Seasons Of Life

"In a natural sense, we know that seasons change. There’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. Just like the natural seasons change, so do the seasons in our lives." - Courtnaye Richard
"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. If we did not taste adversity then prosperity would not be so welcome." - Anne Bradstreet

As much as I hated to see summer come to an end, I was ready for a change in scenery, temperature, and activities.


"When we take the time to reflect upon the natural environment, we begin to observe a complex yet very beautiful world cycling through patterns, phases and through stages of transition. We also quickly realize that nothing ever stands still, that nothing ever maintains its current state, identity or shape for very long. In fact, all of nature cycles through seasons of change and transformation, effortlessly and naturally — just like humans transition through psychological and physical states of transformation throughout our lives." - Adam Sicinski

Courtney is doing well, transitioning through the big seasonal change in her life that she is currently experiencing.  I forgot to mention that she and Mike closed on their house last Thursday, exactly one week after putting it on the market.  It was a cash sale and the buyers were in a hurry to get into it, to fix it up, and 'Flip It.'

Saturday 9/28 - I noticed the Hibiscus was blooming.  It must like it's new pot and home.  Our temps were still in the high 80's and low 90's, record breaking since being recorded.  Meanwhile, Jean reported snow at her house near Reno, Nevada.


I put in my very last day of work (9-1pm), experiencing a rather small crowd.  It was warm, but overcast.

I spent the whole afternoon moving earth and transplanting some 'sod' as I continued work down along the creek bed.  I have dedicated all my spare time to this project because I want to get it seeded early fall.  It is almost too late, except summer weather continues to prevail.  This before and after shot shows work progressing up the creek from the pond.  A lot of sand, muck, dirt, and sod was moved, but you can't really tell.

When cleaning the cat bedding, I had left everyone nursing with mama by the mat.  One minute later (after throwing all the cat linens into the wash) I came out to discover Renegade making a run for it.  Luckily he is too wobbly to move very fast.  Here is (video) of them at two weeks old.







As usual, before bed I laid with mom and babies.  After nursing they fall asleep for a bit, but then start exploring.  Their growth continues to be at a rapid pace.  Styx is very thorough in keeping them clean (video).

Sunday 9/29 - This was our last day for church outside.  We move inside because typically it starts getting too cold.  But it was actually very hot, which is unusual.

The kittens are out-growing their box bed.

I didn't have much time to work outside, made little progress, so took no photos.


Mid afternoon we were off to Ken and Linnea's for a barbeque.  This perfect sign hangs above their smokers on the deck.

Ken took this photo of his earlier work while smoking twelve racks of ribs and the beans.













There were about twenty of us, enjoying libations, conversations, and snacks out on the new back deck.  Ken and Linnea have a beautiful location with a lovely view.


We had had a short, ten minute rain, just before the party started.  The lingering clouds made for a pretty sky.


Once the ribs were done, we all dug in and enjoyed the feast.  The meat just fell off of the bones, and was so tender and tasty.




Ken sure knows how to smoke and barbeque meat.  And he loves doing it.

More chatting, drinking, and deserts were enjoyed as we watched a pretty sunset.






I had fun with the kittens before calling it a day.  They are trying to walk and starting to get around better.

Monday 9/30 - My morning walk reveled this mess which I later went back to clean up once I had daylight.  I never put the trash out at night, but for some reason did the night before.  I think since I had the garage door opened to cool it off, I decided to just take care of the trash, figuring no creature would get into it.  Won't do that again.

I met Nancy, Mike, and Josh at the pool to put away everything for the winter.  Now the pool looks so desolate.  It felt good to be done with another work season, yet sad to see it come to an end.

On the way home from the pool, I walked the Glastowbury trail, only being able to complete a half marathon this year. 😓  It was just too hot and I was too busy with other things.

As soon as I got home, I transplanted the flowers I had dug up from the pots at the pool.  I hated to see them thrown away.  Then I got to work in the back yard.  I decided to just post progressive photos at the end of the week, once I got the creek bed done and the oasis seeded.

I was ready for manure and needed to drop by Tony's to pick up a big 'kitten' box.  Joe helped me with this and even went back to the barn, making a second trip for more manure.









Needing a break from the heat outside, I got busy getting the kitten box ready.  I lined it with a tarp, which was not an easy task trying to get it folded just the right size.







After doing more work outside, until almost dark, I finished fixing the kitten box for inhabitation.  I put in a blanket, a bedding box, a litter box, and a place for the food dish.  Styx wasn’t 100% sure about this at first.  But when I put the babies in the sleeping box, she went in to feed them.


You can see her a little better in this second photo.  I took this (video) of the box the next morning.


