Saturday, October 17, 2015

October Sunshine


Oh, October - my favorite month! 

There is a poignancy felt in these golden hours 
as I try to hold on to every precious moment. 

The swallows have left and the crows have once 
again reclaimed their kin, forming large flocks,
which fly over at sunset to roost in the foothills
after foraging in the fields all day. 

With the din of bird-song a distant summer memory, 
those left behind break the silence
with gentler voices. 

An Anna's Hummingbird keeps watch over
a vast domain - minuscule against the flanks of
Mt. Rainier. 


These resilient little birds are year-round 
residents here in western Washington State. 

It was one cold January day when I first 
became aware of this fact several years ago,
spying one visiting my empty feeder. 

I was so surprised and
quickly filled the feeder with nectar. 

I now have several living here year-round.  
These are joined in summer by the smaller 
Rufous Hummingbird, which fly south in winter. 


 Morning mist is slow to rise in these shortened 
days of autumn. 


I step outside, coffee steaming, listening to the twitters
and scoldings of chickadees, juncos and towhees 
as they visit the feeder. 

Mourning doves and Steller Jays fly in later. 

A Northern Flicker enjoys the suet I keep in the apple tree. 


We have a new little friend
that I have noticed the last few days.  


It is a wren, but I am not sure if it is a house wren, 
which migrates....


or a Bewick's Wren which does not. 

Possibly this little fellow is just passing through...

He/she was quite absorbed in hunting through
my planters looking for insects, which makes 
up 97% of its diet. 


We've had our firewood delivered 
and have started the chore of splitting 
and stacking. 


With a little help from our friends! 

Here I am taking a break on the chopping block. 
Whitey Bear gets a scratch behind the ear 
while my daughter's dachshund, Weenie Baby 
inspects the stacking. 

We burn through 6-8 cord every year. 


We have our work cut out for us! 

Peanut and Weenie Baby blend right in. 
I am pet-sitting for the weekend. 


A recent storm dropped golden cedar needles 
all over the ground ...... 


and into the gutters! Ramblin' Man cleans them out. 


Kai enjoys our morning walks. 


Tiny mushrooms. 


Vine Maple is the first to color
in the forest. 


I've been busy with garden clean-up during
these last beautiful days. 

Whitey Bear inspects my Tansy harvest. 
The dead tree fell during the storm
right onto my pile of bricks, breaking a few :(


I fill my basket with Tansy leaves. 

I will dry these for making moth
repellent sachets. 
I love the pungent scent. 


I save the seed for planting this spring. 


A beautiful day....I didn't need my jacket. 


Sunshine on some rusty relics - 
an old wood-burning stove and coal cart wheel
that my son found in the local creek. 

We live in an old coal mining town
that exists no longer. 



The end of a beautiful day. 


I hope you are enjoying these last golden 
days of autumn, dear friends. 

This season goes by so fast. 

Soon we will be celebrating the holidays
and bundling up for winter's cold. 

Every season has its beauty, 
but this season the most of all. 

29 comments:

  1. This is such a lovely post, each one a sign of the season. I love this time of the year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a sweet little wren. It looks just like the one in the print on my wall. So sweet. Boy, you earned your bed-time snack tonight. That's a lot of wood. Nothing smells more like fall than wood burning in a wood-stove. We will be using wood, too, once the main house is built. :) Your dogs are so cute. Looks like they are enjoying the beauty of fall. Deb

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely post your part of the world is cooling down ours is heating up.
    You did well to get those pictures of the wren we have blue wren and his two ladies often in my trees but they are so fast that I can never get pictures of them.
    Merle...................

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a beautiful sky! We've had some pretty sunsets lately too. There's a lot of dust in the air as the farmers are harvesting. It's hard to believe that the little hummingbird can make it through your winter. I'm sure they enjoy the food you leave out! Good pic of the wren. They are very pretty. have a good Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Karen,

    Such wonderful photos of nature from your place and can see why it is a favourite month of the year. Looks like you will be busy with all the firewood.
    Hope you are enjoying the weekend
    Hugs
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Karen, you live in a most beautiful part of our great country! What lovely pictures and verse. I truly loved reading your post. I can tell you love life and the beauty it beholds. Have a wonderful weekend, Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a happy post, filled with lots of beauty!! Autumn is my favorite time of the year, this entry expreess it so well!! Your view is gorgeous, I would love to have hummingbirds all year long!!!! Have a wonderful Sunday!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You live in a beautiful place, thanks for sharing the lovely pictures. October is indeed the most beautiful month. Lots of firewood stacked in here too, I love wood burning in winter and it is a must to keep the cold outside. Beautiful pictures of the little wren. Blessings, Pam in Norway

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karen, so beautiful pictures of morning mists and pink sunsets! October has been really beautiful (and warm!) also here in Finland. Enjoy the beauty of fall!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning, I always enjoy your lovely post and images. Your furbabies are all adorable. And I love the sweet hummer, I saw one (it was a lifer for me) during my trip there. I read about a wren they call the Pacific Wren, could this be what your bird is? The sunsets are beautiful. Happy Sunday, enjoy your new week!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the mists and sunsets. I'm glad you are all stocked up with wood to keep you cosy. We've had a few fires already which makes a perfect end to the day. x

    ReplyDelete
  12. I just love the gorgeous photos of your beautiful world there Karen. Makes me feel so cozy thinking of getting wood ready to snuggle in and hibernate for winter ahead.

