Blown away .....me or the leaves?

Here I am, writing my blog on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, in front of the fireplace.  At this rate, we will be burning all the wood that we stacked up a few weeks ago....  Russell has had a number of all day fires so far this Fall and today is no exception. We love it, especially on a rainy or cloudy day.

This past week's weather was simply gorgeous.  Every day brought warm sunshine and a nice breeze.  The leaves are falling rapidly.  I used the leaf blower for the first time on Thursday.  Wow, I was almost blown away by the velocity of it.  It is a pretty powerful blower but actually quite light to carry on the shoulders.  It certainly does the job, although at the rate that the leaves are falling, it is hard to keep up.  It goes without saying that Cooper, with his full coat, is a leaf magnet.  He brings them into the house every chance he gets!  He loves running around in the pile of leaves.

We got a few things done around the house this week but I didn't finish mulching.  Every time I wanted to do it, something better got in the way, like sitting on the deck soaking up the sun.  Those days won't last so we want to enjoy every singe one of them.  I did get the winter gear organized and I also donated two bags of clothes that I no longer wear.  It makes me feel good to do this once in a while. We also made arrangements to have our boat put away.   On Wednesday night, Russell took his photography gear to the bottom of our driveway and took some nice pictures of the clear sky.  I attach a picture of the Milky-Way in its glory.  This is a hobby that Russell truly enjoys and Huntsville is a great place for it, especially for night photography.

Cooper had a busy week of his own. On Wednesday, we went to the vet for his yearly Lepto vaccine. As usual, he didn't flinch when the vet tech gave him the needle.  For him, going to the vet is a good experience.  He loves the technicians to pieces and they love him in return.  After the vaccine, we went for a walk near by just in case he had a reaction, which he didn't have.  On Thursday, the Coop had a play date with Brenna.  I promise to get a picture of the two of them playing.  They have become great friends.  I should add that we are pondering whether we should get a playmate for Cooper.  It is a big decision, which we will not make lightly.

Russell's Mom is holding on but is getting weaker and sleeps more. We do speak with her every day and we are in touch with the nurses and doctors on a regular basis. We are driving to Montreal tomorrow morning to visit her.  At this point, we don't know if each visit with her will be our last so we want to make the most of each.

That's about it for this week's blog. I wish you all a great week leading to the Thanksgiving weekend.

Anne with the Stihl, Magnum BR 600...a brute of a blower.

The Magnum and Anne make quick work of the fallen leaves.

Milky-Way from our driveway...awesome!