Crisp Fall Mornings Arrive

  It's that time of year when we begin the slow and steady slide to winter. The past six mornings have all been in the 40's but one. Tuesday morning (10/06) dipped to 38° and gave me reason to check for frost. But there was none.

 My personal records for frost go back to 1974. After 51 years of watching for the first frost, the average date here is 10/09. That's tomorrow ... but there's no chance of frost then this year.

 This morning dipped to 46° and I'm finding a hoodie is a good addition when I step out the door. I'm wearing shorts but my legs don't seem to get cold.

7:46 am

 The sun rose this morning at about 7:39 am so as I walked out my driveway I saw the sun still on the horizon. Sunset will get a minute or two later every morning and pass 8 am on 10/28. 

 It's a perfectly quiet time but for an occasional car passing.

7:55 am

Nine minutes later I have dropped the morning newspaper off at my neighbors and  I am starting back out her lane. She gets the Dayton Daily News on Sunday, Thursday and Friday and I always make sure she has it first thing every day.

8:01 am

 I'm now partway out the lane and enjoying the sun getting ever higher and bathing the corn in its golden light. I'm expecting the corn to be harvested soon and then my corridor of privacy will be taken from me.

 By the way, I watch every morning this time of year for my shadow to line up with a massive tree in her lane. I can usually see my dark profile there on this date. But the corn has to be harvested before the sun hits the tree so I may not have the view this year. Check here to see what I'm talking about.

 By the time I'm back home I'm a little chilled but the exercise has awakened me for the day. It's a special time for me, and one I enjoy year-round but for when it's raining hard or the snow is deep enough.

 At 77 I'll miss this when I can no longer do it. But for now it's the start of every day and nothing would seem right without it.

Two More Pines Down

  As I've said in the past, Pinehaven may have been given the wrong name. The pines I so carefully planted nearly four decades ago are dying at a fast clip. I suppose the  climate here was a stretch even from the beginning but with global warming it's becoming even more so.

 And the rain. It's either nothing or everything.

 Two day ago Tom was trying to get caught up with the limbs we needed to burn. Ohio's "burn ban" begins October 1 and that means no open burning from 6 am to 6 pm. So we knew we had just two days to get caught up as much as possible.

 Then, yesterday Tom decided to take down two pines that have been dead for some time. While I mowed, Tom chain-sawed both trees.

 Both were at the rear of the property (west side) and both were not very large.

 Tom carried most of the limbs to the burn barrel and I followed up with some of the larger logs on the two-wheeler. We finished late in the day.

 For our own information, Tom recently bought a battery-powered chain saw on Temu and it works like a charm. It cuts far more than I would have thought and the two 20V batteries charge quickly. So I remember the brand and model number, I took these pictures:

 And here's the package with an extra 20" chain:

09-30-26 Late Afternoon: I put one of our burn rings around the largest of the cut pines and Tom has begun burning out the trunk. It's big enough that this is going to take a few days.

Later (10-01-26):

 Tom began burning the second pine stump. One day ought to do it.

 Late last evening I walked out to see how the stump was burning and I found mostly embers. I'd say it's about gone.

Apple Dumplings

  Every fall I start thinking about apple dumplings. Today I stopped at Crossroad Orchard in Miamisburg and picked up a half peck of an apple Sue recommended for just this purpose. She had only one bag on display and said that the apple (I forget the name) was slightly tart and crisp and would be perfect for dumplings.

 Yesterday when we  were at Meijer I bought a roll of puff pastry in the dairy department. I figured it would work well. I unrolled the pastry and cut it into four equal squares. Thus I was able to make only four dumplings.

 I left them in the oven the shortest time noted (50 minutes). It says they should be "golden brown and crisp on top". I'd say that's how they turned out.

 I cut the sauce recipe in half but it still produced too much. I remember Mom sometimes adding a drop of red food coloring but Tom prefers them left alone. I did add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the sauce and also a little brown sugar. This recipe is certainly old-fashioned.

 Here's the basic recipe.

Another Round of Storms

  Last evening (09/20/26) we had a batch of thunderstorms move through - slowly! -  and I don't think I've ever seen more lightning. When  I came up to brush my teeth at 8 pm, I grabbed a flashlight in case the power went out (it didn't). But I stood there before turning on the light and realized everything was continually and brightly lit.

 In fact the Tempest recorded over 13,000 strikes.

 We had what might have been a tornado go just south of us. The radar looked pretty ominous  ...

 

You can see the red outline of the tornado warning just south of  Farmjersville.

 The rain was pretty much centered on Montgomery County. Here's the CoCo readings at 7 am this morning:

 My 1.74" is on the lower left.

 September now stands at 4.38". Normal for the month is 3.20".

Night of the Web Weavers

  Who likes to walk into a spider web unannounced? We start batting our arms trying to wipe it off. Impossible!

 I've been watching an Orb Weaver (Yellow Garden Spider or Argiope aurantia) do his work on the outside of our kitchen window. I often look up and see his black and yellow body sitting at  the top of the web, waiting for the telltale vibration of a trapped insect.

 This morning,  though, I've marveled at the webs strung between tree branches in the high humidity (95%) after the past day's rain. The drops of moisture make them stand out like gossamer ropes.

 I've seen them cover the vast distance across our neighbor's lane (visible on the far right in the photo above). When I first saw it I carefully walked around it and smiled at my resourcefulness. Later, when I took the dog out, I walked right through it.

 I've noticed, too, the tiny puffs of webs atop the grass, like pincushions made of exhaled smoke. They're everywhere this morning.

Credit: The Augusta Chronicle

 The Argiope is made visible every fall as the seasons change.

Lois Celebrates 100 Years

  Lois Masters had her 100th birthday yesterday (09/11/26) and today her family had a celebration at the Miamisburg American Legion.

Miamisburg Mayor Michelle Collins

 The mayor proclaimed today Lois Masters Day in Miamisburg.

Lois Masters - At the century mark ... plus one day!

Cupcakes presented digitally

 There was quite a crowd in attendance. Food was served and live music was provided.

 I've blogged about previous gatherings for Lois: 99 and 90.

Moving a Load of Logs

  Our pile of logs has been growing over the past few years due to trees coming down. It serves as a great screen to our burn barrel so I like it for that. But as it grew higher and wider, it also occasionally fell. Recently the top was leaning into the yard and I expected it to let go at any moment.

 Nice problem to have: too much wood. Though we have a wood-burning Buck stove insert in our fireplace, I've never much liked carrying wood in and carrying ashes out. But it's always been something positive to consider when the power goes out in the winter (and it certainly does).

 Nevertheless, we had too much wood. I told friends some was available for the taking but I didn't have a single person show any interest. Until one of Tom's friends in West Chester said he'd take some off our hands. Tom is driving down today to a meeting of his Star Wars club and he'll take a load of logs with him.

 But that meant loading some into his truck.

 It's not a project either of us have looked forward to. My back won't take much exercise of that sort. So, too, Tom. But late yesterday - temperature near 80° - we got to it.

 Tom left the truck sit there overnight. I woke about 6 am and heard it storming and figured the truck might need unloading in the rain. But radar shows the rainy area small and I think they'll be able to complete the work and stay dry (except for the sweat).

 The pile hasn't changed as much as we  thought it would. Tom rearranged much of it so it doesn't lean inward. At the very least, we bought time. Tom's friend says he'll take more at another  time.