In the Swing of Fall

Fall is in full swing now, and Bow is swinging, too.

The air is crisp. The leaves are turning, and even the grass is starting to change its hue.

The big red maple is slowly starting to turn color.

And mushrooms are springing up from the lawn.

Bow is energized by the fall weather, and he asks to go out frequently.

The swing, which he often ignores in the summer, has suddenly come into full use again.

Leo has only to tease Bow a little bit, and Bow starts thinking about getting up on that swing.

Once on, he not only swings.

He also displays.

Bow can see his reflection in the glass of the doors that lead to the inner pens.

As he vocalizes and blows raspberries to impress Leo, he will occasionally steal a glance at his own reflection, to see how truly impressive he is.

Then when it's all over, Bow will switch to the bench, where he can relax, his  excess energy spent.

The Weather and the Creatures

Bow this morning in the outer pen

We have fine fall weather right now. It's cool, but not too cold. Bow goes outside in the morning and works up a display, and then when he is read, he goes back inside.

When Bow goes back into the inner pen, the dogs in the yard look wistful, as if they wished he would stay longer.

Leo wishes that Bow and I would stay outside and play

I am grateful to have made it safely home from my long trip, and so glad I am not absolutely required to get in my car and drive for hundreds of miles even in a downpour and zero visibility. Some people commute every day to work, and then they find themselves in the same situation that I had to face in Little Rock, Arkansas on my way to Galveston this past week. They have to keep going even though it is not quite safe. For me, it was a rare occasion.

There were thunderstorms even before I set out on the trip, some even quite disruptive. In the wee hours of October 7, a week  before my talk, there was a loud crash of thunder that sounded very close to the house. My iPhone gave a weird warning sign in the darkness, to let me know there was a flash flood watch till 10 am that morning. In the darkened inner pen, Bow became incensed and displayed loudly against the weather gods. That day, we had not internet service, as the modem had been damaged by the storm,

And the snakes came out of their hiding places, aware of the flood danger. 

This was a nice, healthy black rat snake that greeted me by my front door.

That same day, I also saw a different kind of snake.

This snake was much smaller than the rat snake, and it looked a little like a copperhead, but it wasn't.

It was actually a baby prairie Kingsnake. Here are some tips that I picked up from a later websearch about the differences in appearance between a copperhead and a prairie Kingsnake: 1) the Kingsnake  has round marking on its back, while the copperhead's markings are hourglass shaped 2) The Kingsnake has round pupils, while those of the copperhead are vertical and slitted, like cat eyes.

I did not bother the baby Kingsnake and it did not bother me.

By the time I got back from my trip, the weather was clear, but much colder. Checking my mailbox for the first time since my return, I found that a large bee was taking shelter there. I retrieved the newspaper in the mailbox, but just then a car came by on the road, and I quickly shut the mailbox and got out of the way. Then I returned to the mailbox, after the car had passed.

I coaxed the bee out with the newspaper, and eventually got it to buzz away. 

Yesterday I saw a lone butterfly in the crisp fall air and followed it around for a while. 

Where do all these insects go when the weather turns cold? Do they just die? Do they fly off to warmer climes? Do they take shelter in abandoned mailboxes and in man-made beehives and sleep away the winter?

The buttefly I was following yesterday

It is good to be home safe and snug when the weather turns bad.  We are very lucky that way, Bow and I.

Weathering the Storm

I am cautiously optmistic about HB284. People have called and asked how they can help. There has been much activity on the legislative front. My informants in Jefferson City think the bill will not be passed and that the parallel legislation that is being introduced in the state senate is also getting nowhere. But it feels like a roller coaster, coming up for the vote and getting passed out of committee one day, then getting shelved the next, and who knows what tomorrow will bring. In this way, politics is a lot like the weather.

Bow was enjoying the warm weather that came upon us recently, spending most of the day outside with Lawrence on Wednesday, but then by evening everything changed. Storm clouds flew over our property, the winds picked up, and even the tiniest flowers tucked safely underfoot began to tremble.

After dinner, the storm came in.

Besides the big show that a storm always brings us, there was a considerable drop in temperature. I had to start heating the pens again. All yesterday it was quite cold out. Today, it's may be a little warmer, but still too cold to play outside before noon.

Earlier this morning Bow asked to go out, but no sooner out, than he wanted to go right back in. But the cool weather made him playful. When we went back inside he was jumping and initiating a short chase sequence, making happy whistling-like sounds with his mouth. Then he kissed me and examined my hand and led me to the glass where he spelled: "Give me a rug." When I gave him the rug, though, he had trouble deciding what to do with it.

 And now he is napping. When the weather changes again, he will be well rested and will have plenty of energy to accept new challenges.