Sploppy. I like the sound of that word I just made up to describe how the ground felt yesterday when it was done raining on us. Maybe you know what I’m talking about here. You put your foot down on what you think is terra firma but it sinks into standing water first with a plopping kind of sound. Water splashes everywhere. Splop!

This was the scene around my house yesterday. It rained. It poured. The wind howled around the house and shook it. The trees waved their branches frantically to and fro trying to go with the gusts, and thankfully all my trees stayed standing although we have quite a few branches and a few largish limbs littering the ground. It was downright nasty out there!

On Rick’s way to work a tree branch fell right in front of the car out of nowhere and he had no choice but to drive right on over it. Better that than landing on top of the car! Another man and his wife were not so lucky yesterday here in our little town. A tree came down on their car as they were driving on a road I was just on the day before. He did not survive and his wife is in critical condition. The helicopter that was called in to airlift her to the hospital remained grounded due to the violent weather.

Trees are a funny thing here in the East. I don’t know if it’s because they have a shallow root system due to growing in solid rock or what, but they are forever tumbling over in wind and soaking rains. They are something to be looked out for. They have a life all their own! It’s creepy. I stay out of wooded areas when the wind blows.

Power lines were downed, trains weren’t running, the airport had four hour delays, and the list goes on and on. A day for staying at home for sure!

We had 2.33 inches of rain in about an eight hour period. My driveway was a river! The poor birds were grounded. When we had a lull in the deluge they would show up at the suet feeder with their feathers all sticking out and soaking wet looking completely miserable. I felt badly for them. If it had been snow it would surely have been a blizzard.

And speaking of snow, we’ve not had any yet. Over the weekend we saw a few flurries but that’s been it. Nothing in the forecast either. Yet. Johnny won’t have his snowblower gear on for another week or so and I’ll be happy if it holds off until then.

And Christmas. Yikes. No decorating happening around here yet. Maybe this weekend. Somehow it doesn’t seem like it’s time for all that yet. Why oh why can’t they insert another month in-between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Can we move Thanksgiving to October? Please?

I will leave you with a sneak peek at my completed pottery project, the hand-built bowl. I picked it up on Tuesday and it came out gorgeous if I do say so myself! Follow-up blog with more pics coming tomorrow!

Reading over this post before I hit the “submit” button I realized that I was all over the place. One of those posts where when I sat down I didn’t know what I was going to say so you got whatever came into my early morning brain!

The great cactus show chez Robinson is about to unfold. Right now they think they are Thanksgiving cacti. Next month they will probably think they are Christmas cacti. Salmon, white, magenta. They are all loaded with blooms.

No matter. They are gorgeous. They are blooming. They are happy. Who cares what kind of cacti they really think they are?

Let the show begin!

The long shadows of fall are upon us and we seem to be caught in-between the seasons.

Most of our trees are barren now and we are transitioning between fall and winter. Today we had snow/rain/sleet all at the same time. Mother Nature couldn’t seem to make up her mind. It’s time for wood fires and cozy nights.

The time change nudges us along, forcing us to take up our inside habits with the earlier setting of the sun. The dogs and cats are really confused about when they should be fed and when they should wake us up.

Only a few short months ago we were still swimming in the pool at 8:30 p.m. Now we can’t even imagine that scenario as we are tucked cozily inside, either watching television or sitting around the wood fire exchanging chats with each other about how our day went.

All but one of our trees in the back has now lost its leaves. Our mighty oak in the back yard is our last holdout. As is always the case.

I love having this majestic oak presiding over our back yard but it comes with its minuses too. Like a sea of acorns.

The squirrels can’t even keep up with the abundance of acorns. The dogs go outside and munch on the nuts all the time. Here is one big nut: Bella.

Johnny does not pick all of them up so some raking will need to be done. I think this year the acorn production has outdone itself! Both with our big oak in the front yard as well as our back yard giant.

I’m ready for the transition of seasons. At least I’d like to think I am.

P.S. This post is for my sister who called today wanting to know if I had keeled over from all the hard work I blogged about in the last post because I hadn’t posted in so long. It’s nice to know my health is measured by how often I blog. Thanks sis for keeping me current!

The truck w/canoe in our driveway.

Sunday morning we loaded up the canoe and headed to our five-minute-away destination: Monksville Reservoir. The morning was crisp, but calm. We had originally planned our canoe outing for Saturday but it was a bit too breezy for paddling around. We thought we would need light jackets but once we go there we realized it had warmed up enough to go without them.

When we first started out the lake was like a mirror. The colors are just now slightly past peak, but still pretty. The light was typical for a fall day with the sun in and out of the clouds.

Monksville Reservoir was filled in 1987. There were a few houses that were of historical significance that were moved elsewhere, but the majority of the 15 homes that once existed here were demolished. The reservoir is huge but so far we have only paddled in the shallower section near the Wanaque river feed.

We like it because of all the dead standing trees. It’s eerie and pretty all at the same time. It’s challenging too (at least for Rick who steers) because there are many submerged tree stumps and fallen trees that can snag you if you don’t see them lurking under the water. It’s like a cemetary for trees and many of them have met with a watery grave.

The bleached dead wood makes for a stark contrast against the vibrantly colored trees.

We disturbed a cormorant resting on a rock. Until I took these photos I had no idea they had blue eyes!

Finally airborne and away from those people in that canoe! Whew!

The cemetary of dead trees.

We (or should I say Rick) navigated through the dead trees while I stopped paddling to be on the lookout for submerged stumps. It’s a strange feeling floating among the watery forest.

The colors here were interesting to me ... muted greens and pinks from the green scum on the water and the burning bushes; reminiscent of a Monet painting I thought.

We got back in the channel and paddled up to the end where the Wanaque river feeds the reservoir.

There was some kind of foam in the water but to us it looked like a galaxy spinning around on the surface.

A captive maple leaf.

And somehow plants find a way to survive.

On our way back to the dock the wind kicked up and the sun was becoming obscured behind clouds. We were glad we had chosen the time we did to come. And, all the more glad when we saw lots of people unloading canoes at the dock. A canoeing club was about to take over the waters! After accepting many compliments on how beautiful our canoe was (and an invitation from one man to join the Hackensack Canoe Club) we were on our way home.

Whew! That’s a lot of photos! I know my sweet hubbie would tell me “edit, Lynne!” but I’ve had a hard enough time just getting this posted. I kept looking at the photos and deciding which ones to leave out and never came to a good conclusion. So, since this post has been waiting to be published now for two days, I just decided to go with all of them.

I hope you enjoyed the paddle!

Out my front door.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love Fall. It’s the time of year when you can throw the curtains open wide and let the soft sunlight shine in. Unlike summer when I run around the house closing all the curtains to keep the sun out and keep the house cool. The view out every window is breathtaking right now—filled with color.

It’s so dark in the mornings that it’s hard to rouse yourself up and out of bed. Just a few minutes more I tell the dogs ...

What follows are views around my yard right now.

Colorful fallen leaves in the front yard.

The back fence.

The back yard: flower garden area, the woods next to the yard, mushrooms in the woods.

Along our street.

Leaves (what kind?) the size of dinner plates.

It’s so hard to capture the colors. They glow with a warmth that just doesn’t come through in the photos. It warms my soul from within.

Did I already tell you that I love Fall?