Closed For The Season

When I saw all these picnic tables standing on end at Pamperin Park last Saturday, I figured that the park employees were sending the message that if we wanted to have a picnic in November, we should bring a blanket along. It's our largest developed county park and it's less than a mile from our house. The park is hilly and wooded and has the scenic Duck Creek flowing through it. I've been taking Phillip there on a regular basis since he's been able to walk.

There's not a lot of color to be found outside this time of year so when I noticed how amazing this little girl's hair looked in the sunlight, I couldn't resist taking a picture of it. She was unknown to me so I didn't photograph her face, but she was very pretty and seemed so happy to be at the park with all the other kids.



It's that time of year here in Wisconsin when the Asian lady beetles seem to be every place including on my water bottle. They're looking for places to hibernate for the winter and we find them both on the house and in the house. They love a warm southern exposure. Did I mention that they bite?

Near the end of last summer, my niece, the Garden Princess, was digging out some of her California Poppies and gave me a bunch of roots that looked dried out and close to death. I brought them home, planted them, watered them a few times and then forgot about them. I looked at them last week and found them pushing out some green. They like a lot of sun and do well in dry, sandy soil so I suspect it's happy where it's planted. They don't usually transplant well because of the long tap root and so it's best to sow the seed directly into the garden in the spring.

At first glance, I wasn't sure if I was seeing seeds in this pod or mouse droppings. Seeds, right? I've got mice on my mind because Alley Cat has been sitting and staring at the fireplace for long periods of time. We ignore her because he don't want to think that there are mice in the fireplace.

I still see a leaf now and then that grabs my attention, like this one. I've always liked the look of a lone leaf.

Not sure why our neighbors have left their red cooler sitting outside, but I take my shot of color wherever I can find it. They borrowed our wheelbarrow back in July and never returned it. Today I saw it in their backyard and wheeled it back to our house. I wonder if they'll even notice. They're a very nice family, but I hope they don't ask to borrow anything else.

Happy Weekend To All Of You.