Teasing Elliot

 Evenings at our house are CRAZY!  The kids come home from school and the house explodes.  Papers come at me from every direction.  On this particular night, we were all a little tired and ready to be done with homework.  Elliot was ready for us to be done too.  

Anna put some fairy wings on him and we all thought it was hysterical.  The poor thing.

Elliot decided to sit on Anna's lap.  She was trying to do her homework and kept pushing him away.  He decided to make it so she couldn't work.

A few things to point out in this picture.

I'm wearing green scrubs and I'm not a nurse.  They are the best thing to wear doing housework and gardening.  

I had just finished folding laundry and it was still on the table and hanging up.  Backpacks consume my house.

Birds and Bird dogs

The other day as I was driving around Custer, trying to find a naughty dog, I came across a tree full of birds.  I know, shocking that I would notice them.  I didn't have my camera with me so I ran home and grabbed it.  When I say "ran", that wasn't literal.  Haha, me running?

 I could kick myself for not having my binoculars.  That sounded way too nerdy.  I couldn't tell what the brown birds were.  They are as big as the bald eagle.  I was able to walk right under the tree and watch them.  As soon as they all started to make noise, I hightailed it to the van.  I didn't want to end up like Troy.  I'll have to tell the story about how he was attacked by a hawk sometime.  So funny!

 This tree off in the distance had even more in it.

I should just go and ask one of the local farmers.  It was fun for me to spot so many at the same time.  My kids get so annoyed with me when I have to pull over for photo's or to figure out a bird.  Troy completely tolerates it.  He deals with it stoically, like a brave, fierce warrior going into battle.  A warrior who rolls his eyes.  As for Elliot?  He ended up coming home later on acting like nothing happened.  He was out messing around with his friend Buddy.  Elliot talked Buddy into busting out of his invisible eclectic fence.  Needless to say our neighbors weren't very happy with Elliot. The ponds are full of ducks right now.  What do we expect a German Short hair and a Yellow Lab to do for fun? 

Animal house

 Izzie photo bombed Elliot!  To say I love animals is an understatement.  These two here are such loves.  Izzie is having a hard time getting up and around these days.  You can see from the pick how much it hurts her.  Most of the time we have to help her up and move around.  Then she surprises us and runs around.

This winter has been especially hard for her.  Lots of heating pads for her!  She loves them.

 It's amazing to see how much Elliot has changed since we got him.  His coat is shinny, he's fattened up.  I love making them happy. Troy lovingly calls them Damn Dogs.  He calls the cats, Damn cats.  Guess what he calls the Guinea Pigs.  You got it!  Damn Guinea Pigs.

We really do have amazing animals.  The pond was full of ducks and they were making a lot of noise.  The dogs were very intently watching them.

I live for this

 My whole life, Autumn has been my favorite season.

The colors and smells.

The cool crisp air.

Watching nature getting ready for winter.

The harvesting. 

 I have loved being here during the fall season.  Every day I wake up to the fog hanging low over the ground smelling of the ocean.  Everything covered in droplets of water from the moisture in the air.  The kids and I have joked that you can take a drink by just breathing in the morning.

 I was able to use a lot of the fruits from the trees we have but this tree was very wormy.  I hated seeing all those apples go to waste.  The deer love to come eat them though.

 I love to walk through the little forest with our dogs and cats.  Yes, I said cats.  If they are outside they will follow me into the woods and walk with me.  The love climbing the trees.  Elliot came with me this day that I went looking to take pictures of mushrooms.  They are all over the forest floor right now.

 We are so lucky to have this good looking guy.  Aside from having a bad habit of digging, he's the sweetest thing.  He loves being outside with me.

 I still haven't found out what this is.

I just wanted to share a little bit of my love for fall with you all.