We had rain and some gusty winds from former hurricane Zeta. As we waited for the storm to end, I spotted rainbows while sitting at the computer. The first one was brilliant, although the photo does not show it well. Grandson David came running to see it, and son John $pencer saw it from his room.
About an hour later I looked up, and there was a flattened rainbow. It looked like a giant had stepped on it. Clouds coming between us and the sun erased it momentarily. We played peek-a-boo for several minutes.
Flattened rainbow in center of photo
David had a rare day off, so he, John, and I went out for lunch and drove to Sunburst Falls. We had never seen the stream so full of water. Most impressive! For comparison, on the left there is a photo taken in December of 2019 with Lise and David on the rocks. The current photo on the right shows David with the swollen stream.
Below is a zoomed shot of David and the rushing torrent.
The end of the day was gorgeous with blue skies and fluffy clouds. The flooding? That would be moonlight flooding into the bedroom in the middle of the night, enough to cast shadows!
My brother Bob and Beth proposed an afternoon visit, and we were delighted. It had been months since we last saw them. That morning I looked at the trees in our neighborhood, knowing they enjoy autumn leaves in the mountains. I hoped they would have a lovely drive from Winston Salem and would see something as bright as this.
We were on our street when I whipped out the camera again. I labeled this photo “Not a Pyramid”. One of the first things Beth said was they had rain and mist all the way until they came to Asheville. At least the last half hour of their trip was more pleasant.
Not a pyramid — our street
The following photo shows Bob and Beth wearing masks on our front porch. They have been careful to avoid COVID-19, and so far that has paid off. They told us their grandson Sam caught the virus at college, although he had been careful, too. He had a cough and didn’t feel very well for a couple of days. John served them fresh apple cider he bought from the orchard a few days before.
As I put down my drink, the camera fell off my lap onto the floor. That was a good excuse to take another picture to make sure it was still working. The day was warm and sunny, perfect for sitting outside. As the sun moved, we scooted our chairs to stay out of the direct sunlight. I especially enjoyed hearing about their grandchildren and Beth’s family. Their granddaughter Kate has many of the same complaints Nathaniel has about on-line classes. Both are coping, but classroom learning is far better. Beth and Bob have enjoyed watching grandson Max play high school football on line. They live an hour or so away, so it’s really convenient to watch him from their living room.
Having a concentrated visit was most satisfactory. Son John $pencer was with us before I took photos, and he was very glad to see them again. We all hope to be together around Thanksgiving.
Son John $pencer has a little camping auger he has been experimenting with. He drilled holes in a stump and showed grandsons David and Nathaniel how to set a tiny fire in it. The young men were in the dark, although they saw the light.
On our way to take Nathaniel back to his dorm, we ate at Flat Rock Wood Room not far from Carl Sandburg’s home. We were surprised to find any restaurant equally featuring barbecue and pizza. I thought the food was tasty and served imaginatively. The fellows all had a skillet filled with macaroni and cheese, topped with barbecued pork. David’s side dish was fried sweet potatoes in a tiny bucket. I had shrimp and grits with barbecue sauce.
You can tell I was trying to fit faces and food in the shot without paying attention to one face.
On the way home I savored the memories of Nathaniel’s quick visit. He told us about his busy life – working one job in the dorm and one in the cafeteria, for a total of 40 hours a week. He attends one class in person and takes the rest of his classes on line. He doesn’t have much time to cook. I was delighted that he brought some sweet potatoes and was willing to prepare them any way we wanted. It’s a pleasure to cook with him. He never gets in my way, and I try to stay out of his. The mashed sweets were marvelous.
My favorite story was set in the cafeteria. There was an area in the dining room where people were not supposed to step. Despite a sign on the floor, people continually walked there while glued to their phones. Nathaniel suggested they tape it off and put a mannequin there. It was his suggestion that turned into his assignment. He said he changed the clothes on the mannequin once a week and put it in different positions on the floor. Lots of people commented on it, and no one stepped there again. I wish I’d asked for a photo, because I’m sure he took a few.
