Autumn Chores

Preparing for Cooler Weather

 Tools for the job

We have had a bit of cool weather lately.

Seems like our Summer will be shorter this year. So, when it warmed up a little last Sunday afternoon, we decided to get to work.

 First Rinse for the Corolla

If your going to do it, do it right. We start with a good rinse, then we soap up the vehicles, and scrub where necessary.

 Final rinse for the Tacoma

Once the bugs and road guck are scrubbed off. We give them a final rinse then towel them dry by hand to prevent water spots. 

 Wax on

My Sweet Husband starts putting wax on the Corolla while I finish

wiping down the Tacoma. By the time I am done, the wax on the first side has set. I go behind him with a piece of cheese cloth and start buffing. 

 Waxing the Tacoma

Once he gets the wax on the Tacoma, he will go behind me and rebuff the Corolla with a clean cloth. The Tacoma is bigger, so it takes longer. My Sweet Husband has to do the top of the shell. I am too short to reach, even standing on the tires. 

 Shiny!

Look at the reflection.

 Ready for winter

I know there are easier ways to do the job.

Easier is not always better. The Tacoma is ten years old and the Corolla is twelve. Wish it was that easy to hide my age.

 Not everything is ready!

Cooler temperatures sent us out to take stock of the firewood situation. Uh-oh, we have some work to do.

 Ready to cut

We start by dragging some well seasoned logs up closer to the house for cutting. 

 Work in progress

Took a little break to go get more wood, and have a little snack.

The wood is a mixture of Pine, Oak and Elm.

 The wood pile grows

You can't really see it from the two pictures, my camera does a great job with light, but it was getting darker by this point. We had to stack the wood by flashlight. 

 Much better

I went out this morning to take a picture of the finished pile.

 Leaves beginning to change 

The big elm out back is starting to change color. Seems early this year but I don't mind. Something about autumn renews my spirit.

 Dogwood leaves

The dogwood is beautiful right now, lovely red berries and some red leaves.

 Dandelion

Summer isn't quite gone yet.

 After all the hard work

Our reward.

I am a very spoiled girl, and yes, 

we do know how to live the good life. 

Cheers,

Kat

Work in progress on the window project, and a few more visitors to Kat's Corner

Do you remember, back in July when I introduced you to 

Beverly and David Joosten ?

They are the Owner / Artisans of

Beverly & David Joosten Glass Studio, and they are working on a project for us. My Sweet Husband stopped by their studio recently and took pictures of the progress.

 What is this?

 Beverly grinding the glass

Even small pieces have to be carefully ground.

 Cutting the next piece

Beverly and David are not only Artisans, they are both genuinely nice people and it is a pleasure to see where they work and visit with them.

 Work around the edges of the old stained glass

Some of the old lead will have to be replaced and the window has to be stabilized. Once they are done with it, it will be beautiful for the next 100 years (or more).

 Checking placement

This is a very exacting process. A small error could throw the whole thing off. Besides stabilizing the old glass, the framing will allow it to be installed in our lovely old antebellum house and it has to fit the existing opening.

 The big picture, Glass on the cartoon.

The original window in the center is attributed to Clayton & Bell, a firm that produced stained glass from 1855 to 1993.

The window is believed to have come from a church in Wales. We bought them from Tomkinson's Stained Glass on Portabello road in London and brought it back from Britain with our Household goods in 1992.

 Beverly hard at work.

I can't wait to see the finished project in place.

(There will be pictures here, I promise)

 Praying Mantis

One of the visitors I told you about. 

Just hanging around to see what's next.

 Turkey Vulture Conversation

"Nice of them to leave water here for us".

"Yup".

 Turkey Vultures Drinking

 Turkey Vulture Conversations Continued

"Hey!"

"Something moved in there!"

"Did you see it"

"Yup"

 "There are a bunch of them"

"Startled me, lets go drink somewhere else"

"OK"

Spontaneous the Cat

Spontaneous thinks they are silly, there have been tadpoles in that water every summer since before we moved in. 

(Isn't she looking lovely?)

Cheers from both of us

Kat 

& 

Spontaneous the Cat

End of Summer

Our summer has flown by quite quickly

it is not really gone yet

green is everywhere

you can see the signs that change is coming.

mornings are a little cooler

the sun sets a little sooner

and the evening light is different.

I am looking forward to Autumn

I am also going to enjoy each little bit of summer that is left

come see why

 On the Balcony

This is where we love to go for a cup of tea on a summer morning.

 Bunny Rabbit

An early morning visitor. They can not see us up on the balcony so as long as we are quiet, we can watch them eat their breakfast.

 Old barn

The barn looks quite lovely in the summer evening light. This picture shows a hint of color changing, but it is only an illusion.

 End of summer Elm

I love the light this time of year. I stepped out with the camera to take a picture of the visitor below, but I was so entranced, I stayed for quite a while. 

 Charlotte ?

We call these talented ladies writing spiders. See the pattern in her web? Is this what Charlotte really looked like (Charlotte's Web)?

 Writing Spider Micro

Here she is zoomed in to show off her fancy colors. She is about the size of a silver dollar (do you remember those). 

 Down the road

Walking down to pick up the mail is a pleasure this time of year.

 Wildflower

This lovely wildflower is serving as a road side attraction next to our mailbox. It is taller than me. I keep waiting for the little buds to open, so far, no luck.

 Creeping Kudzu

Here is a look up close and personal at one of the South's biggest pests. Lucky for us, the railroad doesn't like it either and they keep it on the other side of the tracks.

 Kudzu Patch

I have to admit, it is kind of pretty though.

Tiny Yellow Wildflower

The wildflowers won't last much longer.

You see what I mean about wanting to enjoy the last of summer?

Hope you are enjoying yours as well.

Cheers,

Kat

Bears in the woods? Cherokee North Carolina

Boston and Chicago have cows (so do many other cities)

Ogden Utah has Horses, 

A Trip Downtown, Ogden Utah

but for this post,

I told you there would be bears.

So lets pop back to the lovely the Blue Ridge Mountains for the Bears of Cherokee.

 Transformation Through Forgiveness

OK, so this one is not a bear. It is a "Traveling Bronze memorial" that was placed in Cherokee's Veterans park while we were there. 

The picture does not really do it justice.

 Children's Mixed Bear

This is one of the first we spotted. It is also one of the most charming. The art and overall design is by the children. 

 Patriot Bear

This bear lives in the Veterans Park. Easy to guess his name. Right now he is looking over the statue shown in the first picture.  As a veteran I think he is a fitting tribute. 

 Magic Lake Bear

I love all the details painted on this one. He makes me want to find and visit Magic Lake. I wonder if swimming is allowed? (and is it warm enough, the rivers up there are chilly even on the warmest days)

 Pottery Bear

This one is all in brown and white. The patterns mimic traditional Cherokee pottery patterns.

 Eagle Dancer Bear

You can see this one front and back.

 Sequoyah Bear

and yes, that is a pipe. I wonder if he is meant to look like anyone in particular.

 Legends Bear

 Forefathers Bear

If you want more information on the Bear Project, you can go to Cherokee Bear Project - article from Indian Country News

 Visitors Center

Even the sign on the visitor's center door, is an artistic bear.

Bear on the Little Tennessee River

This bear is the last I took pictures of, but it is by no means the last bear. There were plenty we didn't see. 

Maybe we will have to hunt more bears on our next trip up there. 

Hope you enjoyed this Bear Hunt.

Cheers

Kat