recovery

Slowly the morning clouds let in a bit of blue...






...and eventually, by noon, we are in for sunshine!

We weren't expecting it. Indeed, our breakfast was still at the kitchen table...






But toward late morning, I nudged Ed to join me outside. We wont have many days like this one!





Fall yard work is different than spring stuff. It's occasional. It's sporadic. It's not very thorough. My goals are to set things on a path of recovery and maintenance. Dig out the major weeds, keep everything in reasonable order and then put it aside until spring. So today we cleared some of the major weeds that had in my absence invaded the raspberry beds. A friend stopped by and he watched as we pulled and dug and I explained to him about Oreo and sure enough, out came the rooster, attacking our visitor. Not that our friend was in anyway disturbed. He was raised on a farm and so a nice shove, or two, or three, sent Oreo flying. Still, I glanced at Ed with a "you see?"  expression. In case he needed further evidence.

Our ambitions being on the light side of things, we stopped early on, but still, it is rather remarkable how buoyant your mood is on a day where you work outdoors and your nails get dirty from the soil and the sun causes you to take off the jacket, then the sweater.

Wisconsin is, for the most part, a sunny state. And this is what makes all seasons here so breathtakingly beautiful.

And speaking of just that -- this breathtaking beauty, today I had to go into Madison again (for one of those appointments you have because you've reached that age!) and it struck me that I could come home the long way -- by way of the Arboretum.

What a stunning day it was to look at this gem of a place! To me, the Arboretum is an incredible (and incredibly underused, which is, I suppose, part of its charm) sanctuary especially if you live within the city boundaries. I used to go there far more often before I moved to the country. But on days like this, it's grand even for those of us who have natural beauty right up to our noses -- as I do at the farmette.  The Arboretum, as the name implies, has a variety of trees and they're all doing magnificent things right now!






Take a walk with me!






One path, better than the next...






One palate of colors more magnificent than the other...






In fact, I was so enchanted by it all...












...that I came home and dragged Ed out and we drove right back, for a forest walk.












Surely this was the day to say: I know it's a troubled world out there, but isn't it grand that there are places like this to make our senses swirl?






The second half of October does bring with is shorter days and the sun was quite low as we leave the Aroboretum...





...But not low enough to keep us from taking a detour to our hidden tennis court, where we play a sweet, sweet game of tennis, as spent White Pine needles swish around under our feet and the evening sets in.