Let's all be lazy...but Lester

The cats spend most of their time either sleeping or watching the birds at the birdfeeders. The dogs spend most of their time sleeping, chasing critters on the back forty, or eating dead stuff. The Deer Diner is closed for the season, nothing left but bones, so they have to search for more presents from the coyotes, or whatever it is that is on the prowl out there.

Jane and I missed our walk yesterday, so we are going to try for today. Earlier this week we took her beagles, Murphy and Ridley for a wander up Van Court Road. Today we will take Lester and Sophie down Tunnicliff Road and maybe stop at the Post Office to pick up my mail.

When I get back, I have to get more serious about hunting for work. I have finished up all of the loose ends on the jobs I was working on: AMH, MEOC, and RE. None of them seem to have anything else coming my way, and it's about time I started some serious job-hunting in the North Country anyway. I have to do something to hold up my end, now that The Husband is back to the daily grind.

Our newly finished house is holding up well to all the weather has to bring. Radiant floor heat and spray foam insulation make this house warm and toasty all the time. I started up the woodstove a few times just to make sure it was working (and because I am a real firebug) but even though it was cold enough outside and the heat was not on inside, the stove made it so warm that I had to crack open a few windows. I imagine that when the winter winds start to blow, that will be a welcome warmth.

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Fall is for the birds

The big news is that we are calling the house DONE! Yesterday Chris the Garage Door Guy came out and installed the new doors. Even though there are a few minor details to finish inside the house, and a few bills to be paid to Jim the Builder, we're calling it done as of October 26!

Other news: the house in NJ is listed with a new realtor. We shall see if his more aggressive marketing techniques truly increase the interest in our cool old house. It would be nice to finally make the move and bring all of our furniture up here. As it is, I can only bring what will fit in the CR-V.

Mid-October in NY and the fall color is pretty much gone, we are down to a brown-olive-gold color scheme. Even though the weather is still on the warm side, it seems that the only trees that still have leaves are the apples and willows.

Adding 2 birdfeeders to the apple tree out back here has definitely made bird-watching more fun. My David Sibley bird book has been useful in identifying the Eastern Phoebe, Slate-colored Junco, Downy Woodpecker, nuthatches, and several varieties of finches and sparrows. In the spring there were Baltimore Orioles, a Great Blue Heron, maybe a Green Heron, maybe a Golden Eagle and a little blue bird yet to be identified.

In NJ, the evil squirrels made feeding the birds near impossible. We did see goldfinches, chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, purple finches, far too many starlings and house sparrows, and a Carolina Wren for the first time a few weeks ago. But NJ has a greater population of hawks and eagles than up here. I have seen a bald eagle at least 4 times in NJ, one flying just above the roof of my house.

Since The Husband has been working during the week, my friend Jane and I have started up a walking routine. We'll see if we can continue it through the winter...the winter that everyone has warned us about!

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It's beautiful in the fall, let's get out for a walk!

I took the kids on a late afternoon walk, although they were more interested in their dining spot (you don't want to know...) than actually walking down to the creek.

Even though we are pretty much past the peak colors, it is still autumnal here in the north country. Too bad The Husband has started his new job, and doesn't get to appreciate it as much as before. At least he had a few months off this summer to relax and enjoy the quiet.

I keep saying I will get better at posting on the blog, but until the house in NJ sells, there is not much free time for playing with the loads of new photos I have taken. Eventually I will share them with you.

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Fine fall day at the front door (and side door)

Lester and Sophie, maybe for the first time this year, willingly came back together with me from the creek. Perhaps it was due to the recurring belly aches they have from munching on dead stuff (a deer from last week), or maybe because the creek is still too powerful to cross after all that rain, so they don't have access to their usual favorite places.

The second pic is the side of the garage (and house)...the side that DOES have a door. It is sunny, but still chilly up here today. We did fire up the woodstove last night, but this house is so tight we didn't really need it. And that can only be a good thing in the north country!

I am headed back to NJ today, to pack up some more stuff, fill up the car and come back on Thursday. I thought the Garage Door guy was coming this week, but I just checked his e-mail and it probably won't be until the week of the 11th. And Jesse promised he'd "button things up" by Sunday at the latest, but still no Jesse at 2 pm. I was hoping to be here to guide him, but if he doesn't show in the next hour or so, he'll have to figure it out on his own.

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More orange sky and door-less garage pics

I just can't get enough of these sunset photos, so you'll have to put up with me! The first one shows our property line: the little birch tree in the center of the field is the first in a line going back to the creek (the treeline at the back). To the left of the birch is our land, to the right is Charlie's (the Magic Museum guy who owns the barn by the road).

Chris the Garage Door guy is supposed to come this week to install the doors. We are finally approaching the grand finale of this house-building project. Richie came out to finish up the last things on the punchlist for the house, but, unfortunately Jim the Builder pulled him off the job before he was done. I could live with it as is (very happily) but I just want some closure Jim! Since I have not made my final payment, I have some leverage.

And the last one who needs to finish work here is Jesse the Electrician. He was supposed to come out yesterday and finish up, but called and put it off until today or tomorrow. I think I have been very patient with these guys, and I still don't get why they don't seem to want to finish up, get their money and be done with me.

I think we might have to fire up the woodstove for the first time tonight. We seem to have gone pretty quickly from unusually warm temps to some really cool fall weather. After another trip to the Farmers Market for some NY hard cider and goat cheese, we're ready for a night by the fire. We have plenty of leftovers from this week: lasagna, meatloaf, and chicken pot pie—all homemade of course!

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Red Sunset Maples, and a great sunset to show them off

Again, I have been busy (actually working) and haven't had much time to post. We had a "showing" of the NJ house again today, and I hope one of these showings will finally bring me a buyer. The running back and forth between states and houses is getting tiresome.

We bought 3 new trees last week, red maples (Red Sunset). You can see them on either side of the driveway in the second photo. They were delivered today, and conveniently dropped off the truck right near the holes that The Husband dug for them.  We figure it might be useful to point out the direction of the long driveway when it is covered in snow...

After about 24 hours of solid heavy rain, the creek has been running ragged. The horse field across the street looked like a lake this morning. But this evening, post-storm, provided a fantastic sunset, with the most perfect light to show off the new trees and our new house.

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