A Free Speech PSA

Fall! Finally!

Even without extremely hot summers, I've always loved fall.  A little coolness in the air, leaves starting to turn, sweaters coming out--it's all marvelous, especially with the new house.  How could you not love this view?

Unless you were the one doing the mowing or raking, I suppose...........

Getting There.....

My hip/back issues aren't fully healed, but I've been back to work in outside sales for almost a year now--which is something we didn't think would be possible several years ago.  I get tired easily and I've had to work from home a few times because of the pain, but considering how bad it was, it's okay.  I can even garden,

and am a little obsessed with lilies right now.  Last weekend we found an itty-bitty snake in the yard,

 which I think is a garter snake.  Snakes eat voles, so I would have loved to have had one at the old house.  The new house is too close to the water table for voles (YAY!), but I'm pretty sure that I don't want whatever this guy eats, either.  And I can be totally cool with snakes when they 1) aren't in my house, 2) don't move too quickly, 3) don't rattle, and 4) aren't really anywhere near me.  I know--he's completely harmless, but he can move without feet.  I think it's okay to be freaked out by that just a bit........

Gardening

In spite of how much landscaping was already done at the new house, I have been adding plants like mad.  This bed did actually have zinnias in it when we bought the house,

but the orderly sort planted by a professional landscaper, in nice tidy rows with a color scheme.  My zinnias are more of the flower-riot sort, which is a bit more "me" anyway. 

The house came with some lilies,

 though I've added more.  They're good little bursts of color, though these were supposed to be black with yellow tips:

There is almost always something in bloom, but a house we pass while walking has hellebores, and I loved their early blooms and great foliage, so I've added a few.  Unfortunately, I'll have to wait several months to find out if I got the right colors or not, but

I love their leaves, so I'll be pretty forgiving if they aren't.

We share a pond with neighbors, so I'm adding iris to the water line,

though this little guy is again, not what I ordered, but is still pretty.  It's almost reassuring that the professionals can't even control what they end up with--though it does make me order from reputable places that give refunds when it happens.  

Ahem....

You know you've reached a whole new level of gardening when you receive a wholesale catalog.....

The New Additions

Shortly after moving, we had to put our oldest cat down, so we have adopted 2 new kittens to keep Theo company:

Mostly Theo is not thrilled, though we have seen him racing through the halls with the kittens. 

Turns out, we have forgotten what kittens are like.  Apparently when you're a kitten, there are only 2 types of things in the world:  things you can eat and things you can climb.  They're pretty excited when they find something like a houseplant that can be both.  This is why they're so cute--to keep one from killing them when one finds them climbing the shower curtain or one's best dress.....

The Look

Anyone who thinks cats can't learn things hasn't lived with one. It took Theo maybe a month into his diet to figure out that I can ignore his whining, but this gets to me every time: