GREEN TOMATOES (NOT FRIED) AND A FEW OTHER THEMES

It seems our tomato plants became abundantly productive as Fall set in. Unfortunately, in this part of the country that means frosty mornings, which tomatoes do not tolerate at all. Wish we would have been down south where we could have peddled fried green tomatoes to our neighbors.

The home-made bread factory went on full production as the weather cooled down. It is now comfortable to crank the oven up to 450 without having to turn the A/C on in order to stay cool.

A few of our maple leaves contrast the blue sky a few days before floating off the branches, blown by the cool breeze

Gidget, Chicky's dog, has been spending some serious quality time with the grandparents and cousin Jake. These 2 have really bonded as they have enjoyed running, horsing around, and cuddling next to each other. They also had dog grooming day together, which is where the bandannas (and babushka head covers) came from. JIR

IT'S OVER...

Just give it a couple of days and we go from summer to fall, or perhaps early winter. High eighties and nineties in South Dakota earlier this week, high forties in Montana since we arrived Thursday afternoon. Yes, that is a nice dusting of snow on the Elkhorns now that the clouds have drifted away and we can see the mountains. A welcomed change, I must say. Our very healthy mum plant continues to show off its colors in the fall, just like it has for several years. JIR

IT AIN'T OVER 'TILL IT'S OVER

90 degrees the first week of October? Call it what you want, but the planet is definitely warming. Maybe one good thing about it is that our wildflower garden  in South Dakota does not have a clue it is Fall.

                                                   The bees do not have a clue either

                            A light breeze "unfocused" this frame, but the colors are unique and worth this post

Good Music

Stormy Monday, one of the best live recordings out there, on one of the best live albums ever, At Fillmore East, by The Allman Brothers Band was one of the songs I enjoyed while walking Jake this morning.  Somedays just begin right.
-Linda

VERMONT WEDDING

We traveled to Burlington, Vermont to participate in and provide support in the marriage of Chris, Linda's nephew, and Nancy. We will post their picture on a later post, but for now, here are some others for you to enjoy. Burlington is a nice little city of 40K on the southeast shore of Lake Champlain, flanked on the eastern side by the Green Mountains. Above is a picture taken in the spiritual service room of the Interfaith Spiritual Center where the wedding took place. It was a beautiful setting with Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains (New York) in the background. 

                                              Mom and her very favorite grand niece, Emma

 On Sunday, we did some sightseeing, heading north through some of the northern islands on the lake and then heading east and south through the famous ski hill town of Stowe.

We rounded out our tour with a sweet and delicious visit to the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory about 30 miles from Burlington, where it all started in 1978. JIR