Indian summer

Now the trees across the road are in full color. Going to town or to the village is a real treat because you get to see the fantastic fall foliage. All the hills around here make terrific viewing when it comes to autumn color. We didn't have that where we lived down by the Illinois line. It was too close to flatland. Of course, you can see the elm that will become fire wood since it succumbed to Dutch elm disease.




Today Jake is working outside. He has to take advantage of the wonderful weather. He is digging a trench for a water line that won't freeze. The dairy barn was not equipped with a line that did not freeze. It always froze towards the end of winter when the last thing we wanted was trouble getting water out to the cows. This should take care of that problem. That will be a big improvement.

But.....Jake found another "attachment" that he "must" have for his Bobcat. We rented the backhoe attachment from the implement dealer. He loves it. I guess I love it, too, since it will mean that I won't have to drag a hose to water the cows in the dead of winter. I guess "you got to give some.......to get some."

It is quite a mess, but he knows what he is doing. It is a good thing because to me it just looks like a mess.



Ruffy and Dickie Smothers got a new home today. Neither of them is particularly happy about it, but that can't be helped. Fluffer may join them later; I just can't decide if I should do that or just leave him in with the big boys. There is no pasture, but there won't be green grass for much longer. They can get into a large pen in the barn when the weather is bad. The only problem is that their door will have to be closed when the weather gets snowy because otherwise the whole barn will fill up with snow. It is a west wall.


Of, course, we can't forget Junior. In the wall we bared last week, there was a hole for a chimney. Junior had to investigate. If there is trouble to get into, he will find it.

And today.............

This is where we started this morning after church and a great breakfast at the local bar. It sure isn't how things were in the Methodist church, but the bar serves a great breakfast and a lot of local color.


Of course, Libby had to get into the picture.



Here is the wall without the chimmney. When that was done, I remembered that wall is log. We decided that we had better bare the log before he put in the stove
since that will influence how far out from the wall we will place the stove. It was studded out. It wasn't even that much of a mess since it was drywall.



This is how it looked when Jake finished working today. The only thing he added after I took the picture is a cover for the hole in the ceiling. The room looks so much better now that it fits in with the rest of the house where we have log walls. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do, but that sure isn't news to us.

Oh, boy! Oh,boy! Oh, boy! Oh,boy! Oh, boy!

I am getting an improvement on our house. Jake is taking out a chimney in the living room and replacing it with the soapstone propane stove that we have in the dining room. The dining room was our living room for the first four years that we lived here. The chimney was framed in and had 1970's carpeting on it with mirrored squares over that. What a nightmare! It will almost be like we have a fireplace in our living room. That will be pretty special. I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited! And....besides that Pansy, the calico cat, loves to lay in front of the stove to cook herself. She is sooooo excited, too.



This is the stove that will be moved into the living room

















This is how the chimney looked in our living room, except now there is light coming in through the hole in the roof.











This is how the chimney looked on the outside. It is already gone! Plus.......Jake is fighting a losing battle with the bees outside. I hope they don't come in here in herds through the hole in the roof.

What's that white stuff?

Libby, my Florida dog, was very surprised to see that "white stuff" on the grass this morning. What can I say? I tried to tell her that it was a "Wisconsin thing", but she just didn't understand. Wait until the "real" white stuff happens. She is in for a total surprise.

The pictures are fall happening here. It looks different than it did this summer, and I love it. Jake started the outside wood stove yesterday evening. It is good to have heat and not have to think about paying for the propane. It is early, and he said we only had the wood stove off for four months. I guess that is just the way things are in this part of Wisconsin. Still, I hope for a much easier winter than we had last year. I really cannot believe that we are close to the start of another winter. Most of this year has been a very unpleasant blur for me. So far the only pleasant thing I can aremember about 2008 is the beautiful Shetland twins that Lucy gave me. They are still a joy to behold.

When I wasn't looking----

Then I was looking, and there were two dogs looking like misplaced bookends on the small couch. It was afternoon nap time. It really is "a dog's life".






Dave and Holly and their dogs came up for the weekend. Holly and I went to Cranfest. That is quite a "fest". We got there early and left early. I don't know how anyone would be able to see it all. I couldn't even remember what we had seen so I could tell if we needed to proceed in a certain direction. Much too much for me to take in. The best part of it was finding two of my cousins in their booth. That made my day.

Todd will leave the rehab place next Monday and go home. He will get home services, I hope, until he can get out to continue his rehabilitation. He sounds good and is VERY ready to be home and especially away from hosiptal food. ---Next step in a long journey.