Juncos and Salmon, Two Signs of Late Autumn

The Juncos arrived the middle of October.

They migrate from way way up north to the winter in the milder climate of SW Michigan. Their common name is Snowbird because normally it snows about the same time we see them at the feeders.

This year we were blessed with a snowless October. It was great. I'd love a snowless November as well.


The salmon are swimming up the creek.

We've been promised a "chance of snow showers" the next few days, but the day temperatures are going to be above freezing so it isn't going to stick.

The Oak Leaves Are Hanging On

Oak trees like to hang on to their leaves until it's too far into winter to rake them up. We've been having high winds for the past two days and these big oaks are holding on tight to their leaves.

Most years the oak leaves just turn ugly brown but this year the autumn colors have been gorgeous and the oaks decided to participate in the display.


There's still some color left in the woods across the road as well.

Leaves Everywhere

About 30% of the leaves are off the trees now and they're starting to pile up everywhere.


Leaves in the yard . . .




Leaves on the stairs . . .




Leaves in the creek . . .




Leaves in the birdseed . . .




And, my least favorite, leaves in the gutters . . .

Fallen Leaves

Think it might be time to start raking?

Autumn Scene

Every day the driving gets prettier. It's Mother Nature's attempt to make us glad we live in a place with four seasons before the cold and snow begin. Soon.

Woolly Bear Caterpillar and Acorns

Michiganders like to predict the severity of the coming winter in many unscientific and inaccurate ways.


One of the most inaccurate ways is to inspect the bands on a Woolly Bear caterpillar.

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the longer the middle brown band, the milder and shorter the coming winter; the shorter the brown band, the longer and more severe winter will be.

By reading the bands on this guy it appears we're going to have an average winter.


Then there's the acorns. Oh my, do we ever have acorns this year. More acorns than I've ever seen in the nineteen years we've lived here in the oak trees.

When taking this picture I just walked under a large oak and pointed down. No looking for a special, acorn covered spot. All the ground under all oaks looks like this.

An abundance of acorns is supposedly the sign of a very rough winter ahead. I'm picturing snow up to the rafters.

Dawn Comes Late

This morning I took the dogs outside for their walk at 7:30 so I'd have time to take a shower and get dressed before leaving at 8:30. It was dark outside which reminded me to do my annual Daylight Savings Time rant.

Most of the US now waits until the first weekend in November to set the clocks back, moving an hour of daylight from the evening to the morning. In Michigan we need that hour now!

Kids are walking to school and waiting for the school bus in the dark so a few people can get in a game of golf after work.

What's more important, the kids' safety or an October golf game?

How can DST be saving energy when every one is getting up in the dark and turning on all the lights?


When I left the house at 8:30, it was shortly after dawn. This picture was taken about a mile from my house. See the deer on the right side of the road?

I stopped the car until I could see how many there were (3) and what they were going to do. Also to take a picture because it was so pretty.

Early Morning Frost

After the hottest summer on record in SW Michigan we've had frost on the ground the last two mornings.

I took these pictures while out for an eight am dogwalk.


While walking through the back yard, we looked at the neighbor's horse pasture.


After crossing the creek into the back three acres, we looked again to the west for more white.


The goldenrod has gone to seed and this morning the seeds were all covered with frost.

October If, Young Phoebe, and Sedum

It's October 2. If I cheat a little and back date this post to October 1, I might be inspired to post every day in October. At least one picture.

No promise, no pressure. Only if it's a pleasure, and I'm thinking it might be.


The migrating birds have all abandoned SW Michigan for warmer climates now.

The young Phoebes were among the last to go. Until a few days ago they were still practicing their dart-out-and-catch-a-bug skills from the tops of the bluebird nest boxes.

Now the flying bugs can safely enjoy the time until the first hard frost, which could happen any time now.

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With hosta eating deer overpopulating our property, I've been experimenting with various kinds of sedum to fill in a few of the garden gaps.

The deer don't touch them, they multiply rapidly, they don't require much care, and they don't seem to mind if they don't get much sun. I admire their spirit as they try for an autumn bloom while the falling leaves are attempting to bury them.

Wet and Hanging in There

It has rained for eight days now.

This was the weather forecast on WKZO Radio this morning: Rain ending today. Showers tomorrow.


Like these last few tulip tree leaves, I'm hanging in there. I felt better today, but not party material. Pappy and I are missing the doggy school Halloween party as I write.

Pappy is not sorry he doesn't have to dress up. I regret not being there to see the dogs in their costumes and take funny pictures to share.


Not much knitting is getting done.

Sometimes I pick up the Red X Sweater and knit a few rounds and then I fall asleep.

Doggy Updates

From Pappy:
This is how Mom has been feeling the past few days, so it's been pretty boring around here.

I'm hoping she's better enough to take me to doggy school tonight. I know she wants to be better for the doggy school Halloween party tomorrow so she can make me dress up stupid and laugh at me and all the other dogs.