    I'm definitely trying to soak up of every second of this beautiful favorite season! More leaves fall every day so I know the time is precious.
    Blessings to you. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  13. I loved this post dear Karen. It is filled with so much beauty and glimpses into your life as you get ready for winter.

    My favorite photo is the one with the mist and Mt. Rainer, next is that dear little wren.

    Happy Fall ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely post...beautiful sunshine!!!
    Have a great sunday

    ReplyDelete
  15. I always enjoy seeing where you live, such beautiful scenery, the mist over your mount Rainier and how lovely you managed to get a photo of the wren. I'm always trying to take one of our little visitor, but he/she is so fast , it's gone hidden in the bushes. Lovely post.enjoy your nice weather.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I LOVE your morning mist shots! Gorgeous!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I enjoyed this post Karen. So nice to see what you are doing to prepare for winter. How fun to see and have a hummingbird that stays all winter there. I noticed that Weenie Baby blends right in with the woodpile! LOL Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  18. That looks like an old Jotul, wood burning stove. We just bought one and their small size is supposed to be out a lot of heat.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a lovely post! I really enjoyed the photos from your garden ...... nice to get a snippet of Autumn when we are in our Spring time :) Good to know about the tansy too!!! I may have to get some seed and put some in.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I can't believe ow much wood you have to cut. Good that you have the help of your dogs.

    ReplyDelete
  21. such a beautiful place you have! the wren looks like a carolina but i don't think it'd be that far up nw! :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hello Karen,
    I just love looking at all of your beautiful photos. The little wren is just so cute. I love how you have the cute dogs outside helping you and your husband! The dogs are such cuties. The mountain is just gorgeous. It must be so nice there in the early mornings watching the birds and everything! Yes the holidays will soon be here!
    Wishing you a nice week.
    Julie xo

    ReplyDelete
  23. Dear Karen,
    thank you for thos georgeous October pictures! It is my favorit month too!
    The little Wren ...fantastic!
    Thank youfor all those wodnerful impressions !!!
    Wishing you a wonderful new week,
    filled with Love and Joy,
    hugs and blessings, Claudia xo

    ReplyDelete
  24. Your glorious photos acquainting us of the delights of your Autumn take my breath away! That opalescent mountain of yours kissing the sky is magnificent. Such a sweet, sweet wren. Obviously it feels totally relaxed with visiting your lovely garden....who wouldn't. I would like to rest a while there myself....with a pretty tea cup in hand...of course. I too, love Autumn but because it is Spring down here at the bottom of the world...BUT....as you say each glorious season holds its own beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I also save seeds, this Oct. has been weird. We have 29 degrees in Maine this morning. Golly it's not Halloween yet. I have been getting the lawn things inside before the snow comes. We had snow in the mountain's-- GLOBAL WARMING....

    ReplyDelete
  26. I so agree that these beautiful fall days go by much to quickly and I so enjoy them so much. I love the pictures of the mist that is beautiful in it's own way. Our hummingbirds have been away for a couple of weeks now so my hubby took down the feeder, it was so fun watching them. How exciting to have a new visitor coming around. Enjoy these last beautiful days!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Amazing misty shots!

    This made me smile:

    "...gentler voices."


    And "every season has it's beauty."

    :-) lovely, just lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  28. It's always such a treat to stop by your blog. There are so many gorgeous things to look at. Those misty shots were so lovely, the dogs are just adorable and that tiny hummingbird was so sweet. Thanks for a pleasant stay.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dearest Karen,
    Oh those tiny wrens are the cutest bird one can have around, always so hyper and cleaning away lots of spiders around our windows!
    Lovely photos and I like seeing Kai being happy in his new surroundings.
    You both have quite a task for splitting the logs for the winter's fire wood.
    Yes, cleaning out the gutters is some job. We have covers but still in the corners I had to climb up. Still need to clean out the front of the house and the back near the balcony. The other part I've done; while Pieter holds the tall ladder steady for me.
    Sending you hugs and blessings and wishing you a lovely Birthday tomorrow.
    Mariette

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...