Autumn Comes A'Creepin' In...

I love the slow steady progress of seasonal change from summer to autumn. Every morning seems to be cool and getting crisper every day, with temps anywhere from 43 to the low 50s, followed by clearing and warming in the early afternoon. Yesterday, it looked overcast when we woke up, but by 3:00 PM, it was 80 degrees and sunny. The dahlias really love this weather, and a second seedling is starting to open. I'm not sure what it will look like, but it appears to have a dominant color of yellow, with some other pale blending of another undetermined color. I didn't know if it makes sense to fertilize this time of the year, but just to encourage a little extra growth, I mixed up a little Mor-Bloom and put it on my special babies, in hopes that they might reward me with some open blooms before the killing frost. Still disbudding every day, it is always a surprise to go out in the morning and see new buds where I thought I had removed them all the day before.....The dahlia is a generous flower, in more ways than one!

Gary and I went up to Chelan for breakfast yesterday, and then we hung out by the lake for a while. There were some hydroplane races on the city-side of the lake - it was fun to see them and hear the roar of the engines! When we got home in the early afternoon, we found that our Kitty had been hunting again, and had left the remains (upper portion this time) of a small wild bunny on our patio. It is always disconcerting to see the evidence of her prowess, especially when it involves the demise of the lovely little small creatures that share our yard with us. I've actually been feeding her more during the day, in hopes that she will be too full to hunt, and although she seems to be killing less, she apparently still indulges this primal urge to seek, harass, kill and eat live prey. I realize that this is normal, but I don't have to like it.

Busy trying to get all the show results organized and sent off. I will take the trophies to Haglund's today to get them engraved with winner names, and will prepare the ribbons to present to members at our October 21 meeting and celebration. I have to remember to have my sister Debbie add the names of those who signed up at the show, requesting information. I tried to e-mail everyone on the list but had the mail bounce for some of them. Oh well, I do the best I can! Gotta go outside and breathe the air now.....