From this window - 9/21/12

The weather has abruptly turned in the midwest.  From hotter than normal to cooler than normal this early in the year.  We're enjoying late fall weather right now.  In the low 70s during the day and down to the upper 30s in the evening.  Normally I would be panicked bringing in the plants that will winter over in the house but for some reason this year I'm unconcerned.  Maybe I'm just burnt out on gardening.  And my joints are feeling the strain of cleaning my studio.  I'm just about ready to call my doctor and beg for a cortisone shot in my shoulders.  No one who knows me would ever believe that I would be begging for an injection.  Aleve no longer cuts the pain so I won't be carrying any plants inside for a while.  We have a huge Norfolk Island Pine that spends the summer on what we call a porch.  It must be three feet across now and at least five feet tall.  There's an angel's trumpet that's blooming and should come in when temps fall below forty.  A Calamondin Orange tree that has ripening oranges on it.  An amaryllis and its five babies, a jade that's really getting big, several ivies that spent the summer outside and a tub of tropical pond plants.  Hubs says we move half the garden inside and I suppose we'll start soon but what a lot of work.   We (by we, I mean hubs) will have to dig up the cannas and I have to harvest seeds for the tithonia, zinnias, cleome, marigolds, and cardinal vines.  There are bushes to be removed from the front yard which block the sidewalk and plants from around the pond to be transplanted into that bed.  Such a lot to do and here I sit.  I'm tired just typing it.

The doe with the twins walked down the road next to my studio Tuesday evening.  We've only seen them a few times and were glad to see they were all fine.  The hummingbirds have come through in huge numbers, they can suck a feeder dry in no time.  Soon they will be all gone but we've had them as late as early October.  The white pelicans are migrating and we often now see large flocks of them circling over our house which is really close to the Illinois River.  The Asian Pears are ripe at the farm down the highway but it looks as if the owner isn't taking good care of his property.  It's up for sale, the road leading to the barn is in incredibly bad shape and the weeds are almost as high as I am tall.  I couldn't drive the road in my car so we take Carl's SUV to pick pears.  The pears are so wonderful.  They're my favorite fruit in all the world.  They have the texture of a crisp apple, the flavor of a pear and more juice than any one piece of fruit should be allowed to have.  I'll eat them until I can't get them anymore.  We've already gone through a small bushel and I'm out, so a trip to the pear farm is in order today.  Our local orchard (Tanners) is also open now.  The apples are much smaller than usual but I'm told are sweeter this year.  We made our first pilgrimage on Tuesday.  Taffy apples and brownies for Carl, Gala apples and caramel dip for me, apple pie for him, apple cider donuts and pumpkin butter for me.  My family has been going to Tanners in the fall since before I was born.  They started with just apples and cider and now it's a destination.  Petting zoo, picking apples, seasonal decorations, bakery, waterfall and pond inside, restaurant, corn maze, I've watched it grow over the years.  When Carl and I first started dating we made a trip to Tanners in my Bravado and I locked my keys in the car (that's what he does to me).  We had to call my SIL to break into my house and bring the extra car key out to us (in the boonies).  I gave him all my purchases from Tanners as a reward and went home apple-less.  The whole fiasco took us well past closing; it was dark and cold (without jackets) by the time we got the key.  It's the reason why I'm no longer allowed to drive him anywhere (and he married me anyway).