October 18th

A blue train at the Hellgate Osprey webcam. There was even a blue caboose!

This doe was right outside our back door this morning, and she stared at me, but I couldn’t get my phone camera out in time to catch that look. But I did get her leaving.

October 19th

Uh-oh. We hadn’t seen the pīpī all day long and were getting concerned. The pasture was totally empty, and I couldn’t see them in the forest outside my office.

Empty pasture.

So Nolemana drove down to check in the barn. Nope, they weren’t there, either. Did we have cattle rustlers at work? Norm banged on a feed pail, but they still didn’t appear.

While Nolemana checked the barn and then drove back up to the house, I had a ladybug visitation from several of them!

And spied these mushrooms in the tomato barrel. Which, by the way, had almost no tomatoes in it this year.

Hello there!

We were worried enough that we called Jake and asked him to come over and see if he could call them down. They know his pickup by sight and sound, and they also know his whistle. It’s pretty piercing; I wish I could whistle like that! Well, they heard both the pickup and his whistle, and then this happened.

The stinkers had been hiding up in the brush where we couldn’t see them. Up by where Bessie first hid Kiko when he was first born.

Jake figured as long as he was here, he might as well start the burn pile. The cows helped.

I took this video…the fire was really crackling!

Then a saw another ladybug crawling up the screen. I loved that they were here, trying to find a warm place to overwinter.