This weekend we finally had an end to the seemingly endless Indian Summer here in Indiana.  Weeks of lazy warm days lasted all through September, and October was warm and dry.  In fact, the leaves did not take the hint and really change color and drop until Halloween.  They carried that tired, dull look of a summer too long and an autumn too late, as though the trees were weary of growing and supporting all that green.  But they just couldn’t find weather cold enough to make them change into their bright fall colors.  All of a sudden, it seemed, our trees turned gorgeous and then lost all their leaves in what looks like leaf snow-storms, burying our lawn more quickly than we could keep them vaccumed up.  Yes siree, leaves are beautiful, but they also suck…up into our lawn vac, or else the shear quantity will matt on the lawn and kill the grass.  Believe me, we have tried leaving them and we know how that turns out!

Yesterday the weather turned suddenly quite cold, with a sharp wind and sleet later in the evening.  As I was busy plying yarn, I could hear the ice pellets pelt the large windows in our 4-season room.  It was rather nice having all the chores done and nothing more to do that evening than fool with my handspun.  In a way, we have been waiting for the break in outdoor chores that only winter can bring.

This morning was cold and sunny.  I went to the barn for the morning barn-cat feeding, a ritual that started when Mamacat gave us four beautiful kittens last July.  They were all there waiting for me, with the silver tabby twins Gipeto and Pretty Kitten (give me a break, I ran out of names!) running through the cold wet grass to greet me.  They were not all that interested in their dry kibble, which has been cleaned out, as it was every night, by the roving tom cat that has been stealing naps in our dry and warm hay storage.  What they wanted was their treat of canned cat food.  I popped open two cans, but was dismayed to realize how cold the food was; since we keep the cans in the most convenient place: the barn.  They ate at the congealed mass in their dishes as best they could, and it reminded me of the hungry licking of ice cream or a pop-sickle.  This must be salmon-flavored Friskie-sickles to them.  We brought the remaining cans into the house so that we can serve up at least room temperature meals on the cold mornings that will follow over the next few months. 

I was a little slow to notice, but I have to thank Orata from FeatherAndFan for her nice photos of the beautiful scarf she made out of our Lily Super Silky Llama yarn.  I think I need to learn that pattern and try it myself!   Take a pause from here and head on over the FeatherAndFan and check it out.