Odd things

It was a busy week filled with activities and goings on. We mowed finally and the yard looks decent for the first time this year.

I picked more grapes but didn't get quite enough of the wild ones to make a full batch so I'm going to mix the juice up with blackberries I picked and froze this summer. Grape-blackberry jelly! Yum.

I started to pull out my Fall/Halloween Stuff and mess around with it. After all, it is that time of the year to play with those things, errrr, well... you know, decorate a little. We don't dress up or really do anything for Halloween as we are so isolated and far from town. But I like to have my fun.

The wind up toys came in the mail one day a few years ago from a Flickr friend who thought I'd like them. Of course I do as I'd never would have thought to purchase them myself.

Who can resist a frog skeleton?

It is also the time of the year

for my Lego Skeletons 

to shine!

Poor Harriet, 

always in trouble!

Apparently the skeletons and the zombie

decided to have a 

dance party...

It seems someone likes to

make a grand entrance!

More fun with the froggy

and friends.

I have more small decorations that I have put up but haven't really done any photographing of it yet. Nothing will go up outside. I just have little things that are easy to move around and rearrange to my liking. I'm constantly moving stuff around.

The black and white shots were taken on black painted cardboard with a black painted cardboard back. I used my cell phone flashlight to highlight the scene. It is fun to experiment like this. Decorations are such a great challenge.

I went hiking with a 'new' friend this week. More about that later.

Our daughter [step] and her hubby came for a visit on Thursday which was a huge surprise.

That night Charlie was really sick with tossing up clear stuff. He was so miserable and awful that he wouldn't eat, drink, or even go outside. By mid morning I was ready to cart him off to the vet.

When Rich's daughter showed up Friday morning he went nuts.  He went out for her and did his business, then came in and ate his breakfast and acted as if nothing had bothered him at all!

Can dogs get depressed because they may be missing his pal Twila and then company? I don't know! 

Friday I hit all the Apple Orchards with Steph and Steve and purchased apple fritters, apple donuts, and some cherry cider. 

I found one of the gnarliest bumpy pumpkin ever! 

I expect with this dip in temperatures, I'll be busy with my fall jobs that prep for winter along with making some jelly and having some fun with Halloween 'Decorates' as my kids called it.

....And I need to get out and enjoy those last lovely displays of fall leaves!

Time for the Berries!

Here is my cohort and fellow berry picking buddy.
Morris.

He loves picking wild raspberries, black caps, black raspberries....he even occasionally helps himself.

I have a love-hate relationship with wild berries.  They are prickly to pick and usually the bugs are very annoying.
It is usually hot and muggy too.

Yet I like picking them and love eating them.

I freeze them on a cookie sheet then drop them into a container for winter eating.
There is something quite exotic about eating a fresh bowl of berries in the midst of winter.

This year I'm pretty lucky.  The berries along the driveway have really burst forth with big fat luscious black berries and the picking is pretty easy.  I don't have to hike far and if I time it right I can pick them while they are in the shade.

Plus I can pick until I am tired and then go back later, refreshed and get more.

Fresh berries for dessert.
Fresh lettuce and beet greens from the garden!

What more could a person want?