After we came home, David and I were relaxing in easy chairs. I said, “I don’t think Nathaniel moved the mirror down.”
John had looked and said that was correct. David got up, and I reached for the camera. The ritual was obligatory, even without Nathaniel. With the mirror lower, John and I can now see our heads. It would be comfortable for David about five inches higher.
We spent half a day with grandson David before driving to pick up grandson Nathaniel in the evening. How blessed we are to have these young men in our lives!
David, John, and I drove to Carver’s Apple Orchard. We enjoyed the mostly golden leaves on the mountainsides. The restaurant on the premises was full! Here is a photo of the dining room, for those of you who may have forgotten what a full restaurant looks like.
The orchard is visible from the windows.
It’s fun to have a picture of my dining companions, one of whom is always willing to pose.
[I don’t know how to make the above photo and words smaller.]
After eating, we walked through the market full of apples, cider, jams, honey, and vegetables. It was the first time we’d ever seen men grading apples. They quickly picked out some to go in bushel baskets, and the rest continued on the conveyor belt to a large bin on the left.
On the way home, John drove on a small road beside the Pigeon River. I listened to the sound of the water going over rocks as David went down the steep bank to walk beside the water.
David was helping a friend and didn’t go with us to pick up Nathaniel. They had their own reunion when we got back. John reminded us to do the mirror ceremony. (It’s a ritual that Nathaniel raises the mirror to a level where he can see his face. He moves it back down when he leaves.)
The next day Nathaniel concentrated on school projects while David was at work. Nate asked about building a fire as son John $pencer walked through the room. John joined the two of them as they burned the old wood from the deck. That activity was a perfect diversion from studying. What could be better for a pyromaniac than being outdoors and tending a fire?
We are beginning to have colorful trees near our home, but I haven’t found an arresting view yet. I stopped to take a photo of a burning bush we pass on our walk. This is the first year I noticed it has red berries. The leaves are getting redder and should be more dramatic in a few days.
Our one little rosebush was valiantly hanging on, keeping as much color as it could.
I didn’t notice the clematis bloom until I was pulling creeping thyme from a border. This plant produced two or three mediocre flowers in the spring and saved up all its strength to produce this stunner.
I hope you are enjoying the changing seasons wherever you are.
Grandson David took a few vacation days to go to the train club with John. He knows people there and was pleased to spend time with two men named Bob from the Long Island club, shown here with their steam engines and John between them.
Bob W, John, and Bob A
I liked David’s photo of a few of the trains running that day. Can you see the steam coming out of the smokestack nearest the camera? Those trains burn coal or oil. I don’t know the people in the picture.
David took a photo as Bob drove the train through woods. David’s knees are in the foreground.
David was eating a homemade breakfast sandwich, which developed a cheese tongue as he ate. I was very aware of tongues from avoiding Sadie’s.
The big rock in the creek often snags branches, but this time the catch looked like a board covered with cloth. Unless someone moves it, the board will stay there until the next heavy rain.
Sadie, Rose’s dog, has gone to live with Rose in Tennessee. Oh! How quiet the house is! We have no barky alert when someone comes down the street. There is no auto-vacuum in the kitchen or under the dining table. We miss our walking partner on a leash.
Sadie’s favorite place in the bedroom was the recliner. She spent hours there while I wrote and read blogs. Whenever I stood up, I’d pet her, and she’d squirm around so that I could scratch her tummy.
She is no happier being photographed than the rest of the family.
Today the shams are back in place on the bed. Several weeks ago I was surprised and pleased that Sadie jumped on the bed and took a nap with me. I barricaded her after that, because I didn’t want fleas in the bed. You see, I gave Sadie fleas. A couple of weeks before she came to stay, I saw a flea jump from the counter in the bathroom. I must have brought it and its family in from the garden. We vacuumed more often than usual, but the fleas loved catching a ride on Sadie. If we find more fleas, we’ll use a spray, which I didn’t want to use with the dog in the house.