By bedtime I put all the kittens and mama back in the dog crate for the night.  I took a pain sleep aid and was out for the count.

Tuesday 10/1 - And now it is October.  With it being so hot and dry, we are not going to get near the fall colors as usual.  Most of the leaves seem to just be turning brown and are very dry and dead looking.

I put the kittens back in the big box first thing in the morning and immediately Renegade was out and exploring.  But the crying got Styx worried and she came to feed them all, her way to comfort them.


Once they were done nursing, Styx hopped out of the big box to visit me and the babies started exploring (video).

Renegade continues to excel faster than the others (video) and is much larger than all the others.  But it wasn't long and he headed for the box bed and fell asleep.

The whole day was spent down back working, while also taking breaks in the garage resting and watching kittens.  I noticed the creek was drying up more and more, so took time from digging and scooped about two dozen fish from the creek.  I dumped them into the pond.  This took six or seven trips.







A before (Monday) and after (Wednesday) shot showing how much the creek was drying up.

While working on the yard down by the creek, a group of five deer came through, passing within 20 feet of me (video).  They have kind of gotten used to my presence and don't seem to mind me, although they always keep a watchful eye on me.  If I don't make eye contact or look at them, they seem to feel safer.

The new box has encouraged the kittens to try walking more, but they stick close to the bed box or mama, if she is inside the big box

So far, she hasn’t tried to move them back to the bed box in the dog crate, so I left them in the big box overnight.

Wednesday 10/2 - As usual, Renegade was doing some exploring on his own.  He is larger and stronger than all the others and is farther along on walking, although it is still fairly wobbly.

And as often is the case, he is off on his own, even if it is just sleeping.

I went to Lady's Club from ten to one pm.

Once home, it was my mission to dig up yucca from Ken and Linnea's.  I had admired them when there for the party and they said "Take what you want, we have a landscaper coming next week and are going to rip them all out."











I made two trips and got these all planted down back before dark and fatigue hit.

 

There was a lot more kitten time before I went to bed.  Hang on Renegade, let me get a selfie of us.















After chow time and a short nap, it was big time wrestling (video).  Lady doing the 'Chokeslam' on Renegade.

 
















And then Lady fell asleep on him.
Look at his little tonge sticking out.














They started getting sleepy again.
Here is Lady, Babe, and Renegade.

I too was getting tired, and was sore, so took a pain sleep aid.  I didn't even hear Poker Joe come home.







Thursday 10/3 - Waking up from their morning nap (video).
Renegade is usually the first one up, out of bed, and on the move.










Look at that precious face!






I too was up and at-em fairly early.  I wanted to finish creek work and moving dirt onto the oasis and get it planted with grass seed.  I spent all day down back, with a few breaks for more water, restroom, and kitten time.  The following photos show the progression of work, in various areas, during the week.  Looking at the curve leading to the pond:
































You can see by the end of the week, the creek bed is wider, dried up, and the bank on the right side of it is also wider but less steep.

This next series is looking at the curve from down stream 'in the pond' which is all dried up by now.


















Notice that dirt (sad, mud, and muck) has been moved up onto the oasis.

And now here is a progression of the oasis, I was filling in all of the low spots:

Friday 10/4 - With company coming, but also rain in the future forecast, I decided to plant grass seed before cleaning house.  I spread all the seed I had, but did not have enough, so took a break and went to Ace Hardware on Peavine.  While out running errands, I also dropped in on the vet, asked some questions, and bought wormer for the kittens.  I grabbed some needed food items at Food City and came home.  I had contacted Tony while at the vet, and she came by and helped me worm the kittens.  While waiting for her, I ate lunch, folded laundry, and then cleaned the guest bathroom.

Once I got all the seed down, I then sprinkled, by hand, the fine wood shavings that Joe had brought four loads of and piled on the hill side for me.  This took hours.  I had to remove sticks, leaves, and chunks of wood as I went.  Running way behind on time, I still took the time needed to get all the new seed watered.  The dark ground in this photo has been watered.  It was sooo dry, it required a lot of water to get the ground wet.





By the time I showered, made guest beds, and fed all the critters, I missed my 6:00 dinner reservation at Lake Tansi Restaurant.  In fact, I didn't arrive until 7:40.  The place was already partly decorated for Halloween, our next season to celebrate.  I had a salad and enjoyed dancing with what energy I had left.



Joe's buddies had arrived and were at the house when I got home at 10:30.  This photo of Joe, Mike, and Steve, was taken Sunday in Nashville, where they had gotten a little rain, but it again missed us.  More on that next week.

I didn't take any kitten photos, but here is a (video) of them at three weeks of age.