I love her anyway.


From Sunny:
Today is the first time in fifteen days Mom has let me walk in the field with Pappy and Glory. There have been lots of changes since then. Where did all the green go?

I smell deer here. Why didn't Pappy and Glory do a better job of keeping them away? Nobody does anything right when I'm not around to supervise.


From Glory:
Mom takes lots of pictures of me but they don't make the blog because I'm black and usually look more like a shadow than the handsome dog that I am.

I hear Mom and Dad talking about my diet. They think I gained too much weight being inactive last winter. Now that I'm slim again they don't want me to gain it back.

I'm in favor of nothing that cuts back the amount of food that I get. So us older girls get a little plump. So what?

Wednesday Wings - The Leftovers

Now that the leaves are thinning, some of the wonderful things that were hidden but there all along are showing up along the dog walking path in the back field.

This nest is almost at eye level. I'm sorry I missed seeing it in use.


This huge wasp nest is hanging in a tree about six feet off the path. I'm amazed that I didn't spot it while it was active.

The nest will slowly disintegrate over the winter months. The queen will start a new nest in a new location in the spring.


A leaf floats down the creek.

Casting on the Red Cotlin

For over a week I browsed through stitch pattern books and pattern books looking for the perfect pattern for my new red Cotlin. I was sure I would know it when I saw it, but I never saw it. Or, if I did see it, I didn't know it.

I did some tentative swatching, thinking it would lead into an idea, but an idea never came.


Finally I found a cute, simple little knit/purl pattern in a Japanese Stitch book, cast on 240 stitches, and started knitting.


I'm 95% certain I'm not going to use this stitch pattern for the entire sweater. Hopefully by the time I have 12 inches knit I'll be able to look at it and know what I want to do next. Until then I have some semi-mindless knitting to do when I don't feel like working on Kristi socks.


Pattern: Winging it for now. Unofficially naming it the Red X Sweater.

Yarn: Knitpicks Cotlin. 70% Tanguis Cotton, 30% Linen. DK weight.

Color: Moroccan Red.

Needles: Options #3.

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 8.5 rows/inch in pattern.

This was taken last Thursday evening while the trees still had most of their leaves. It's been raining every day since then, and many dark, bare branches are now showing amongst what is left of the autumn color.

Kristi Cuff

Kristi is always one of the lowest vote getters when the Sock Innovation KAL, (a Ravelry link) votes which pattern to do next. Since it's one of my top favorites in the book and I had the perfect yarn for it, I decided to cast on and do it.

Kristi is slow going and requires constant attention to the chart, but there's nothing difficult about it. I'm enjoying the process and the results.

Pattern: Kristi from Sock Innovation by Cookie A.

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: Wisteria.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

Chat Back for October 24

Answering questions from comments and email.

Pat said . . .

You sure are staying true to the Cookie KAL

First time ever. I'm not usually a KAL kind of knitter.

As first my dog, then my mother, then my husband all got seriously ill throughout the spring and summer, I enjoyed having something easy but interesting to knit that I didn't have to think about and plan for.

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Shirley asked . . .

Do you plan to knit Cookie socks next month?

Yes, I tentatively plan to knit next months socks. At least one of the selections unless I don't like either of them.

All the socks I really love in the book - the twisted stitch designs and the gorgeous cabling - are left to be chosen. So far they've mostly selected the ones I probably never would have knit without the KAL. Though I have to admit I did enjoy knitting them, all except Wanida.

I wonder how long they're going to keep the KAL group going with the small number of people who are actually finishing their socks. When I looked this morning there were only 30 pictures in the October finished thread.

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Kellie asked . . .

I am wondering about your trout. Is this their spawning time, or are they just lost?

It's their spawning time. Every year the last part of October they struggle up the creek. Some of them die, but most are OK.

It's a pretty constant procession, three or four an hour night and day for a few weeks.

I've been told they come from the Paw Paw river.

The creek is cold and clear with a nice sandy bottom. The trout that come up it are about 30 inches long.


Some readers are telling me the fish are salmon, some are telling me trout. Both are right since trout are members of the salmon family.

From Wikipedia on Trout:

Trout are a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water. Trout are classified as an oily fish.

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It's been raining on and off, but mostly on, for the past three days. Leaves have started to fall.

Braking on a layer of wet leaves in the road can be almost as slippery as ice and snow.

Friday Followup

Sunny
We're holding our breath while reducing the Prednesone and watching her appear to be mostly better for now.

Sunny is eight years old. She first started having back problems when she was five and even then the x-ray showed some disk fusion in her lumbar region. She's way too young for this.

One of the younger vets said it was the worse arthritis of the canine spine she'd ever seen and handed us over to the elder vet of the practice. He's wonderful and will talk to us on the phone anytime we're not sure what to do next. Giving Sunny Xanax was his idea and it has worked great to relax her when she's in pain. It also appears to reduce her muscle spasms better than the muscle relaxant.

