Some of you may remember the unique little squirrels I discovered when we first moved here… little black squirrels with partial or completely red tails.
In truth, I haven’t seen them for quite a while now. In fact, it’s just been solid black squirrels this summer. The last grey one I saw was in spring.
But then this little one showed up.
Not just a full red tail – but a red streak from nose to butt!
And as cool as it is, it’s not magic – there is an explanation. Here’s the science: Black squirrels sometimes have red or rusty-colored patches of fur due to a mix of genetics and natural coat changes. Black squirriels are actually a melanistic form of the gray squirrels (so grey and black squirrels are the same species) but if they carry genes for lighter or reddish coloring, those can still show through in areas where the black pigment is weaker. Sun exposure and seasonal molting can also affect their coat, causing the fur to fade or grow back with brownish or reddish tones. It’s a completely natural variation. Because nature is amazing!
Halloween has passed – we had a very good night with over 100 kids – and now November is here.
Over the last week, I’ve woken up to frost on the ground several times.
Those beautiful nasturtiums are no more. The frost has taken out most of the annuals.
Including the amazing bunch of pink zinnias.
With the exception of the African Daisies which are holding up very well.
Several of the roses are still going. And both Chrylser Imperial and Chicago Peace have put up new buds. I don’t think they will get a chance to bloom fully, but they will try.
Locked between the concrete path, and concrete driveway, the driveway garden holds a little more heat so it’s not a total to surprise to still have things blooming – Left to Right – Armeria, Gaura, and Lavender.
My Chinese Lanterns are glowing bright.
And my Burning Bush isn’t quite on fire – but it’s getting there.
And we are still picking raspberries. Though they are fewer and smaller each day.
I will admit, my work schedule lately often has me working in the evenings, or just too tired to craft. As a result – I don’t have anything fun and crafty to show you today,
Even our thrift finds have been somewhat mediocre…so nothing fun to share there.
But you know who has been productive… My mama!
Here’ a look at all the quilty things she’s finished since the beginning of August
Can you believe it? And she still finds the time to walk the dogs, knit and cross stitch too!
Several of the quilts have been gifted or will be. And I know she’s keeping a couple (including those awesome cat placemats). But I know for a fact that Halloween quilt is in the shop! And on sale until tomorrow!
It’s been a little more than a week since we started bringing Furby in at night. And I when I say “bringing in” I really mean “letting in”… because I just have to hold the door for him.
It didn’t take long for the “Fur Man” (Dave’s name for him) to realize what we were offering. Generally, every night around 8 pm – I just have to go outside. If he doesn’t come running when he hears the door open – I just have to call his name. Within 5 minutes he’ll be running down the driveway, right up the porch steps and in the door.
He still wants to go out as soon as Dave gets up. But he’s content to spend the whole night inside with us. He’s already come to bed with us a few times.
The boys have taken his sudden presence in the house surprisingly well. And Furby is tolerant of them all too. Burton and Rupert treat him with mostly indifference. Burton is not going to give up his lap time just because there’s another cat there. One night he laid half on top of Furby, and neither cat cared much.
Lemmy is still a little put out. As soon as Furby comes in, Lemmy has to stick his nose right up his butt. But as soon as Furby turns to smell Lemmy – Lemmy turns into a hissy pants. He will settle down and ignore Furby for the rest of the night after that. We are trying to make sure he gets little extra love so he knows he’s not being replaced.
And it’s not just night that Furby comes in…
He comes in randomly throughout the day… generally following Dave inside after he’s been out in the garage or yard.
He’s explored most of the house, including the office.
I am hoping, eventually I’ll get him used to the catio… and won’t have to let him wander. He has been out there once, but wasn’t thrilled that he couldn’t get to the rest of the yard.
Maybe the colder weather will make him realize the house cat life is really where it’s at.
Regardless.
Sir Furbsalot the Orange is definitely one of the Bearbottom Crew!
Stitching went as planned this weekend and now both the witchy bottoms are complete. Not only does this mean I get to move my hoop up… AND I get to start the next chart!
Obviously, this is not getting done for Fright Night… but I don’t mind – I am loving every stitch.
