"In leaves no step had trodden black"

(View from the Sleeping Giant's chin.)

Jay and I went back to hike around at The Sleeping Giant State Park. Since Sunday was possibly the most beautiful day we have had this month, we weren't the only ones there. We ended up having to circle the parking area twice before finding a spot.

Luckily, we picked some of the less traveled trails and were able to keep away from the maddening crowds. Although we did cross paths with a nervous mother who almost frightened her child off the side of the mountain. She kept exclaiming over the safety of her little girl while at the same time letting her slightly older son jump around like a mountain goat. Her most colorful warning was "There's not any snow to cushion your fall. There's nothing."

Aftering scaling up the giant's head we took our time meandering back down. We were swarmed by ladybugs and had to detour around a garter snake but the combination of foliage colors and gorgeous slanting fall light made the day.


Spot the Ent?




Trees through branches


Ground-floor leaves


Valley of Light


Jay's Eye-view


Jill's Eye-view


Calle de hojas

The local news had a shocking expose last week about the supposed "Foliage Flop." People take their leaves quite seriously out here. My stint on the Great Plains has made any fall seem like a magnificent event.

True to form we got a bit turned around on the way back -- all part of the adventure.

The Avian Horde

They might be cute and fluffy looking but they are remorseless birdfeed pillagers.



Chipping Sparrow on the approach


Cardinal and Titmouse mid-pillage



When you see 13 inches of bird with a 20 inch wingspan heading for your window it will cause you to fall from your chair and gasp in surprise and horror of an impending crash. Luckily this flicker was able to maneuver to the feeder without crashing into the window. I think we need to get a bigger feeder. The black mustache signifies that this guy is most definitely male. When voicing flicker thoughts, a French accent is required.


Titmouse patroller. These little guys are still Jay's favorites. They have mohawks. How can you not love them?


We're not sure if the birds are watching us or if they just like to look at their reflections.


Almost forgot our flying ninja friends -- the chickadees. See how politely they queue up for their turn at pillaging?


Yeah new bird!!! This junco also goes by the name of snowbird. So he's more a harbinger than a member of the horde.


Finally, the Genghis Khan of bird feeding stations everywhere

Jay took most of the pictures for this post so all props go to him (I can claim the chipping sparrow and the junco.). Hope you enjoyed your tour through birdfeeder devastation.

This post brought to you by the letter "S" and the number "2"

So yes, the rain did finally stop on Saturday. We were treated to a few brief moments of sunshine and much wind which resulted in a gorgeously clear sky.

Today was sunny and beautiful until we decided to go for a walk but at least it didn't rain anymore. We decided to walk down to the Connecticut River to see what changes a week's worth of rain had made to the landscape.

This picture was taken by Jay in June:



These pictures were taken this afternoon:







I don't know if you can really tell the difference from these pictures. So I added an arrow to the second picture to show where Jay was standing when he visited the river in June. Jay said that it definitely looked more Mississippi-like today.

The new pictures were taken with Jay's new Canon S2 superzoom camera. How much zoom does it take to be considered superzoom?

Compare:


(Uncropped Titmouse photo taken with my SD200 zoomed in all the way.)


(Uncropped Titmouse photo taken with the S2 zoomed in all the way.)

Isn't technology grand?

Rain, Birds, and Were-Rabbits

The rain started last night. According to the NOAA web site it's probably not going to stop until Thursday or Friday.

Our birds are in general completely oblivious to the downpour. They have emptied our feeders and are currently dogfighting around the one remaining food source. Which means that soon I will be hanging out the window in the rain holding a metal hook.

The release of the new Wallace and Gromit movie makes it all okay. I got paid for the first time this Friday so I'm going to treat Jay and I to a little claymation extravaganza. First there will be some finely brewed Earl Grey accompanied by some delicious cheddar. I don't have any Wensleydale on hand.

Let the inventing beginn!

The Ranks of the Undead

This weeks goal is to eradicate the zombies.

Those who have ever had the pleasure of spending a morning with me know that it's not my best time.

To make the car-pooling experiment a viable option means that I'm the first one up in the morning. This has to be one of the most heinous things about my new job. Made even more difficult by our erratic hot water supply and lack of heat.

According to our lease the management agrees to provide heat during the cold months. Apparently, October does not qualify as one of those months. Stupid New Englanders with their stoicism. If I'm getting out of bed in the morning I deserve a nice toasty apartment.

So last week amounted to a great big blur of being tired and/or being hopped-up on too much caffeine. This week is all about finding the balance. For example, this week I will make a cup of coffee at home or buy a cup at Starbucks, not both. This week I will not tempt myself to stay up later than I should by starting in on the last few chapters of a book -- that I will not be able to put down until I have finished it -- 20 minutes before it is time for me to go to bed.

So yes, this week is all about awakening my dormant Protestant work ethic. I was raised in the Midwest, it has got to be in me somewhere.

Early to bed and early to rise . . .

This Monday I start my regular work hours 8:30 to 5:30. Jay and I are going to be driving together so that means I get to camp out at Starbucks or Dunkin Doughnuts for about an hour in the mornings. Starbucks has better chairs but the breakfast sandwiches are quite yummy at Dunkin Doughnuts. It's a toss up.

Last week went well work-wise. I've met all of the kids that will be in my room and have a pretty good idea about what my job will be like on a daily basis. There's a lot of things that will take some getting used to but I think overall it's going to be a good experience.

The best thing that happened this weekend was Serenity. You should all go out and watch it and then go watch it again. So awesome! If you don't believe me, ask Ruben.