September

We're well into September now and the leaves are starting to show it.  There are some reds and yellows, and all of the green leaves look a little faded.  This morning I paused to let a deer family of 3 cross the road--Dad was a spikehorn buck, Mom a nice doe and Baby was not too small but probably this year's.  We have a ton of turkeys these days, both adult and juvenile.  I was getting the paper yesterday and there was a huge flock of fledglings with a few adults in Jim & Pat's yard.  I had the dogs with me and boy were they excited.  I had to sit in the car for a while until the turkeys moved into the woods, which took a while.

My biggest news is that I bought a new car Labor Day weekend.  Lin went with me to Burlington, where I drove a Subaru Impreza and liked it enough to buy it that day.  It's all-wheel drive, which is something I've certainly longed for, but I had to buy the Sport package to get cruise control (a cruel trick on Subaru's part).  So I have heated seats, fog lights, roof rails, heated rear view mirrors (this is a true bonus) and other things that matter less.  It's a hatchback, another things I've longed for.  Am I happy with it?  Yes.  There are some things I miss about the Honda but this is a good choice and a nice car.  Do the dogs care?  Not a bit except that when Tess sits in the front passenger seat the alarm goes off continuously and annoys both her and me.  So she doesn't get to sit there.  I've had the car 2 weeks and it's got 850 miles on it.  Most of that is driving to and from work but I have taken a couple of long leisurely drives after going to the dump.  It's just a nice car to tour in.

I've made an appointment with the NY State Retirement rep for early October.  This is a big deal and I'm pretty nervous about it.  Excited, yes, but also nervous.  Getting down to the wire now.

There are still summer people in Hawkeye but Joe & Martha leave soon (Oct. 1) and Linda won't be far behind.  Duncan and Sue are here for the month which is a real treat.  Sue hosted book group last night (which was very generous of her, I thought).  We had plenty of food and a nice selection of things.  We actually talked about the book a bit (Amy Tan's The valley of amazement).  Not much, but a bit.  Next meeting is in October and we'll celebrate Christmas then so Linda can be part of the group.

I'm using the Kindle that Betty Rine loaned me and to my surprise I really enjoy it.  The combination of a Kindle and wireless Internet at home make it very, very easy to buy books.  I've bought a few but am trying to concentrate on PRINT books for a while since I have a huge collection of unread books in the house.  The Kindle is lovely for reading in bed and on the boat house porch.

I haven't been to the boat house for a while and need to get down there to start closing it up.  No one has been in camp for a while and I don't expect anyone to come this fall except for my cousins who will stay in their camp across the lake and take out the docks.  It's too cold for me to stay there these days, it was 34 Sat. morning and about that today.  It's sunny and nice but cool.  I do like September weather.

Not much else going on.  The mice are trying to take over my kitchen.  I've killed 17 so far and am sure there are many left.  Should I get a cat?  I ask myself that every time I set or empty the traps.  No, I don't want to have a cat.  I wouldn't mind having one, but it's another animal to care for and board when I go away.  I should just keep pet mice instead.

I was up during the night on Sat. and watched FarmAid.  Oh my but those men have aged.  John Mellencamp was OK but looks hard rode and his voice isn't what it used to be.  He's near & dear to my heart as a favorite of my father's and Jenica's.  I saw him live in Montreal once and it was a great show.  Anyway, he's still alive and kicking.  Neil Young was up next and he was good but rambled on and on about corporations and their evil ways.  His voice has held up.  Next was Willie Nelson who is OMG so very old.  He barely sings, just sort of recites the words.

Having lunch with my friend Barb today which will be a treat.  We'll go to the Greek restaurant downtown.  Yum.