Mallards in the Morning.

10-6-11 VERMONT: We came up yesterday. It was an easy trip on a rare kind of day—sunny. There has been a north wind blowing and gusting making this cloudless fall day seem colder than it is. The north wind means the high pressure system is still to our west. The air circulation around a high is clockwise. When the high is off to our east in a few days, we will have warmer southern winds.

Travis Keller was here all day replacing rotted wood around the back door of the old mudroom. That corner is a wet spot that never dries out. We are using PT wood to replace everything coming out. The whole door and sidelights unit is out and the hole covered with a tarp for tonight. The job should finish tomorrow.

I spent the day in the veggie garden doing winter prep. I took down and put away the electric fence, pulled up tomato stalks and put the tomato cages in the barn. I harvested the nine pumpkins destined for carving, and pulled up corn stalks. I also did some weeding in the terrace beds.

New blooms: boltonia, cimicfuga, witchhazel, red asters.


Boltonia-a late bloomer.

This apple is covered with small fruit, too small for us, but just right for the birds, especially robins, who carb load before their fall commute.

Mallards visited the pond today. The one in the middle is not a female, but an immature male just getting his adult plumage.