snow

A few flakes floated our way today.

"I'm sorry I ate your tulips in June. Can I come inside....please?"

Shortcake hides from the snow in the swiss chard, wondering where her winter tutu is.

Warm inside, Annabelle does a little jig. Watch what happens to her bunny.... (And sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video, so just crane your head sideways.)

friends: both animal, vegetable and mineral

Our jack-o-lantern pumpkin friends.

Snack at the little table with cohort bunny love.

Louis and his best bud, Zsha.

And Annabelle's newest mealtime pal, Ms. Spoon, and faithful friend, Mr. Mess.

Giddy-up furball!

tangled shortcake

"Come on guys, let me go....I promise I'll eat tofurkey for the next 20 Thanksgivings!"

the rise and fall

Louis creates his latest masterpiece of blocks. Carefully placed, delicately balanced,

these majestic towers rise high.

But alas, Ms. Destructo and her apprentice Dolly have smashed the towers to bits. Unbeknownst to their creator, playing outside.

"Ok, Dolly, let's make our own tower. Blast! Its only knee-high...

Forget the block thing. Let's just hide up here on this box and hope Louis doesn't find us!"

popcorn for young and old

Mega bowl for Louis,

and mini bowl for the mini-mite.

25-yr old Strawberry Shortcake only gets one kernal. Boo-hoo.

Morphing into her tutu outfit, she stretches for one more piece. "If...I...can...just...reach....

....blast!! Foiled by that crumb-sucking furball!"

white pine rest stop

A rare and beautiful 65-degree and sunny fall day. We venture into the woods to check on our ski trail, stopping to rest beneath our favorite white pine....

Louis takes a close look at a tree trunk with binoculars. Maybe standing so close isn't such a bad idea?

Annabelle takes a close look at the camera with binos.

Daisy's 2nd brain cell kicks in: pant.

Annabelle tries to convince Daisy to shave all her fur, except for a little puff on top of her head.

Two-thirds of us pose for a discombobulated self-portrait.

hidden treasures

Rummaging through the miscellaneous box of Halloween decorations, I found this priceless piece: little sister Sandra's 1st grade happy little witch named Sally. Those were the days when someone would give you a piece of paper with a black triangle glued on it and tell you to scribble away.

We wait all spring and summer for these giant plants to do something other than take over our gardens. Wriggling like unruly snakes straight up into the air, all brute and no show, they make us want to give them a snip snap with the pruners. Then, finally, at 12 feet tall, these sunflowers burst forth and enclose us in a sunflower jungle. A treasure worth waiting for!

While planting daffodil bulbs last week, I happened upon this earthen treasure -- a 1914 dime! Quite the surprise to find, at 6 inches below our normal viewing scope. On ebay it was selling for $8. The thrill and surprise of finding it seems to be a little more valuable than a measly $8.

apple days

Louis has become master of the apple peeler-corer-slicer doo-dad, the most important machine in our house this time of year. He processed the entire stock-pot in the background!

Mmm, apple muffins....

"Yah, I peeled, sliced, AND cored these apples. Take a bite of that!"

Full of apple energy, Louis excavates potatoes in the garden.

Meanwhile, Annabelle stares into space in the sandbox, wondering when that puff of hair will stop sticking straight up.