Sadie barricades in place
This is my favorite photo of son John $pencer with Sadie. They had been playing hard, and he held her for a minute to calm her down. We both petted her a lot the days before she left.
I missed our morning routine. When I was dressed for walking, I’d say Sadie’s name softly outside $’s door. In two seconds, I’d hear her feet hit the floor and would open the door to let her out. She’d go straight to the front door and wait for me to attach her leash.
Hello CAT As we walked toward the bend in the road, John wondered how long it would take the cat to come out again. Twice she came nervously to the top of her driveway as John held Sadie a distance away. It had been weeks since we’d seen her. Today she jumped out of bushes and ran over to greet us. We call her CAT. She has a fancy name given her by neighbor Warren’s daughter, but Warren calls her CAT. I say it in a softer tone of voice. She loved the petting and walked along with us until something prompted her to hunt in the woods. I took a quick photo, because she is not one to pose for me. She seems to have forgiven us for walking Sadie.
CAT
Rose sent $ a video of Sadie meeting her grandson Easton. The three-month-old sat on the floor next to Sadie. The baby reached out his hand as Sadie sniffed him and licked his hand. They are off to a good start. Good girl, Sadie!
Son John $pencer talked about Sadie’s liking water. When he and Rose would hike near streams and waterfalls, Sadie was always eager to get wet. We found that she liked the run-off from a neighbor’s French drain. I would not have wanted to splash through that cold water barefooted.
It was amusing to watch the dog run through the stream. She would go two or three steps and dip her head to take a sip of water, without breaking her stride.
As we neared home, I took a shot of John and Sadie with neighbor Joyce’s tree. Those leaves turned orange and began to fall almost immediately. There is never enough time to get tired of fall foliage.
Perhaps Sadie saw it first, but I became aware of a cricket hopping across the bedroom carpet. I like crickets. I like singing crickets, but not at night in my bedroom. I picked up a small paper cup I keep on the computer desk for catching unwanted critters. As I moved toward the cricket, Sadie jumped off the recliner and lunged toward it. I couldn’t have said Jiminy Cricket before she had it in her mouth. Maybe it tickled her tongue, because she spit it out. In a split second it leaped out of sight. Sadie sniffed all around but couldn’t locate it. An hour later I saw the cricket again, and Sadie beat me to it a second time. When she let it out of her mouth, I swooped in with the cup. A political flyer was within reach, and I slipped that under the cup. Apologizing to Sadie all the while, I opened the door to the deck and flung the cricket into the night. She looked longingly into the darkness. More than likely, the cricket fell to the ground, since there is no floor on the deck at the moment.
I decided to take Sadie for a walk late in the afternoon, hoping to add another mile to my total. Walking, even at my pace, would be good for this high-energy dog. It might have been a humdrum outing, but I heard running footsteps behind me, and there was Logan (10)! He asked if he could go with me as he pulled on his jacket. Sadie was very excited to see her two-legged playmate. In an instant she rushed at him, jumping for joy. After passing two leashed dogs at the top of our street, she began to play roughly with Logan. I don’t like her jumping on him like that. As I held her tightly, she backed out of her collar! When I fumbled getting it back on, Logan clicked the collar easily. Sadie escaped again. I am so relieved she didn’t run away. Who knew an afternoon stroll would turn into a wrestling match? Thankfully, Sadie calmed down, and we walked to the stop sign without further trouble.
The sunlight was fading quickly as we headed home. Logan agreed to hold Sadie and pose, because he knows I love taking photos of him. You can see the golden light of a fall afternoon surrounding boy and dog. We got home as dusk deepened, when it would have been dangerous to walk on the road.
My name is Suki, my human is a writer, and this is about my world. The world according to Suki The Cat. My humans smell funny, look weird, and I can't understand a thing they say, but they feed me, so hey, what are you gonna do?
