Creepy Crawly Critters

Hello, friends.  Pears are still being harvested, and another pear  pie was made.  While throwing a load of clothes in the washing machine one morning, I was surprised by a large fishing spider.  I was able to catch and release it with a critter catcher, which M had gifted us some time back.  I'd separated all the laundry on the floor earlier, and I'm not sure if it was in the hamper, or crawled in while they were on the floor.  Life in the woods!  I guess everybody's looking for a spot to spend the winter.  In preparation for bringing all the houseplants indoors, I washed all the windows.  J assisted, by removing, washing and replacing the screens, which is a huge help. 

 

The next day, all the plants were brought in, with help from J.  It always seems like a jigsaw puzzle, to figure out where they'll all go.  Returning down the path, on a walk with Guinness one evening, we encountered a black racer snake.  Though it was only about 4 feet away, its head was somewhat covered with grass, so I leaned forward to make sure it wasn't a triangular head.  At that, it began shaking its tail, then spun around and raced back towards the creek.  J told me about times, as a kid, when they chased him as he ran from them.  I've always walked away from a snake, but can absolutely see myself running, if it was chasing me.  I'm glad I stood my ground.  I'm not generally scared of snakes, though don't love being surprised by them, and definitely don't want to be chased by them.  Yikes!

They say things come in threes, and the third creepy crawly of the week came the following day, when I encountered a ring-neck snake on our walk.  This was just a tiny guy, though, and I always enjoy seeing them.  I've been meaning to share a story of a critter of another sort, Remarkably Bright Creatures.  It was one of two books I recently enjoyed, and wanted to share, but at the moment, I can't remember the other, ha. We had another work day at the rental house.  We did a few things, but I spent the majority of the day painting, and J spent it pressure-washing.  We're hoping one more day will have us where we want to be, then we can do some things more leisurely.  

A bonus I don't think I've mentioned is a large, old pecan tree, just over the property line, which has many limbs over our property.  Our tenant doesn't gather them, so I picked up any on our side.  As much as we've been there, I've gathered a bowl full this year (the first photo).  The few I've picked up in years past have been good, so I've got high hopes for these.  I saved seed from joe pye weed and golden alexander, which are down at the pond's edge, and from marigolds in the garden.  J dug half of the sweet potatoes.  Though they're a lighter orange than the usual varieties we grow, they're darker than they appear in this pic.  We've had challenges in the past, with various things eating them, but that doesn't appear to be the case this year.  That's a real blessing.  I divided comfrey, and planted divisions under seven trees in our orchard.  Several elephant ears were dug for a neighbor, and I transplanted volunteer solomon's seal from a bad spot behind the chicken pen, to our shade garden.  We've typically had our first frost by now, and are happy to be enjoying the remaining blooms.  I hope you're enjoying these Fall days.