MUSINGS ON AN AUGUST DAY

Ahh! Fall in the Inland Pacific Northwest! It’s perhaps the best time of the year here. What makes fall special? Chris opines that it’s the three “Cs” – coziness, comfort, color – and I’ll add a fourth – “cooler.” Mornings and evenings are cooler with warm (not too hot) afternoons.

Nellie in the trees above the road

And speaking for myself, I think that the activities of fall give my days better structure – sorta like going back to school. We look forward to holidays (all kinds of them), and we make plans and get ready. It all feels positive. (The trick is to get through Christmas with one’s emotional well-being intact, so we also have to look forward to activity in the New Year. Hurray for 2015!)

The yellow-jackets are bad this year, and the hummingbird feeders serve to attract them. We’ve seen only a few hummingbirds anyway, so today I took the feeders down, washed them up, and put them away.

North field from Plank's Pitch

Our friend Pepper has been with us this week, and she reminds me of a visiting child who doesn’t adjust to the family routine and whines for mom and dad. Her whine is actually a high-pitched whistle that when practiced continually becomes nerve-racking to all within hearing. I dreamt that I was caring for a whining baby, awaking to realize it was Pepper already whining at 5:00 a.m. for human contact, the human being Mike.

A favorite view from June's

Meanwhile, our own two dogs long for the comfort of their old life. While I hung the clothes, both Bess and Nellie came up for ear scratching and love pats. Nellie, however, seems to understand what she can accomplish if she’s a bit cagey, if you will. When I find her standing alone and peeking in the dining room window, I let her in.

And of course, they all three love to hang with “fun guy.” When he’s lounging outside, they curl up nearby. And when he comes in the house, agitation commences.

Don't know the way? Ask a dog.

I actually thought adjustment would not be an issue with Pepper on this visit. She’s been here several times this summer. And I do have sympathy for her because if we can’t keep her, she has to stay at a boarding facility where she isn’t exercised. Her family has been on the go this summer, so she’s had to stay behind a lot. Even understanding the need, I wish for it to be “just us.”

We did bring Pepper’s crate, but Bess commandeered it. (Such is the way in the canine world.) In order to create a place for Pepper, Mike opened the back of the pick-up, and she does seem to like it there.

A trail thru June's field

Another great thing about fall is that June’s field is harvested providing an alternate route for our walks. The pictures here were taken yesterday, (Wednesday, August 20), and illustrate our walking out by the lane and back through June’s field. KW