by Deborah in the UP

It’s now October… oh, my, where did the summer go? This happens every year. I wait longingly for the spring and then summer, and then it’s gone in a flash. However, this really does have an up-side! As I sit here at the computer, writing my blog for the week, I look out the picture window to my right. The direction is perfect for looking over the yard down to the creek. The closer maple trees still have some green but tinged strongly with red and orange . The trees closer to the creek are past that, and are now a gold and orangy-gold, some have already lost many of their leaves. With the dark green of the spruce and cedar, the contrast makes for a breathtaking picture.

Life is good, but it also makes me anxious to complete my Fall preps, and get ready for that first snowfall, so today, a day off, I work around the house. With clear skies and abundant sunshine, it’s a good day to be outside. I will finish draining the garden hoses, wrapping them into a protective pile, then shut the outside water off. I really hate getting down into the well pit to do that. It’s dark, damp, and spidery. At least I only have to do that twice a year! After that I will dig up potatoes, and lay them out to dry. The winter squash is already harvested and stored, for now, in the barn. Over the next few days I will trim back all the herb beds, and cut the grass one last time. I’ve one remaining late blooming gladiola I will cut and set here next to the computer. Flowers always make me smile.

Six weeks ago I changed the bedroom arrangement, moving the bed to place the head to the south. For six weeks I’ve been sleeping very poorly, so today I changed it back to the west. To do this, I pulled everything from under the bed first…. A 5” DVD player, two shotguns, a .22 bolt action rifle, a machete and a back scratcher. Sometimes I question my own sanity… geesh, what am I going to do with a DVD player after atshtf???