My New Spot

Look at that zoom power. The background is normally a whole mountain in the distance.



Aah, much better macro focus with a shorter focal distance of 4.7 inches.



So I couldn't live with the spot on my camera lens and bought a new one with a little more focal power. But it may be that there is meant to be a Spot in my life. A kitty has appeared that comes when you call her and lets you actually pet her and pick her up. She has one white spot on her chest. Will I be having a cat at last? Are you my Spot?



This could be it, the first frost tonight or Monday morning. There will be some big black spots in the roadside vegetable garden soon. I picked four plastic grocery bags of the bigger green tomatoes to add to the two bags of ripening tomatoes I picked yesterday. I don't know what a light frost would do to them, but once the vines are dead what is the point of leaving them out there in the cold. I left a ton of the smaller tomatoes on the vine. There is only so many you can deal with.



I think that last full moon should be called the Long Underwear Moon. I doubt that it got above 45 degrees today under threatening grey skies.



This is the spot. When I went up to look and see who was parked at the top of my drive and wandering about this afternoon it was a women taking pictures of Sheffie the Mum and Uncle Ernie.



I really am part of the scenery now.

Peaking

It seems almost a requirement that you go for a drive to look at the leaves fall. Even though all I have to do is step outside, this urge still remains.



It can be satisfied by a short walk along the scenic byway.



Where I become part of the scenery to passing motorists and motorcycle riders roaring slowly by, a slightly disheveled man walking along the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, perhaps carrying a sack of ripe tomatoes. I smile and wave. I am not lost or stranded.



I live way up here in the middle of a peaking forest.



The mum's mum, Ms. Frances (cute one Annie, the maker of names that stick) stopped by for a nice visit with another bucket load of goodies today. It was a given that it would get grey, the clouds would descend, mist would fill the air and our travels around the mountaintop would be moist. Excellent transplanting weather.



I couldn't work on the wet roof anyway. I didn't want to slide off of it or cover wet things with more metal parts. The last piece of roof panel for the opposite side and the two sections of wall flashing that attach to the wall and lap over the roof are all predrilled and ready to go on once it dries out again. The ridge cap was placed on top of the lower living room roof temporarily to keep the rain out. It needs to be cut in half and shared with the top right far end of the loft roof. It gets incrementally closer to completion.



My finished roof is peaking right along with the forest.



By the time all the leaves are on the ground,



All of my roof will be off the ground and on the cozy cabin. Sort of. There's still a front porch and back stoop to roof over.

One Leaf

Picture

October Bloom Day With Spots

We'll start Garden Bloggers Bloom Day with the show stopper, a Dendranthema by genus, formerly and still commonly known as a Chrysanthemum and called Sheffie by its mom, Frances at Fairegarden.

I've noticed an unusual number of cars slowing down as they pass my driveway and the roadside vegetable garden of late. Someone even pulled into my driveway, saw me and left. Has the solid, round, light pink mum caught their attention? It is leaf peeper season. There are likely to be folks on the road who haven't been this way before or in a long time and this mum is pretty dramatic.



There are other thing up here that might grab their attention. The Miscanthus in the same bed as the Sheffie is blooming too. This is also the first sunny open spot in the forest for several miles where there is the chance to have a close up view of the fall color.

We certainly can't forget Uncle Ernie. I bet he gets a fair amount of attention. The ancient hearth is also another thing people stop for. It actually has a geocache tucked in it. People locate the cache and sign in that they have found it, both at the cache and online. When I first found it I was a bit concerned about folks tramping all over the property, but they have been very respectful and haven't caused any trouble, so the geocache is left there. This cache is called "Nice Hearth, Nobody Home."



The little Knockout Roses keep on blooming. They haven't gained much in size, but look quite healthy and have been putting out flowers since I planted them. Hopefully they have been putting some energy into a deep root system.



Madame Stappers, the Red Dahlia that hails from San Francisco is looking good too. She does get a little pouty when it doesn't rain, but I haven't coddled her. Only when she looked desperate did I give her a drink. As a proper mulched bed grows around Madame Stappers, being thirsty should be less of a problem.



