What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

So it is Halloween here in Canada and a very wet, cold one in our corner of the country. Here is what I've done this morning before sitting down with a cup of half caf. 

Fed the dogs and let them out and back in. Put cream on Ned's little spot he's licked too much. Also had to chase him to get a tissue from him. Boy, does he love tissues and he has an insane ability to sus them out! 

Ran the swifter over the floor in the t.v.room and this main area. Dog ...

 The Red Squirrels are very busy these days. I can get this shot standing by my sink as this tree is in the front garden and has grown from a little bush to a much bigger bush putting the squirrel pretty much right in front of me. I've had the pleasure of capturing many photos of these little animals in just this pose eating spruce buds. 

Well, there is no doubt fall is coming and it's set in a little early here. Single digits overnight for the last week but everyone is saying how welcome this is. I don't think there's ever been such gladness to have summer over. 

Meanwhile, Tony calls this little guy below my trained squirrel or my very smart squirrel that has trained me. He appears on the back deck most days and, of course, I give him a handful of sunflower seeds. When he first appeared here, he was skinny and ragged looking. Now he appears to be ...

We had a terrific rain, thunder and lightening storm on Wednesday, breaking the drought. It didn't rain nearly enough though. And the heat remained steady throughout, no cool down at all. But then on Thursday, it dropped down to the mid 20's and it felt heavenly outside. 

Late season perennial flowers are in bloom...the pink and white hardy Phlox...If I had my time back, I would have planted many more of these to have more bright flowers to enjoy after all the lilies die off. 

 

August has brought welcome cooler temperatures here this week to the Ottawa Valley, Canada. The season of growing things with all the greens and the buzzing things is at its height...this meadow below was literally abuzz, so much so I would not walk through it. In particular, there was a large fly there we used to call stouts as kids. Have no idea what exactly is a stout but we were afraid of them as they could bite. 

It is not just the Goldfinches that tackle those spikey Bull Thistles. I've noticed two different kinds of butterflies giving them lots of attention too. Here is the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail in it's July brilliant yellow.

 

I got waylaid from chores this morning but for a great reason. The garden was ...

It's been dreary weather-wise this week. Very wet and also cold. Early mornings flirted with freezing but for one managed to hold at 0C. My winter jacket has been pressed into service again but I'm very thankful it is not snow like so many parts of Canada and the U.S. have been getting.  And the weather hasn't held back the wonderful growth surrounding the Wooden House. These tiny grape Hyacinth type flowers dotted the side yard. Their colour is gorgeous.

 A few photos of a reluctant spring here..

Do you know what this is?

One morning, I crept about because a Canada Goose was taking a nap on the far side. Like the little squirrel in the last post, I feared there was something amiss seeing it flat out in the grass like this. 

 Tony called me to take a look at this little guy on the back yard railing. He'd been watching him for some time and he hadn't moved.

Sorry the reflection of the front door glass is weirdly caught in this photo.

This week seemed super busy with various things and a big chunk of a day wasted with a stressful situation that ruined my creative mood. All was solved by the end of the day, but it was just maddening. When these things happen, I just have to slow down, and take a breath with a pretty dawn view, or marvel at the unexpected blooming of a violet in the kitchen. It just finished blooming a couple of weeks ago, and it was a delight to notice one morning that it had three blooms, and more to come.

The birds have ...

This is the last sign of the mystery pond animal. Something broke through the ice to make a path right to the hole in the bank.

 I have the bird feeders filled and the wood brought in for the day long fire.

 The last flowers to come into bloom in my garden are the Asters. The wild ones are also in bloom and like these, starting to fade. The sunlight lately has been wonderful and has that noticeable October slant. But shines strongly with a golden tinge that makes it beautiful. I've tried to capture it in this weeks' photos.

He finally took the plunge and immediately took ...

 In twos...

The two of us went down to the pond early evening during the time some call the Blue Hour.  As we turned a corner of the skating shack, I saw clearly two fawns lying together in the tall grass at the far end of the pond. Luckily Ned was entranced with something on the ground and hadn't seen them. I watched for a minute, then pulled him back to quietly exit the scene. No photo, just the beautiful image still in my mind. 

My indoor Geraniums have put on quite a show outside this summer. The heavy ...

There are loads of butterflies around this year. In particular, I love to spy a Comma flitting about. Because of how jagged the wing edges are, I think this is a male. Their spiritual meaning is unconditional love and faith. Wouldn't it be nice if we all had a healthy dose of both those things!

This little guy kept popping his head out. He's living in the tunnel under the back terrace plus has inherited what I imagine to be an elaborate tunnel system all over the property made by groundhogs that came before him.