I’d hope to show you a finished hat today, but I didn’t quite get there.
I did get through the full deathflake chart though. It looks even better than I thought it would! With the chart complete, I can start the decreasing. It will definitely be finished this week!
Last year, I set up my Hallowe’en decorations as soon as the calendar turned over to October. But I learned a valuable lesson… the grass is still growing then! I had to pull up all my tombstones and bones to mow the lawn and it was a total pain!
So this year, I decided to wait until after Thanksgiving. I did plan to put them up while I was on vacation, but never got to it. So mid-week last week, after the day job, I set to work.
We have so many decorations now, it’s a good couple of hours to get it all set up.
But it’s worth it!
There are a few new things this year. Some new tombstones, some spooky grey fabric, and a couple new skeletons.
The skulls on the left were thrifted additions (there are matching skulls in the box on the opposite side of the porch. In the picture on the right, the urn was thrifted, but the skeleton parts are new… it was an idea I saw online and I just had to have it for the garden.
I ordered the perfect wreath from Michaels. This was part of my big purchase back at the start of the season.
And I couldn’t resist this cutie. He glows in the dark!
All the old favourites are back
Including Good Ol’ Doug…
I think next year I’m going to have to trim the burning bush… or find a new place for Doug!
The only other new addition this year was a second set of lights for the arbour.
While we’ve had some nice warms days, there’s no doubt now that we’ve seen the back end of summer. Leaves are falling fast and some nights the temps are right down to 0.
While there are still quite a few flowers blooming, we are only one good frost from it all being over for the year.
The Monkhood is looking fabulous this year. It’s such and odd looking plant that does well in shady areas. This one has really grown this year. I might split it up in spring and spread it around a bit.
Koko Loko still had several blooms. I love how the colour is so dark, and slowly fades out as it blooms. I did cut these ones and bring them inside, along with a few bolero blooms.
Bolero smell amazing. I really should cut the flowers more often and bring them in.
We had a few days of pretty heavy rain, and it knocked down the Vanilla Ice Cream Sunflower out front. So I took it down completely and cut the remaining blooms for another vase. There are still two other large plants in the garden, so there’s still seeds for the finches.
I absolutely love these yellow nasturtiums that I planted under the cucumbers. I wish I could remember what the name was so I can make sure I have more seeds for next year.
A few weeks back, I picked up these pretty mums at the grocery store with the intent of putting them in the garden. I was surprised to fin there were actually three plants in the pot. I’m hoping that they are perrenial mum. The grocery store mums never say, because they are sold as just seasonal items. But I’ve gotten lucky with a couple.
These two were both perennial mums bought from the grocery store. And although they look very similar here, the one on the left is much larger, and the one on the right it normally a much brighter pink.
You’ll recall that I moved the toad lilies out of the catio this year – as they were attracting the hummingbirds into the danger zone.
They didn’t bloom earlier enough for the hummingbirds this year – but they are thriving in two of the spot I put them. In two other spots, they haven’t done so well but those spots are much dryer and I think with the lack of rain, it was just too much for them. Not sure if they will come back next year. But I have plenty in the spots they did do well in.
As the season winds down, there’s nothing to do but enjoy every last bloom.
A couple weeks ago… I looked out my front window and spied something curious on the side of the road in front of my neighbours….
It was a rather large cat tree that looked to be in somewhat decent shape. You can bet I skipped across the street as fast as I could to check it out. It needed some work – one of the poles was loose. The neighbour was getting rid of it because their cat prefered a different tree. So I brought it into the backyard to show Dave. He assured me he could fix the broken pole.
He had it fixed up and cleaned up in no time. It does have some wear, but nothing that would bother the boys. As you can see, Burton checked it out immediately.
He especially liked the basket/hoop bed that hung off the side.
Though it is a bit of a snug fit. He doesn’t seem to mind.
Now the boys already have a smaller cat tree in the front window… but I thought this one was a good fit for the sun porch.
We’ve got the plastic up on the windows for the colder weather, so it’s nice and toasty in there right now.
Wandering Cat Studio 