18 things I love about October

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Leaves dancing in the street.

Snow on Pikes Peak.

Taking the sunshades down from my kitchen skylights.

Pumpkin-flavored anything and everything. (Except pumpkin-flavored macaroni and cheese. Which I have tried...and didn't like.)

The anticipation and excitement of little ones looking forward to Halloween. Not just my grandsons but even those I hear in stores, chattering away to Mom about the costumes they want, what their friends plan to be, the candy they love.

Lady in White, which I watch this time of year every year.

Sweater weather.

Sock and slipper weather, too.

Kids in Halloween costumes. Especially when they look like this:

Or this:

(Megan will surely one day pay for the cuteness she foisted upon her boys.)

Indian Summer. Far less hot and harsh than regular summer.

No more watering or worrying about the flowers and more in the front yard, back yard, side yard.

No more fans scattered about the house.

Snuggling once again with my cat Abby, who was continually pushed away during hot weather.

Blankets back on the beds. And curling up under them for my nightly read.

The first wafts of smoke from wood burning in a neighbor's fireplace. (We typically wait til November to burn a fire in ours.)

Caramel apple taffy.

Visits with my grandsons. We always visit in October. This year I'm fortunate to have two visits planned—one at the end of this week, another at the end of the month. An extra-special reason to love this October in particular.

Today's question:

What do you love about October?

Momentary refuge

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This past summer has been one of the driest on record, in my home state as well as others.

Wednesday, though, it rained. All. Day. Long.

Come Thursday morning, my back yard was very, very happy. 

Ah, such a dreamy place to be. Even Mickey and Lyla couldn't help but take turns gazing out at the beauty it beheld.

  

Okay, I admit it. I'm liar.

Lovely as the yard was to me, that's not at all what the dogs were enjoying. No, Mickey and Lyla were enjoying being mean little doggies, terrorizing the squirrel who's made a home in the top of that arch.

The squirrel in turn squawked and complained at the top of its lungs from the tree branch where it had managed to find refuge before a dog snagged its tail.

Ah...my yard. 'Twas such a peaceful place.

For a moment or two.

Today's question:

What kind of magnificence—or mess—has the recent weather created at your place?

Farewell, summer whites

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For reasons not perfectly clear, wearing white after Labor Day has long been rendered a faux pas of magnificent proportion.

With that in mind, I bid farewell to summer's flora and fauna that will soon cast their garments of white to the wind.

Today's question:

Do you flout or follow the fashion advice to not wear white after Labor Day?