Another Season Comes Along

A few weeks ago when my brother was visiting us, he asked, "don't you ever get clouds in your sky?" In the summer we don't. It's just one blue sky day after another...boring. That was then, this is now. In the past few days we have been seeing a few clouds and the sunsets are awesome. Summer is almost over; I have to say I am relieved.

The mornings are crisp and the evenings have a bit of a chill. And at 3 p.m. we are not sweltering. I can almost hear my plants saying "aah" because they are tired of scraping by on water and too much sun.

And despite what people say, we in California experience all four seasons. The red maples have started to turn to brilliant reds, orange and yellows and others will follow.

The only thing that hasn't happened yet is the color change in the air. One morning I will wake up and notice that the sunlight is no longer a warm yellow; that's the official notification by mother nature that winter is on its way. Instead it will be a duller yellow.

I've been fertilizing bulbs and other plants to get them ready for winter. I'm trying to convince Kerry to bring back a load of compost when he goes to the dump next time. Fertilizer is good but a big load of compost is even better.

Our upper pond (pictured here before the algae took over), which has been a mass of red algae and parrot feather, seems to be getting better thanks to the fountain we installed to aerate it. We can already see signs of the algae disappearing. The fish probably like it too.

Today Harleen is going to make her public debut. We are taking her to the grocery store where she will ride in the part of the cart for kids (I have a small quilt to cover the cart rails). We don't need much so it won't be a long trip; she will wear her cape. Then we go to an Eagle Scout Court for the young man who lives across the street. Probably won't stay too long because there will be a crowd but still it's a beginning for our little girl.

We think she's having a growth spurt because she eats every bite of all three meals and then gets treats when we train her. Then she sleeps. But...alas, she still poops in her crate every night. We talk to the CCI people again tomorrow for more advice. This is getting old. Hope all of you have a great Sunday and a good week.