Sunny's given name is Sunshine because she brought sunshine into our lives. We always end up calling our dogs something with e-e-e on the end, so she's Sunny except when we're exasperated with her. Then, just like with a kid, we call her SUN..SHINE!

Hearing her name, people assume she's Sonny, male. That's why DH Bob thought it was funny to name our other little dog Pappy - so we'd have a Pappy and a Sonny/Sunny. Plus, of course, because he's a Papillon (the dog, not DH). I don't think anybody gets the joke except Bob. He had to explain it to me.


Pappy
Last week I was wondering if Pappy was getting too old for doggy school because he was getting tired in class and reluctant to do some of the things he likes least.

His class is called "Hobby Advanced", non-formal obedience, agility, tricks, games, and lots of socialising and laughter. Many of us have been working our dogs together for years. The dogs know each other and are excited to see each other every week.

Dog trainer Gail assured me that Pappy was still walking in the door excited to be there and, if it were her dog, she would make adjustments but not keep him away. She said she would help figure out the best way to keep Pappy happy.

When Pappy and I got there last night, Gail had come up with a doggy brain game for Pappy to play while the other dogs chased the dumbbell over the hurdles. On agility nights, we're going to skip obedience. Little changes like that are going allow Pappy (and me) to keep having fun at doggy school for a while longer.

Pappy and I were assured by most of the class that he needed to stay. I feel good about what's happening and can't say enough nice things about Gail who truly loves and understands dogs and their people.


Septic System
One of the highlights of this past week was getting the power restored to the septic system pump.

Living in a wetland requires by law an expensive and complicated septic system with an above ground drain field fed by a dosing chamber with an underground pump. (For septic system nerds who want to know more, go here.)

Something happened to the underground wire providing power to the pump and we had an electrician and helper here on and off for two days digging up the yard and fixing things.

I'm not sure why I consider this blog worthy. Maybe to keep things realistic in noting that living in the middle of nowhere amongst nature is wonderful but not without disadvantages.

Wednesday Wings - Ladybugs

They're all over the south and east sides of the house and they want in!


Most of the trees on our property are oak, not big on autumn color.

In a normal year the oak leaves turn brown in November and fall to the ground when it's too cold to take care of them until spring. If we want autumn color, we have to drive down the road.

This year is a little strange. Although October has been colder and wetter than normal, we are overdue for a hard frost. The tree colors are lovely and this big oak tree even decided it could show a little bit of yellow.


Normally by now the hosta leaves would have frozen, thawed, and turned into a pile of mush on the ground. I don't ever remember them standing long enough to show their pretty fall colors.

The yarn would be looking spectacular with hosta color if 90% of them hadn't been eaten by deer.

Tuesday Tidbits

Beginning of the Literal Fall

As in leaves falling off the trees and onto the ground to be raked, burned, composted, mulched, mowed, or left to decompose.

Here at Violet Acres we have so many leaves we are able to do all of the above with leaves left over.


RIP

Note to myself: Add dead trout burial to the todo list for today.

The almost dead trout made it about 30 feet upstream from where I took its picture yesterday. Once it found a good mucky spot, right in the middle of our acreage, it flipped itself up on the bank and died in the mud.


Knitting Update

There has been no knitting worth mentioning.

The Kristi socks are halfway through the first cuff and haven't been touched for a week.

Clandestine, the October non-book socks for the Sock Innovation KAL, (a Ravelry link) are sitting next to my knitting spot waiting their fate. I think their fate is going to be frogging. I do not need another pair of lacy socks and I'd like some pretty warm practical socks out of the Stalwart Stormy Night yarn I'm using. I have half a cuff done. Before I frog them, I'll try the cuff on one more time and make sure that's what I want to do and take a picture to show you how pretty they are/were.

I'm down to the cuff on the last Lighthouse Gansey sleeve. Should finish it tonight.

The Trout Are Running

Blue sky!

Something we haven't seen much of in the month of October. For a bonus, it got warm enough today to go outside with only jeans and a sweatshirt. And wool socks, of course.


The fish that we think are trout are swimming up the creek. We're going to call them trout in this post. If you know different, I'd love to hear your theory.

What you're looking at in this picture and the next is a clear, cold, fast running stream with a sandy bottom. When I take pictures of the trout, they're under water but you can't see the water unless it ripples. When it ripples, you can't see the trout.

This first one is healthy looking and making good time against the current.


This second one is almost dead. It moves a few feet and then has to rest for many minutes. Sometimes it leans to one side like a sick goldfish.

I hope it gets to the neighbors before it dies.

When they die they wash up on the creek bank and I have to wade in the muck to get them. If I don't they rot and smell awful. At least they smell awful to me. Glory thinks rotten fish smell wonderful. So wonderful she likes to roll in them.


Sunny Update: Yesterday I cut her Prednesone dose in half. She gets half a dose for three days and then every other day for a week. So far, she's doing OK with a few shaky moments.