A Lost Fall

It's been a long, lost end of summer and start of fall here on Calamity Acres. 

Beans and corn have been harvested all around me. 

There was "smoke" over the fields, every which way I looked. 

 

Every once in a while, the smoke would clear and you could see the man or woman driving the big machine. 

Friends, your blogger has been sick for almost eight weeks with a bad stomach infection, that is now, thank heavens, gone. 

I had a terrible reaction to the strong meds that had to fight the infection and had many sleepless nights and miserable days.  My weight fell, and to make things worse... I was dehydrated one day and fell in the yard, landing on my left arm.  The doctor was sure it was broken, but exrays told us it was not.  I am doing therapy, trying to get it back to complete usefullness.  In the meantime, I have had to ask my grandson for help off and on to get feed moved around.   Even lifting it high enough to type was difficult, so I did not even turn the computer on for a while. 

This really big raccoon has been wandering around here at night.  Once I thought I was seeing a coyote in the dark! 

So has this elderly possum, and several younger ones. 

Our little "pet" raccoon, Rocky, has moved on.  I went out to the big hen house one day, and he was eating cat food on the porch.  I stood there talking to him when another raccoon of the same size walked out from under the porch!  They went off together between the two hen houses, and I have never seen them again.  Remember, there are 26 undeveloped acres across from me, and they were headed there. 

We have had a weird fall.  All the hollyhocks are coming up again. 

So is this little sunflower, and many others. 

We did get three inches of rain this week, which we sorely needed. 

This truck was parked in front of me the other day.  Patrick would get the vote of everyone in KC right now. 

So would these two. 

Little Bird, one of the two Indio Gigante roosters.

His brother, Big Bird. 

During the first part of October, I bought a companion for Doug, my Silkie rooster who was a real favorite. 

Sadly, I lost Doug three weeks later.  I think it was upper respiratory.  

Shadow was kept seperately until I realized he really wanted out of the pen with the others, and now I simply let him loose from the inside pen at night, and he takes care of himself, because oh yes, it was another cockerel. 

Still not positive, but I believe so. 

He is by far the smallest, even smaller than Rocket, the Mille Fleur rooster. 

My road. 

Thank heavens I can still live here. 

The last weeks have been very hard. 

For years, I have waited for this beautiful tree to turn orange in the fall. 

My eastern fenceline is now overgrown with red juniper.  I know my neighbors would let me clear it out... but... tree work is now very expensive.  I'm going to have to win the lottery. 

I took this last night... It was still beautiful but almost hidden from me. 

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving, I could not have said that a few weeks ago. 

I'll get caught up soon.