AstroGypsies

I can’t find the cats out there! They match, they blend in! Good thing Groot has some white patches, and Rocket has a bright turquoise suit/leash…Gamora, well, the colour of dried grass she is!

Their morning walk is the highlight of their day, sometimes mine;) I’m sure they spend the afternoons bragging to each other and disseminating their hunting information (isn’t that a great word!). We keep pretty close tabs on all three when they are out but occaisonally have to rescue a chipmunk, we have several with bits of their tail missing, battle wounds. Yesterday I had to rescue a shrew, or vole, it was rearing up on it’s hind end, spitting and hissing at them with such bravery I made sure it found a hole in the rock wall to escape into…they are well fed…don’t need any supplemental mouse meat;) Not that I like them in the trailer though. The traps are set, we catch a few and donate them to the compost after being tossed around by the cats, where they are all gone in the morning, whether by racoon, coyote or the fox, they are being eaten:) They spend a great deal of time by what we call the chipmunk well (never ending chipmunks seem to emerge) looking in the cracks of the rocks, up at the blue jays and chickadees, it is a high entertainment area. I’m not sure the chipmunks share that feeling….

The chipmunks certainly know when it’s just me watching and photographing the birds, they are quite bold, but certainly have a good look around before going far! They are just too cute:) Now the black squirrels, Rocket has decided they have big nasty teeth and he is going to avoid them, at least it is a standoff, then they race off and up the trees. So far the red squirrels haven’t moved back from the bush, but they’ll show up sooner or later, hopefully with the Red Bellied Woodpecker. No sign yet! I usually hear them well before I see them, such a distinctive call. The Blue Jays are in feeding frenzy mode-didnt manage to convince one to sit long enough on the bright red sumacs before all the leaves fell but at least the chickadees co-operated!

Going into November we expect the gray days bit there still is so much colour about. I’m always surprised by that one tree hanging onto all it’s glorious leaves in the midst of the grays. I took a long paddle along the entire shore of the lake a few days ago, hunting season was starting the next day so I left my antler hat at home and headed out for a slow and quiet voyage, exploring every nook and cranny. It was fairly windy but if you kept close to the shore it wasn’t bad. At the far end of the lake, baby Loon, now teenager/juvenile Loon popped up right beside me scaring the crap out of me as I poodled along…typical teenager! ha! I hung about trying to keep the nose of the canoe into the wind waiting for him/her to reappear after the dive, and it did, with a rather large perch. It proceeded to bash it against the surface of the water several times, diving and repeating before it glugged it down! It’s eyes have finally turned the ruby red of it’s parents! Gorgeous!

I thought for sure it would have started South by now. I read my mid November they should be gone, I will try and paddle down and check on junior later this week, I need to round up something bright orange to wear so I’m not shot at;) I ran into a tiny doe, this years baby no doubt as I paddled along the shore, she must have wondered why the red canoe was talking to her;)

I hope our little buck survives this hunting season-I heard 8 shots in a row yesterday…really? You didn’t get it with the first one and you have to follow up with 7 more? Get new glasses, or get glasses, try some target practice, or hang up your gun old timer….sigh…It’s only two weeks of gunshots…can’t be over fast enough for me. I don’t particularily feel safe wandering around on the roads this time of year. Yup…humans worry me more than any wild animal…wait, we are animals, so homo sapiens worry me more than any other class of animal! I know there are ethical, respectful hunters out there but if your listen to a few property owner woes you realize there are also, a lot of assholes as well:)

We did get to make our way down a few of the beautiful cottage roads before all the leaves fell. This one road I am trying to capture in all 4 seasons. Two more seasons to go!

You would think the wildflowers would be done, but no, even though we have had several light frosts, flowers in November! What a treat! The Rock Harlequin I have only seen growing under the steps down to the lake, just one plant, but such beautiful blooms! The Orange Hawkweed is just a brilliant reminder how glorious Fall can be!

….and just the leaves themselves! Well, wow! The last few maples hanging on are so red. The first year Mullein leaves are very fuzzy and the raindrops stick to them. The Trumpet Lichen are starting to bloom-tiny light green trumpets blaring out their lichen song! Only the elves, fairies and gnomes really know;)

With the plentiful rain has come the mushrooms, out first Black Trumpets, Witches Caps, Agorics and more. They are popping out of tree trunks and the ground, from bright reds and yellow to pale shades of beige. Such a variety, and we’ve just started it seems! Some I do know, others I’m not sure what exactly they are! Astounding fungi in the forest!

It never ceases to amaze me the astounding variety of living organisms we share this planet with. You just have to look to find them, some people just can’t see it seems, or maybe their brains are concentrating on too many other things, they don’t know how to turn off the noise and listen and watch the forest. And such fear. The unknown? What? I can’t really say what drives so many people’s fears but if they could learn to overcome some of them, what a marvelous Earth they would find. My goal every day is to find something that makes me smile…not too hard here. That’s not counting orange cats either;) Rocket is underage, so no drugs;) ha! Just wine and coffee!

We have many gray and dull days ahead of us! I am so excited my “Color Chase Challenge” color is grey this month! Should not be hard to come by a few gray shots;) We are ready, the trailer was winterized yesterday-antifreeze in the lines, all bedding removed and washed, waiting to be put back in the Spring (those MICE!!!), steps and locks greased, underside checked for holes ( love that black extra wide duct tape!) again for…those MICE!!! I didn’t think I’d get shot under the trailer crawling about like a hermit crab but when I had to walk on the roof to clean off the slides before we pulled them in I did don my bright red jacket…”Not a deer up here!!!”…sigh…if their eyesight is that bad will it matter? 😉

Hopefully next year the Traveling Mewberries and Astrogypsies will be able to venture out, Canada’s East coast is calling…seafood…ocean smell…yes! But in the mean time, the canoe is still in the water, time for a few more paddles around the lake to check on that baby Loon! I’ll leave you with the morning mists, not too gray, yet…I keep pinching myself, I’m not in Kansas….wait, no Toto…;) Saludos amigos-are you still buzzing from all that candy? ha!