A Warm November Day

Weather forecasts are famously unreliable, but there seemed little doubt that today was to be a warm one and tomorrow it will be correspondingly miserable. It is ominously sultry this evening, and predictions are for a steep drop in the morning, with steady rain. So, we made the most of this glorious day outdoors.

Marmalade and Tom Morris greeted me as I came out of the house. Cedar followed them along the path to the barn for her sunrise cat food scatter. Cedar gets a handful of cat food every morning to dissuade her from raiding the bowls in the shed. It’s like a mafia protection payment, and it works.

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Harlan arrived right on schedule and worked his magic on the dumpster. We had a short visit. My inclination to chat slows his Tuesday schedule, but he never seems aggravated. I enjoy following the weekly updates on his life.

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Harry and Weedy went off to town to get groceries .

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Barn chores were pleasant on such a beautiful day. Jane and I reset some jumps on the ring so that we could have our own little jumpfest. It was almost too warm, but the horses were delightful, and we didn’t hear any rifles in the vicinity, though we did see quite a few deer.

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Afterwards, we took pictures with the good camera to remember this warm November day.

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As we rode through the woods, we saw several burning bushes, very evident with their flaming red leaves. Unfortunately, they do not belong in the forest, as they are invasive, and they are not a native species. It’s a shame, because they are so pretty at this time of year. At this point in my life, though, I can only focus on the three worst invasive plants, as I see them. #1 worst offender is Japanese Bush Honeysuckle. #2 is Russian Olive, and #3 is Multiflora Rose. The burning bushes I will leave for the next generation to eradicate.

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After riding, I turned Bart out to roll. First one side, then the other. After Stone and Oisin saw him rolling, they followed suit, but I missed pictures of them.

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Harry returned from his errands for lunch, and then back to work. I needed a picture with the remaining maple leaves, they are so resplendent.

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I had various chores to do, all more palatable than usual, with the balmy weather. While I was puttering about, Marilyn rode through. Trigger looked beautiful, in his dark winter coat. He will be glad of it later this week, but it was perhaps too cozy for today. Weedy and Cedar were very upset to see Roy romping while they were behind the fence.

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I peeked in the window to see Harry at work in the studio.

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And finally, one more picture of autumn color, with Harry for perspective.

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Stay safe, stay well. Peace.