I love my trees. We have marvelous, huge maples and mighty oaks in our front yard. This summer they provided nice cool shade. Now, they’ve provided a blanket for winter that is three inches deep—with leaves. Egads. Where did the grass go? Only one thing to do with that many leaves; call in an expert. Who ya gonna call? Leaf Busters! We just couldn’t face all that raking, so two days ago we had our front yard “blown” of leaves. Here are a few scenes.

Hey, where did they go? They were there a minute ago! Look closely and you can barely see them behind the wall of flying leaves.

The leaf wave starts to make its way across the front yard.

Fall. You just gotta love it!

All the leaves are brown
and the sky is blue
I’ve been for a walk
with a dog or two

Okay, it’s not the Mamas and the Papas [California Dreamin’]. Not exactly. We’ve had the nicest weather over the past week so far, and it just begs me to get out of the house and enjoy. The trees are mostly done now but some still have some color. It’s not too hot, nor too cold. The sky is blue. The leaves crunch underfoot. We live close to Green Turtle Pond and I’ve been meaning to walk all the way down, which is a little over a mile down and back. Maybe it’s further than that. I’m horrible at judging distances. It’s a good walk for the dogs because once off the main road they can be off leash. And, I took my camera of course. After having such a disastrous time with my sock project I needed to do something that I know might just come out right: photos.

Are you ready to walk with us? Here is the road.

Along the way…

Some interesting tree fungus

Sailor having a run through the leaves

Different Colors

Finally, Green Turtle Pond…

Leaves in the Lake Stew

A well deserved drink for Alex

Just Leaves

Happy Alex!

The End

I’m lazy this morning, and I’ll be the first to admit it. I should be working on the blog entry for our wonderful 25th anniversary but my brain is not quite working, so no witty prose can be written right now. Rick just left for work and called me to tell me there were four deer crossing the road right by our house. How nice!

So, instead dear readers, you will have to be satisfied with a few photos from our trip to the Jersey Shore with Rick’s parents.

First up is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. It’s tinier than I expected it to be. It was built in 1764 to guide mariners into New York Harbor, and at that time the lighthouse was perched 500 feet from the northern tip of the Sandy Hook peninsula. Today, three centuries and lots of wave and water action later, the lighthouse is more than a mile from that point! It is the oldest operational lighthouse in America and a national historic landmark.

Next was lunch at Spike’s in Point Pleasant. If you’ll remember our last trip to the shore we ate here too. This time we knew we were going to try what they are best known for: the lobster roll. Rick’s parents chose the daily lunch special which was fresh fish of the day [in this case flounder] and a steaming mug of clam chowder. Rick and I both had the lobster roll: chunks of nicely seasoned lobster on a hot dog bun with hot drawn butter on the side. A scoop of homemade coleslaw AND potato salad rounded out our lunch. Yum yum yum. We bought some chilean sea bass, stuffed crab, and stuffed scallops for our dinner later on.

Then it was on to the boardwalk and the beach. The lure of the ocean is a powerful thing.

Until the next installment in Rick’s parents’ visit, a drive through Harriman State Park and the Hudson River Valley in New York.

ever going to be knitted if they keep behaving this way! Granted, I haven’t knitted in a while, but heck, this is getting ridiculous. I have cast these dang things on about eight times now. It’s just not working. ARRGH!!! The first time I finally got them going they were obviously going to be too small. I am using a pattern that I used to knit the one and only pair of socks that I’ve made, and this sock yarn is much lighter weight than the pattern calls for. So, Mistake #1. No, maybe Mistake #1 was thinking I could knit in the first place.

I asked for help on the Knitter’s Review Forums and got some great answers. So, I frogged what I had done so far. Frogged, you say? Well, in knitter speak that means RIP IT OUT…! Frogs make a ribbet ribbet sound, right? So, it’s not a great leap [pardon the pun] to go from that to RIP IT, RIP IT. Got it? My hard ribbing work lies in a puddle of tangles at my feet. I cast on for about the umpteenth time. I count my stitches to make sure. Right number, okay. I divide the stitches onto three needles in what I think is the right amount on each needle. I work three rounds of ribbing and discover I messed up yet again. I divided the stitches wrong. You know what that means RIPitRIPitRIPit yet again. So, I came back to my computer to gripe.  I’m about ready to throw them in the trash. What’s so great about socks anyway??? Take a good look. It may be the last time you ever see them. Does anybody have any suggestions for other uses for sock yarn?

SIGH. The pool has been put to bed for the winter. We haven’t really been able to swim since Labor Day. Its crystal clear waters would beckon to me, luring me to come closer.

come on in, it seemed to say, i’m not too cold…

The unspoken words would float around my head like tendrils of water, wrapping themselves around my brain.  The pool was weaving its spell again, just like it had every warm summer’s eve. Over and over I could hear the taunting refrain:

...come on in, the water’s fine…
...come on in, the water’s fine…
...come on in, the water’s fine…  

Finally, I gave in to the pool’s spell and tested the waters. ~ohmygod~ I gasped, as the frigid water poured over my hand and the enchantment was broken. No way—BRRRRRRRRR!  Silly pool, what were you thinking?

Poor pool. Poor us. It was sure fun while it lasted. For two people who have never had a pool before and didn’t particulary want one, we certainly got a lot of enjoyment and use out of it. It’s sad, but just look how cozy it will be under its new safety cover! So much more attractive than the old way, and so much safer for the dogs, not to mention much less maintenance for us. It was an expensive venture, but one that we think was a smart one.

Have a good hibernation, dear pool. Think plenty of warm thoughts for next year. Until we swim again…