These bright red spots along the resident gardeners drive caught my eye. This is the seed head of the Arisaema triphyllum, Jack in the Pulpit. They's bunches of them all over the place. It's the middle of October, time to start preparing mentally for the Bloom days ahead when it will be necessary to get inventive.



Down at the cozy cabin things are getting closer to the application of the last pieces of the roof. Details, details. The tar paper and house wrap is on, but the roof trim where the living room roof meets the lower side loft wall had to be attended to. Tiny pieces of 1x8, 1x4, plywood, and eave flashing all have to make a ninety degree turn and butt to the wall before the metal roof goes on.

Then for the second afternoon in a row thousands and thousands of tiny red flying spots descended on the cozy cabin.



A veritable onslaught of ladybugs is checking out the cozy cabin for a winter roost.



They land on everything, my glasses, my clothes. Then they crawl inside my clothes. They are on the cabin, in the cabin, crawling into every tiny crevice they can find. They are going to be real disappointed when they find out there won't be any heat provided this winter.



I decided to wait until spring to divide the Miscanthus again when I saw that they were about to bloom. I wanted to see what the flower stalks were like. From one pot in one year I have five nice plants. Next spring I should be able to make five more.



Did I mention the ocean of blue asters on this mountain for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day?



It may be October, but there is something blooming on this planet everyday of the year. Carol is the goddess of Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens and she will lead you to a world of blooms.

The setting Hunter's Moon over a gilded mountain started the day.



And that is how my day began, with a visible spot.

Autumn Before Bloom Day

Garden Blogger Bloom Day keeps sneaking up on me.



It is partly due to the loss of time references when your life is not structured by chronic employment.



Then too, the flowers that remain are playing worse than second fiddle, more like the cymbals in the far back row to the crescendo of the forest trees reaching their peak color.



This little project weighs on my mind as well. I've been up on the roof working to finish off the connecting wall between the loft and living room. The small angled windows are framed in. The ice shield roof underlayment is on. Next comes the tar paper and house wrap on the wall. Then the last bit of metal roof can be put on.



The flower bed at the top of the drive is fading into rest while the forest across the street comes alive.



The variations of color



Make individual trees stand out to a degree not seen in the summer green.



A flat green turns



Into dimples of fiery color.

Scenes From A Fall

Looking over the railing at the resident gardeners house, the plunge to the bottom looks like it could end peacefully.



Looking out my new back door, a few wispy maples managed to hang on through the onslaught. Nurtured, they may become big trees one day.



Looking into the past, one wonders what life was like on this mountain not so long ago, with so few if any modern, taken for granted, conveniences.



Looking across the scenic byway, you must listen for oncoming traffic from around the bend.



Looking at a former well tended entry garden, a certain layer of structure still remains.



Looking beside the hearth, the leaves are catching fire.



Looking now at the new bane of my existence, the scratch on my camera lens. When pointed at a bright plain back ground such as a sunset, the scratch appears as a big bugger on the display screen. It diffuses or disappears in pictures, but I know it is there even if it can't be seen.



Oh woe is me, to be surrounded by such beauty and have it marred with a spot.

Conspiracy

Today it is a whipping wind that refuses to let me get a clear crisp shot of the majestic colors of fall. It is about 52 degrees, my new warm, but that wind is putting a chill on many things.



I did manage to get the big window in way up on the back side of the loft and finish wrapping that wall except for the very tippy top before the winds really kicked in last night. I don't think I would have enjoyed that project much in a strong wind.



Down in the sunny utility meadow the Miscanthus sat still long enough for a nice shot.



There will be other sunny "warm" days with light winds before the show is over most likely.

Cartoon Life

It is getting dark much earlier now. By the time I finish working on the cozy cabin and go for an evening stroll the light may be too low for a good sharp picture with a slower shutter speed and my genetic predisposition to familial tremor.



I need a tripod or easier, get out there earlier with better light.



In the meantime, computer editing functions make the world look quite interesting.