Arrivals!

With the arrivals of the kids and grand kids at the beginning of the week, things got interesting and busy...



entertainment with hats,



block architecture,



bed bouncing,



sculpting with play dough,






playing on the piano and on table tops with Tulip watching,



dancing with Jess,



and a grand, messy balloon fest on the kitchen floor.

All-magnificent!!

Toby with



bandaged thumb and lovely flowers from Christina.

Medical Stuff!



Sam flew east this weekend to visit us, giving us a little respite from talking to dermatologists and doctors about how to treat the melanoma that's shown up under Toby's thumbnail--a rare condition that we only found out about a week and a half ago.

It was wonderful to be able to relax with Sam, taking walks, eating in front of the wood stove, watching Jon Stewart's Rally for Sanity on Saturday and the old but goodie "The Sting" at night.




Tulip just had time to don her Halloween hat before the first (of a very few) Trick or Treaters showed up at our door.

We're still talking to doctors and dermatologists, trying to figure out when and where the operation will be. More to come...

Bangor

Last weekend Toby and I drove to Bangor to visit Christina in her swanky new apartment.



She's just moved in, with, of course, the help of Gwendolyn,
self-appointed to examine open boxes.




Nearby, there's a nice trail with gnarly old pines and this reservoir.




The leaves were gorgeous, the sky bright October blue.
We decided we looked pretty good in our colors: green, turquoise and orange.

Visit

Our friends the Siegels and their friends came to visit us in Chocorua last week.



Our last walk to Heron Pond for the season.




The red leaves looked like Christmas decorations on the pine trees.




Tulip and her sometimes friend Chaz (Alan Phenix's dog) during a rare compatible moment.

Deciding

Earlier this summer, we wondered about the willow tree out front and thought maybe we'd let it decide it's future. The willow still stands, but another tree has done the deciding for itself.




Out back, this tree gave up one of its big rotten limbs during a wind storm. We'd been worrying about this tree, even made an alternative path to the lake to avoid it,




but, unfortunately, didn't think it would come down on the very back side of Thad's tractor.

Fall's Coming:

the air is crisper, the wind windier, the leaves starting to turn...




and my dahlias are just starting to bloom--this one in a planter on the porch! Wish I'd planted them earlier in the spring--something to remember for next year.




Tulip surveys the yard from her perch on the kitchen couch, closely watching

a turkey meandering across the lawn.
A sure sign of fall.