Halloween Memories, Healthy Cookies, Autumn Garden Visitors, Garden Chores

 The month of other air borne creatures is upon us...witches and goblins, LOL.  I know it's silly but even as an old woman now I still like Halloween. I have such wonderful memories of Halloweens as a girl, getting a mask, joining friends and tramping around the neighbourhoods to see how much loot we could gather.  I wasn't a big candy lover so getting a bag of chips was the real score for me.  

The masks we wore were fun ones, nothing too creepy. I remember a Raggedy Ann one and, of course, clowns. I do remember well how sweaty they made your face. Do you remember these?  Available at the Etsy shop Amandaclear Treasures

Meanwhile October has brought the juncos back to us.  I had several flocks here frantically feeding it seemed, darting about which made it more of a challenge for photos. Here is one of the few I managed. 

The hummingbirds are gone but I had a good summer with many visiting the feeder.  It took me quite a while to get a good photo of them away from the feeder.  The throat here looked interesting to me.

We had a groundhog here for a few weeks. He visited the little drainage ditch close to the house so I was able to get lots of photos of him from my window.  He was very quiet and never heeded the squirrels or birds bopping around him. Just seemed to mind his own business quietly moving slowly about, picking and chewing leaves. This unassuming calm manner of his grew on me and now that he is gone (where I wonder???), I miss him. 

Here is an early photo of him when he just showed up and he looked rather ragged.

Autumn chores

We are fortunate to live in a rural area in the country. We use a wood stove insert in the fire place to heat the main area during the winter. Our wood has been delivered and will have to be stacked on the front veranda and at the back door...two places that shelter it. 

I usually put evergreen branches over some of the flower beds. With all the snow and especially freezing rain we get, I do think this is a little added protection.

I have made a number of stick piles of fallen branches and limbs around the property.  I try to make them "blend in" with the surroundings.  I do enjoy the gathering part in the fresh air and I like the idea of providing a little more shelter for the smaller animals.  It's fun later in the winter to note the tracks around them and see they do get used. This is a good article and of course, I'm thinking of all kinds of critters using the shelters I'm making...How to Build a Nesting Area for Rabbits

This is one such hidey place I've fashioned and this summer I saw birds darting in and out of it as well.

I like to give the outside of the windows a good cleaning before the real cold sets in. I do a lot of viewing of the wild things through them and also take a lot of photos through them, so clean they must be.

I still have to move in the plants that spent the summer outside, the geraniums in particular.

I made a batch of "healthy" cookies recently.  Ones without flour and sugar so I had my doubts about how they would taste. I added craisins and sunflower seeds to my mixture and was pleasantly surprised with how good they tasted. Note: They have to be left on the pan to cool down before attempting to move them. I'm keeping mine in the fridge for a great mid afternoon snack. Here is the recipe from Running on Real Food Oh yes, I sprinkled coconut on them too.

Neddy and I are so happy you stopped by to visit us here at the wooden house. We hope you are able to get outside and breathe in fresh air where ever you are in this big wonderful world of ours. 

Linking this post with Paying Ready Attention, It's a Small Town Life, Viewing Nature With Eileen, Floral Passions,  and Our World Tuesday.