Warm Friends Cool Weather

Once a month I meet with friends for lunch...

There's about 10 of us and we celebrate birthdays...

Bev, Betty, and Julia had birthdays in September...

I made their cards and wrote identical greetings,

can't play favorites with friends!

~

This is a photo showing 5 of us in the 4th grade.

I'm in the front row, third from the right...

with a blowup of my head below me...

Photo was a gift from Susan...third form the left.

Julia and Bev are on both ends of the front row...

and Barb is 3rd from the left on the top row.

I have been friends with them for 55 years...

sorta makes me feel like a fossil....

like these fossils the grandkids and I just found!

~

Grandson Dylan and I have been collecting

the State Quarters since 1999...

Finally with his help I completed mine.

Dylan gave me Hawaii and others along the way.

I did do a little work last week...cleaned out the
Carolina Wren's house...a nest of twigs...

I spent one early overcast wet morning...

making 48 breakfast muffins...

a few even contained dark chocolate chips.

After eating a rather large muffin...

I thought maybe I should take a walk...

I headed down the drive...

over by Alivia's house I found Poke Berries...

not yet eaten by the birds.

The seed in them are toxic to mammals.

I passed our Friendly Fred...

who just recently had his eyes repaired...

that's a Cedar tree he's chewing on.

I left the drive and went into the field...

which almost looks like it has a dusting of snow...

As soon as I headed into the woods...

what do I see?

another turtle looking at me...

I took a photo to record the shell...but

I knew it was different...and not a repeat.

After seeing the friendly turtle...

the wetness made everything seem

a little scraggly...

a little sinister...

not friendly...

almost ominous...

but as soon as I reached the top of the hill...

things brightened...

and while taking photos of this

slightly wet old Beech Tree...

I noticed something...

Look carefully...do you see it?

It's a perfect little heart!

~enlarges~

After coming out of the woods...

I walked to this bench...

I had been sitting here just for a while...

when it started to sprinkle...

So home I went...between the tall grass...

I did not want to get caught in the rain!

After going in...

I made lemon pound cake with blueberry sauce...

and a hot meal for this cool damp rainy day...

While eating...I felt sorry for this deer

that was sitting in the rain...

and it was certainly more than a sprinkle.

Today was dryer...but much cooler...

it is going to turn cold...

so I cleaned off the small garden area...

and brought in some parsley!

Maybe to share with a friend!

Dusk, Dawn & In Between!

Early this morning...just after dawn...

something bright...caught my eye...

~

A lone Northern Cardinal...looking like three...

That brought to mind what I had seen

at dusk last night

which I will show you later...

but for now...

I will show you what attacked me in the field...

yesterday!

I had gone out to photograph low growing

white flowers in the field...

and the white fluffy seed heads of the Ironweed...

when something landed on my head...
and almost turned it white!

Can you see the camouflaged culprit?
I didn't!

~enlarges~
"Large Praying Mantis!"

After that incident...I went over to the
Goldenrod and it's gold...

which then led me closer to the trees...

...with their

gold, brown, russet, and burgundy leaves.

I passed small versions of two favorite trees...

a yellowing Redbud and a gracefully draped Beech!

Reaching the edge of the cleared yard area...

I went into the woods...

under the low growing canopy of a young

Maple tree...

following a deer path deeper into the
woods...over to the tree with a large hole at

it's base...

~enlarges~

From just above the hole at it's base looking up...

this is the view...

This view from behind shows you it's height...




that ends in a topping of green!

This stump had a nice topping too!

A small walk further...overlooking the creek...

another green giant of a tree...

I stood here awhile to look and listen...





The moss colored trunk was as green as it's leaves!

Then I noticed this "Question Mark Tree"...

and near it...
I discovered a questionable situation...

a mystery of sorts...

what appeared at first as a lone turtle...

turned out to be two...another is under the

leaves on the right...they have a problem.

~enlarges~

Then I saw...

a third turtle just a few feet away...

Meanwhile, I needed help with the problem...

so with cellphone...I called Herhusband...

The problem was...

the smaller hidden from view turtle

had clamped it's shell tight on the

larger turtle's hind leg...

and was lying perfectly still upside down...

The larger turtle seemed very weak...

possibly from trying to free itself...

and I thought the smaller one dead.

While waiting for Herhusband...

I even found a 4th turtle right there too!

Were they all family...or did they just respond

to another in need?

Herhusband came with tools...

and finally,

we separated them...and it "was not" easy!

The turtle at one point whimpered a little,

but just once...and the small one was alive.

We left them there...and when checking

a few hours later...they were no where in sight!
Operation Success...

so...

I walked out of the woods and went home

under a fallen tree,

but that's another problem...

for Herhusband...not me...

~

But,

I will help...if needed!

As I walked through the arbor...

I heard a high pitched

bussing and hissing like sound...

Looking up...

I saw a group of Cedar Waxwings...

there must have been at least 50 of them...

~enlarges~

gathering and flying among the Pin Oak trees.

~enlarges~

They were still there at dusk...

but not at dawn...

Autumn is definitely here!