Rather chilly this morning.
Last nights moon, not quite full yet.
Nova thought it was a great idea to jump up on my stomach and lick me in the face around 4:30 this morning 🙂 🙂 I told her in not so many words that even if I was happy she was happy death would see her in the eyes if she didn´t leave me alone 🙂 But it was impossible to fall asleep again so as soon as the first daylight showed I got up and looked at the thermometer.
Maximilan sunflower ( Helianthus maximilianii). One of my favorite autumn flowers. A bit of a weed like most of them are.
The second of my perennial sunflowers and that is a weed that spread fast, the Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) 'Bianca'.
I didn´t like what I saw to be honest. It showed 2C (35F) and I could hear winter laughing not far away 🙂 But since I had had a fire in the stove last night it still was warm and nice here in the cottage. They day will be warm though and I hope we´ll have sunshine for most of the day. We normally have cool nights here even during summer but this cold is way to early. That sort of makes me think about how the winter will turn out to be.
The Japanese rose will continue to flower until frost stops it.
And it wears rose hips at the same time. This rose is great to have in the garden except for the fact it does spread and is nastily thorny. I´ll dig up most of those that I have this autumn I think.
Phlox in the dusk.
I did something like Caryn suggested the other day, I bought soap bubbles 🙂 One of her dogs loved to chase and catch them and since Nova has more energy in her body than a small nuclear power plant I thought it would be a great way to let her run around a lot chasing bubbles.
Now these wheel shaped webs can be seen everywhere.
The old boys just looked at me as if I had become mad 🙂 🙂 🙂 They didn´t get it at all and just sat there looking at the bubbles flying around 🙂 🙂 Nova however did chase a couple and jumped high to catch them, but only for a couple of minutes. Then she found on of her plastic bottles again and wanted me to throw it away. It is fun because when the bottle is chewed flat it works very much like a frisbee!
It can glide up to 30 meters (much the same in yards) and she just loves to run after it. Many times she catches it while it still floats in the air and it is then I can see that it is lots of Border collie in her 🙂 I wish I could take a photograph of her while she jumps up in the air to get it, but things just happens to fast I´m afraid.
Nettle with seeds. Lots of food for small birds now when flies getting rare (yippee!!!).
Today I´ll mow the lawn again but since the nights are so cold now the grass grows very slowly and that´s the only good thing about colder weather 🙂 🙂 I also start to plant those plants I got at the plant swapping day. No slugs or signs of them could be seen so now I feel safe to let them out in to the garden.
Malus toringo, a little wild apple tree I got on the plant swapping day. I´m not sure whether I should plant it now or wait till next spring. I think it will cope with winter but will it cope with three dogs running over it 🙂 🙂 🙂
This one however must spend at least two winters in my cool cellar. Pinus wallichiana, Bhutan pine isn´t the hardiest of pines.
But first I´ll have a pot of tea and perhaps a sandwich. I had breakfast not long ago but I sort of feel a bit hungry anyway 🙂 Have a great day!
The cottage by the Crane Lake 
Jag kan se er framför mig när ni leker med flaskan och såpbubblorna, en härlig syn! Dessutom tror jag att bubbelblåsandet nog var mer för dig själv än för hundarna!! *fniss*
Tjänare Susie!
Bubblorna skaffade jag bara för Novas skull, men sen gick det över till att bara vara kul för mig 🙂 🙂 🙂
Ha det gott!
Christer.
“and I could hear Winter laughing not far away”…Great line! – I’m stealing it. 🙂
sounds like you will be busy outside today. I have a list of things “to do” today myself.
If it doesn’t rain, I’m digging up and moving some things around. So of my “great deals” have been struggling in the past heat and one of my big shrubs died. I’m going to “rearrange” things to make it more simplistic and easier to maintain….hopefully.
Love the Bertil photo 😀
Have fun! – Cindi
Hi Cindi!
🙂 🙂
It has been a half busy day and lots of small plants has been planted, but I still need to plant those rhubarb plants I sowed early this spring. But I don´t feel like I want to make the vegetable garden bigger at the moment 🙂 🙂 🙂 Many of the things I planted today will move to the pond area next year when I can open up the ground cloth. But it felt nice to work in the garden, it hasn´t done that in a long time now.
Those ideas we have to make it easier to maintain 🙂 🙂 I hope You are right 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
Hi Christer,
Too bad Nova gave up chasing bubbles after a few though the plastic bottle is probably more fun. It doesn’t disappear when you catch it and it makes a lovely crunching noise, too. Orvar and Hector probably thought Nova had finally pushed you past the point of sanity as they watched you blowing bubbles. But blowing bubbles is fun and should be done just for yourself although having a dog to chase them gives you good excuse for the neighbors. 😉
Going back to the nightshade in yesterday’s post; the one that grows in my area is called Bitter Nightshade or Solanum dulcamara. It has sprays of tiny fruit that look like midget tomatoes. What we call Bittersweet is most likely Celastrus orbiculatus or Oriental Bittersweet. It has white flowers and bright red berries that pop open to show yellow linings. There’s a native American one, C. scandens, but I’ve never seen it. The oriental one is taking over. Anyway both the Bitter Nightshade and the Oriental Bittersweet are considered invasive species. The nightshade isn’t so pushy but the Bittersweet is everywhere around here.
