Flicker in a Tree.

10-23-25 SHORT HILLS: We did have more rain, 0.6 inches, now it’s 40° at night and 70° in the afternoon, everyday. Last weekend we had dinner with Lonnie and Bette and brunch with Elaine and Richard. We are caught up with med visits, but are still waiting for the dryer repair to be finished. Both cars have been to the car doctor.

I sat out front watching the feeders today and took new bird pix, including a flicker, who is probably passing through on his commute.

Northern flicker, male, perhaps thinking about the feeders.

Juncos are usually here for the winter.

Mourning dove has just turned up.

Downy woodecker, male, working the suet feeder.

Downy woodpecker, female, doesn't have that red yarmulke.

White-throated sparrow, is another winter resident.

What do the robin and finch talk about at the local hangout.

The holly trees are full of new red berries.

The burning bushes still have the best color.

Hawk in a Spruce.

10-17-25 SHORT HILLS: The first Nor’easter has come and gone. We got a bit more than an inch of rain with some gusty wind that brought down a few branches, but was no problem for us. The coastal areas had flooding and damage. Slowly we are getting cooler, but no frost in site.

The parts for the dyer repair have arrived, and it is being fixed as I write, but not usable til next week. The water sprinklers have been shut down for the season.

We had dinner with Trina and Jeffrey earlier in the week. 

As I drive around on errands, I see the fall color is getting pretty good in NJ. The exciting thing here was this afternoon, I sat down on the porch to watch the feeders and saw something white on top of a spruce tree across the street. The tree is about a hundred yards away. When I zoomed in, the white thing was a hawk. After a ton of pix, it flew away, revealing a red tail.   

 

The burning bushes know how to say red.

Zooming in on the tree top showed a hawk.

More zoom, more hawk.

When the hawk left the spruce, in the middle of the shot, the tail shows red, making this a Red-tailed hawk. The most common hawk we see. All the song birds were in hiding until the hawk left.

A pair of house finches, male on the left and female on the right, in their winter clothes.

There's a lot of berries in the fall, food for the birds to find on their own. These are beauty berries, in vivid purple.

Appliances and Pumpkins.

10-10-25 SHORT HILLS: We came back here to the chaos of failed appliances. The refrigerator had a bad piece of insulation for the freezer door. We knew about this and had tried to get a replacement, but it was a discontinued model and no parts could be found on the secondary market. It turned out to be 14 years old, but was otherwise OK. We bought a new one at Home Depot. 

The clothes dryer popped a fan belt on the first run back here. So we had four repair people here on Tuesday, dryer repair, new frig installers, furnace servicing, and the sunroom window replacement. The sunroom window had rotted sills. Everybody did their jobs and by noon it was done, except for the dryer part, which is still pending, but available, we are assured. 

Otherwise we have had warm weather here, sunny and in the eighties, until a recent storm that delivered a half inch of much needed rain. Since the storm it is cooler with seasonal temps, or what used to be seasonal temps. The indoor plants are all safely back inside, including the succulents and herbs. 

The quince has given us two fruits, we're not sure what to do with them. The holly berries turned red almost overnight.

Anna, Gardner and Emmett were here on Sunday for their second annual trip to NJ for pumpkins to decorate their stoop back in the Village. They bought many, many pumpkins of all sizes and colors as well as squashes and mums. The visit included a petting zoo stop. The stoop looks very gorgeous and gourdy. 

We had dinner with cousins Alice, Stu and Louise, and then with Bebe and Ronny.  

New blooms: rosemary.

Three deer came to assess the new window in the sunroom. The palm and peace lily leaves and their plants are safely back inside.

Me and Emmett helping with the pumpkin purchase.

Emmett and the goats. That could be a name for a rock band.

The stoop fully loaded.

Rosemary flowers.

Quinces, now what?

Reunion Review.

10-1-25 VERMONT: Reunion is over, and I think a word of thanks is due to the small group of classmates who organized the event. They organize all of the events and always do a great job. 

While it was good to see people that I have known since I was an undergraduate, it is sad to see how much we have aged. We were smart, talented, able, strong and now are shadows of our former selves, those of us still standing. 

I do have an issue. The last meal the Hanover Inn served was unbelievably horrible. There was rubber chicken and undercooked risotto that nobody ate. I watched the waitstaff clear the tables, and I could see that all the chicken went back to the kitchen uneaten. I thought it was sad that all those birds died for nothing. The previous meal was OK, not great but OK. Had I known what was to happen, I would have brought in food from the golden arches that would have been infinitely better. The Hanover Inn always disappoints. The class should feel insulted at this colossal disrespect.

I look forward to the 70th reunion, if I’m able to make it, but will eat before the dinner. 

Careful what you eat.