Musings on a Small Life

I'm still around, just nothing particularly interesting to blog about, now that I'm back to work. Nope, still haven't downloaded the vacation snaps from my little camera. Apparently my motivation is sorely lacking!   Anyway, I thought I'd just post a few phone snapshots of fall colours this month. After the incredibly hot, dry summer, we've had an extended, glorious autumn, only a few days of rain (which we still need very badly). It's been hard to be cooped up during the week days, sitting at the work laptop, but as much as possible, I've gotten out in the early mornings before work hours and at lunchtimes.   Below, the rose and dahlia were late-bloomers, still hanging on. They're done now, with the frost we've had more recently. Below: The park across from the mall, out in the west end. There were lots of geese when I was strolling by, headed to an appointment, and more incoming. The maple leaf, below, was just lying on the grass as I headed out a...

Wow, it's the last Monday of September already. Beats me where the heck the month--the year--has gone. There's an Annie Dillard quote I read years ago that has stuck with me: " How we spend our days, is, of course, how we spend our lives ." (Full disclosure: I've not read any of her books; the quote, seen in passing, caught my attention.) That makes me feel a bit sad, since I spend my days in front of a computer doing tedious things with spreadsheets and databases. LOL. On the other hand, I'm blessed to have a good job with great people, and hey, most of us have to earn a living. Life could be much, much worse and I'm grateful for all that I've been given. ♥ Derry's GI issues continue, and I've got an email in to the vet to ask about a round of antibiotics and/or Prednisolone. I need to give up the hope that this will be managed by food alone at this stage ; perhaps down the road it can be. Part of the issue is that he just won't eat most o...

(Note: Some of these snapshots have been posted to Instagram, so they will be repeats for anyone who is on it.)   While we're currently having summer-like temps, autumn definitely is starting to show her colours.     I really haven't been out to take any pics yet, but hope to do that over the next couple of weekends, if we have decent weather and I have the time. I managed to snap a slightly out-of-focus shot of this nuthatch, below, on a morning walk earlier this week. It was my first time getting a pic of one, so I was just happy to have anything.     I saw this cutie too: I'm still seeing a lot of cottontails! It was a banner year for them, apparently. And there are plenty of blooms left, which makes my heart happy. Of course this cutie makes my heart happy too: So for the moment all is well with us, to the best of my knowledge. Everyone take care and stay well. Have a good weekend! Peace.

I had a lovely visit with friends R & C in Brighton; a huge thank you to them both, R in particular. (L, if you read this, yes, I did tell her hello from you!) We had a great time, driving all over the area, and taking in the fall colours. (Click to enlarge for best viewing.) We stopped a lot, though many of my snapshots were taken from the car window as we were driving by. I'm in the middle of culling and editing the almost-700 snapshots I took! Here are a few as teasers. I can't remember the last time I've seen such glorious autumn colours. Certainly in our city and immediate area there's nothing like this. Northumberland County is putting on an amazing display this year! I came back to two cats with diarrhea, though both had been fine when I left. I have no idea what happened; stress? I'm working on getting them back to normal, will see how things go. They've been okay through today (Sunday), but I'm not expecting things...

The fall equinox is upon us this evening and I can't believe what a whirlwind 2018 is and continues to be. We've had a lot of work changes this year, as I mentioned in a post on August 30th, and while they've been what I feel are positive changes for our sub-unit (for the time being), they've also come with challenges, different expectations, and more work (and meetings!) for us all. Next week promises to be another crazy one, with a doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon, a 5:30 AM (!) train to Toronto with my boss on Tuesday for an all-day meeting (won't be home till 8 PM-ish), a dental appointment first thing on the Wednesday morning, and my dad and his wife arriving for several days on Thursday afternoon. Yikes! Nicki has his regular vet appointment (anal glands, etc.) first thing on Friday the 28th. I deliberately booked it for that time so I'd have Dad's rental car available, no waiting for a taxi to show up. As for the family ...

It was one of the argyle styles this time: I ordered yet another pair this morning, in blue and purple this time. Can you tell I love these? Quite comfy and much nicer than my 6 for $10 packages of cotton socks from Walmart. Ha. I'm taking a break from the "heavy" questions from that TinyBuddha article today. It's Friday after all. And while I don't celebrate Halloween (can't wait till it's all over and done with and hope the kids in the area don't damage my fence or anything else on or around my unit), I'll wish those of you who do celebrate a happy and safe Halloween! The Jacquie Lawson e-card Dad sent me this morning: A one-off: Yesterday after work, almost home. Looking like late fall now! And I'll toss in a blurry pic of the boys sitting together on the step outside, after work yesterday. Quickly snapped through the patio window. Derry knows darned well I'm standing there with a camera in hand! Peace . ...

Yesterday was one of those "soft" autumn days, warm with a breeze, more early summer-like than fall. I took a little lunchtime jaunt down to the water, the usual route. The usual snapshots too--the only thing being different, the season! The School of Theology, same building I used to snap weekly in the spring, on the way back from physio. It was such a lovely day I really didn't want to go back to the office afterward.  :-)           I had only the little Elph of course, so you can just barely make out the boat on the water, in the middle of the sculpture (below). There were a lot of geese enjoying the day too.     Heading back to the office...the long way around.  :-)   This maple is one of the few trees with glorious colour. Most just turn brown and crispy in our city.   The visitor centre for Bellevue House. They have a lovely lawn! It was a good mental break, to get out and into th...