saw fall

It is suddenly rather crispy underfoot, as the leaves and pine needles are turning colors and falling. Every year the white pines drop bushels of needles, which I gather up and use as mulch under the dogwoods and around the bulbs. I need to get out the catalogs and choose some new bulbs for the new side garden.
We'll soon be raking, as well, and the bird feeders need more constant attention as the birds eat up for the winter. Bought a 50 pound bag of black oil sunflower seeds last week-the price has gone up on that as it has on everything else.
Squirrels, are also feeding up and storing, of course-they have been very vocal lately. I don't know if it is demands for food directed at me, or mating calls directed at each other, but it is very different that the teenage swearing we heard earlier in the summer, or the "neighbor's cat in area" warning chatter we hear whenever Louie G. comes across the street. One is at it right now, in the viburnum near the office window-I think I'll throw some peanuts out into the yard just to shut her/him up!
Yesterday morning we had to scrape ice off car windows, to the disgust of DH-the garage is full of furniture, the hardwood floor in boxes, half-done painting projects and attic-bound storage containers. No room for even one small car, much less both. All this upheaval is very upsetting for DH, who likes things where they belong-I have no problem just stepping over piles and pushing boxes aside to get at other boxes. Last night I caught him reordering piles-not that it made a difference, but he felt better afterwards. He does put up with a lot!
We spent the weekend visiting the bride, shopping for and buying a wedding gown (yea! very beautiful and very "her" and will look so wonderful) and attending college sporting events. The bride is in grad school at a large university, so the football game was a day-long EVENT-which would have been more fun if I had dressed warmer! As it was, the wind whipped and I hunched up and ended up with "that shoulder thing" where the muscle across the top just burns. It is still bad, two days later, so tonight I have booked a hot tub session with my dear friend and neighbor. We soak and chat about our children (similar in age, interests, and genders!) and watch the stars. The tub is outside, so I run across the street with long terry robe over my bathing suit. Thank goodness it is a quiet neighborhood!