I love the photo of the nettle with seeds. I would not touche it, though.
Can’t hear winter laughing at all here. Maybe a slight chuckle from autumn, though. Enjoy the day.
Hi Caryn!
Well we did it again later today and then she found them more interesting. But as You say, they don´t make as much noise as a plastic bag 🙂 🙂 But I sure am having fun so we will continue this 🙂 🙂
Your Bitter nightshade is the same as our Bittersweet. We have a similar one with white flowers (Solanum nigrum) but it is annual and not very common around here. Celastrus orbiculatus is called Japanese tree killer over here 🙂 but it´s just a garden plant and can´t be found out in nature. The climate is probably a bit tough for it here.
I touched another nettle by mistake when I mowed the lawn 🙂 🙂 Thankfully it is now the sting begins to get weak 🙂 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
I can see why it’s called Japanese tree killer. The tamarack tree down in the back of my yard was pulled over by a combination of that and wild native grape vines. I’ve seen bittersweet vines that were as thick as a man’s arm and coiled like a car spring. I try to get down to the wet part of the property and cut back all those vines that are grabbing at the trees once or twice a summer but it’s difficult. The muck is very deep and sticky down there. I don’t want to disappear from view into it. 🙂
They never become that big here so they can injure any trees though 🙂 I wish we had wild grapevines here. I have a Frost grapevine that manages winter without any problems but it seems to flower to early because the flowers gets damaged by frost so I never get any grapes. But I keep on hoping 🙂
Christer.
hi christer! i wish winter was laughing at me! instead, summer still is! i love seeing photos of bertil! he always looks so serious! they say it should rain here today. i will believe it when i see it! i bought my first fall mums to plant and might do it hoping the rain will come and water them! joyce
Hi Joyce!
I wish we could swap weather 🙂 🙂 🙂 But today has been very nice and the night will stay much warmer thankfully.
Bertil´s look fits his temper 🙂 He is either serious or angry 🙂 🙂
Normally I would say that it was way to early for mums already but as it is now its perfect 🙂
I hope You´l get some rain!
Christer.
Christer,
Gracie loves plastic bottles, and any person drinking from one gets followed everywhere until Gracie gets the bottle. Until it is crunched, she carries it from the screw top part. Periodically I go through the yard and pick up the old ones strewn about.
I’m sorry winter is breathing on your neck! We had a rather chilly night for us this time of year last night, but for the rest of the week it will be in the mid to low 60’s at night. The days will be 70’s. I’m thinking that’s perfect.
Hi Kat!
I´m thinking of never give her any more plastic bottles 🙂 🙂 She is obsessed with them 🙂 🙂 I usually collect those bottles when the lawn mower drives over them 🙂 🙂 🙂
Today was rather nice and the night will be warmer as well, but rain is passing tomorrow. Rather good since I have planted lots of plants today 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
Fy katten vad kallt! 2 grader bara;( Får ju hoppas att det i stället blir en rätt mild vinter om kylan kommer så himla tidigt. Men chansen är väl tyvärr inte så stor för det. Så härligt att det är så mycket fart och bus i Nova:) I morgon ska vi till Tommy Ahnby och det ska bli trevligt troligtvis kommer man hem med både det ena och det andra:) Ha det gott/Monne
Tjänare Monne!
Jo det var allt lite kyligt 🙂 Fingrarna var så kalla att de slutade fungera i slutet på promenaden 🙂 🙂 Jag hoppas alltid på en mild vinter och de senaste åren har jag ju blivit djupt besviken 🙂 🙂
Hoppas ni hinner med besöket innan regnet kommer in!
Ha det gott!
Christer.
Dear Christer,
thank you so much for sharing your photos! I love the wheel spider webs they are magical!
xoxoxoxox
Hi Splendid!
Thank You 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
Scary spider shot. Don’t walk into that web. I woke with Zoey chewing on my ear lobe. It was 5AM and unusual for her to want her cookies that early. But she apparently doesn’t care. And when I go to grab her she jumps high and lands on the couch in front of the bed. But I couldn’t stop laughing it felt sooo weird. Difficult to think you are having cold weather already. We are still in a 100 degree heat wave.
Hi Z&M!
I wonder what I would do if I found one of those gigantic spiderwebs they have in the rainforest 🙂 🙂
No pet cares about our sleep 🙂 🙂 🙂 So what else can one do but smile 🙂 🙂
It seems we´ll get warmer weather again now and last night wasn´t cold at all,´I´m happy that I never started that fire in the stove that I had planned to do because it was very warm in the cottage this morning 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.