Fall colors are coming on. We are getting harder frosts, however, so I expect the colors and plants will start fading pretty quickly.

 

 

Ronsencrantz refused to look at me while I laid on the couch and pestered him with my camera. Sometimes he poses like a pro, other times he doesn’t want to be bothered.

In spite of the winds, which seems to have blown most of the pain I was having yesterday away today, I managed to get some relatively clear photos of roses that where being whipped around by the various gusts.

A few weeks ago when Ben Lolli came through town, he, Eriks Chase and I filmed a spoof trailer that Ben had been thinking about for awhile. I provided the place, weapons and did most of the filming, Ben put it all together. The resulting trailer and making of are very entertaining.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KhvMOkTwx8&feature=player_embedded

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm2kzO9Y5ZM

 

 

I think the weather will change. My back and joints had been doing really well all week, but today I’m having a lot of pain despite the fact it’s been a beautiful, warm autumn day.

I ventured out to the bosque and river this morning to photograph the Sandias with the cottonwoods turning to gold. While I was standing on the riverbank a couple of cranes flew directly over me, looking like stealth fighter planes, before they soared overhead.

Iceberg was beautiful in the early morning light. She looks even better in B&W.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bestiary (MS Bodley 764) tells of a tree found in India that has fruit that is sweet and pleasant. The doves delight in the fruit and live in the tree. Dragons, who are enemies of doves, fear the tree and its shadow and cannot approach either. If the tree casts it’s shadow from the west, the dragons fly east, and if the shadow falls from the east the dragons fly west. If the dragons find doves outside the protection of the tree and its shadow, they kill the doves. The tree, its shadow and the doves are metaphors for God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, while the dragons are the devil according to the Book of Beasts. A rose, a glass of wine and the Bestiary, too, cast shadows.

The insects were out foraging through the blossoms in the warm midday sun. I had hard frost on the rear window of my car when I left early this morning to take the car in for service. The morning glories have all but succumbed to the early morning frosts, but the roses and butterfly bushes are defiant, and seem to delight in the cold. The hibiscus is still blooming like it was midsummer.

I hadn’t taken my car in for service for over a year because of our health issues. I like to take it to the dealer for service, but they are clear across town, which pushes up the response cost. I turned 60,000 miles on my Mazda 5 about a month ago, and figured the 60K service might run into big bucks, especially since I hadn’t had the car in for service for so long. Much to my surprise, the only issue it had was the front struts are leaking from our rough, dusty road, but otherwise in good, safe condition; therefore, I don’t have to change them yet. The bill came to $35. A 60K service for thirty-five dollars is quite a deal if you ask me.

My GPS is a little flakey. I cycled one of my training routes that measures 24 miles on google maps. It measured almost 25 miles on my GPS the first time I rode it with the GPS; however, today it measured only 21.5 miles. The only thing that varies on the route is the wind and how I’m feeling. Actually, the GPS has never measured any of my training routes the same distance twice. It always varies by a half mile to two miles even on 10 mile rides. I think the variation comes from when it acquires the satellites.

I’m not sure if Rosencrantz was thinking about Halloween or had something more sinister on his mind, but he was sneaking around on the counter in sheep’s clothing tonight. He did blend into the white counter better in sheep skin, and the sheep’s face is adorable, so he could certainly sneak well, and get lots of “Oh! How cute!” and “Isn’t that adorable!” from people before he decided to attack.

The hibiscus is still blooming. We keep thinking it’s going to stop with the cold, frosty nights, but it continues to bloom daily as it’s done since we got it at the end of May. Sundance and Solstice are also defying the cold, producing some of their best blooms so far this year.