We have made it almost all the way through October without a real frost. There have been two nights with some frost on the roof of the barn, but nothing has reached the ground yet. The rain gauge told us we have had an inch and a half of rain over the past two days, which we needed, but the sun returned today and was most welcome.
Frosty roof early Monday 
Plenty of moisture 
Sunshine!
Before the sun rose over the trees, Cedar and Roscoe accompanied me to the barn to turn the horses out. Old Cedar is not quite as pungent outdoors, thankfully, and although she is going gray, she is as brave as ever when it comes to varmints. Roscoe, of course, was born gray, being a Maltese cat, and though not particularly brave, he is the king of cats.
No rain! 
Cedar 
Roscoe
Too bad Cedar lives in the house (especially too bad, since I can still sort of smell skunk!), because last night a deer varmint destroyed my catalpa tree, planted this Spring. Looks like someone had antlers that needed scratching. I guess I will be planting a tree again next Spring (with some protection). It doesn’t look like this one will recover.
Poor little catalpa tree!
You know who does not scare varmints? Weedy. His job is to love every creature he meets. And that is a tiring job.
Weedy wants more beauty sleep
Nathaniel and Allison came today to do some hard work, pulling and replacing posts. They are hard workers and lots of fun. Harry and I (with Weedy) had to go to Wentzville for concrete to set one post. Then, as usual, another trip was required to Marthasville for more supplies. No project is simple. We will finish next time, but there is already a big improvement. We feel very lucky to have strong, young people in our life.
I had my camera in the car when we saw geese on the neighbor’s lake
Jane and I rode on the ring before wandering through the woods, then Harry and I went trail riding. The ground was not terribly wet, and the trees were gorgeous in the slanting afternoon light. Those Pearl Brothers, though, were both bad boys. Bart spooked very hard, which I just hate. Then, Oisin leapt through the air with me on the trail, almost knocking Stone over! They were not good “old lady horses” today.
Bart is tired after a long hard ride for being spooky. Derry is perfect 
Bart enjoys the woods 
Oisin follows Stone 
After misbehaving, Oisin leads the way 
Harry on Stone, Anne on Oisin
Harry went back to work in the studio after riding.
Nettie helped me bring the horses in at the end of another day.
Stay safe, stay well. Peace.
So glad it was not my pilot error bc have not been able to open your post for several weeks. Kept meaning to call. I love them! Cindy
Everything is so beautiful and soft soothing, well not Oisin and his trail ride antics, and then! Wow! Exquisite photo of Nettie, surely one to frame! Is Cedar the matriarch? And, wonderful Weedy, loving every creature, and his own wisdom.
Cedar is not the oldest, but she is the grayest. Nettie has lived here the longest. She arrived from the Franklin County Humane Society (a “kill shelter”) in August, 2008, at about 6 months of age. We estimate her birthday at February, 2008. Next, Mistletoe was adopted from the same shelter in December, 2009. She was adult, so maybe the same age as Nettie? 13 at least. In February, 2012 Cedar came to us from St. Louis Stray Rescue ( a “NO kill shelter”), with an estimated age of 3, making her about 12. Weedy is the baby boy at about 7 – he wandered into our life in December, 2015, already neutered, at estimated one year of age. It’s an elderly pack!