Fall on Arbor

In addition to watching the colors, this fall has been fun for critters.   After my porch pumpkins got some squirrel nibbles, I put one under my office window so I could watch the squirrels in action!  It was a lot of fun to see all the squirrels and birds rotate through the pumpkin buffet.   After Thanksgiving we had an indoor pumpkin that was starting to look bad, so I sliced the top off and put it outside the window.  It was gone in a day.   Literally nothing lefts but a few seeds.  I read that squirrels don't love pumpkin; they just eat it because they know they need to.  The December squirrels were much more aggressive/hungrier than the early November squirrels.  

The leaves didn't really fall until after Halloween.   There were a few trees with my favorite oranges and reds, but most of our leaves were yellow.  So. Many. Leaves!   Our landscapers mowed them up three times.   The first two times was when the township was coming through with trucks to suck them up, so they piled them along the street.  The third time in December they had to be hauled off.   I was actually surprised they came back another day for that.    In mid-November, we had our first overnight guest, Rosie the Dog.   Her tennis balls were sometimes hard to find among the piles of yellow leaves! But our yard has some patchy spots that need filled in, so with the rain, I was glad to have leaves instead of mud from a dog racing through the yard top speed!

Also a big treat for us is the daily owl sightings.    Owlfred Hitchcock arrives each dusk - which in December is around 4:15 p.m. - and perches in the same tree over the hot tub.    His partner, Owlma, usually sits in a tree in the back of the yard, and we listen to them hoot to one another.   One time, as I was walking up the driveway from getting the mail, I saw both of them in the same tree.   So happy I had my phone in my pocket to snap that picture!   Several times we have been too eager in our observations (talking excitedly...e.g. loudly) and caused them to fly off.  I feel bad about that.  But I also enjoy watching them fly!