Thanksgiving without the little one and I have been dreading it terribly. This morning the wind (Hurricaine Ida remnants) was whipping it up and the leaves were swirling round me while the light hit the buildings in that cooler autumn way that they do. Someone, somewhere, was off in the distance cooking hamburgers. In the morning? Yep, hamburgers. I thought, oh this feels just like a football game as I hearkened back to high school. I wished LF and I had the day off and we had a kite. Crisp wind, crisp apples, crisp days. I love the coziness of the darker nights. I'm sure I'll tire of it, but for now it is like a snuggly blanket. People are retreating into their homes, but they're lit so beautifully. I'm talking about the glow of table lamps visual through gossamer curtains. I have seen some holiday lights, but I didn't mean those, yet. It's almost time for family, food, and fun! I can use some fun.

As my Henry dog and I take our morning and afternoon walkabouts, I grow somewhat melancholy when I see the
red and yellow leaves tumbling down. Those from the yellow sweet gum look ever so much like stars lying on the grass.
The mockingbird eyes me from the nandina as we pass. The robins are feasting on the beautyberries. The hummingbird feeder hangs unused. Twice I have seen bluebirds checking out my bluebird houses--looking over next year's accomodations perhaps? The oak tree has dropped a bumper crop of acorns this year. Henry gets agitated because the squirrels are having so much fun playing chase through the tops of the trees. Several salvias continue to put on their show even as Thanksgiving is on the horizon. We enjoy the lovely severe clear autumn days while we can partly because we have had enough rain this year to make up for the 20+ inch deficit that last year's drought left. It has been a wet one. This brings me to thoughts of grandson in the Navy at Norfolk doing watch in the pouring rain there. Most of these things remind me that the year is fast coming to a close--another year of our lives gone.