October Riches

It's amazing how much difference a couple of days can make in the fall, as you see in these "before" and "after" photos. The first picture of our house was shot on Friday, before our weekend trip to Rhinelander. The next was taken only three days later, after the trip was over. Quite a difference, huh?

We have lots of oak around our house, so rust and yellow are the predominant colors. Still, I expected our color to be better than what we'd see in Rhinelander, because Mom had warned us that their fall color was past its peak. Eau Claire is far enough south to be a little bit warmer and later, seasonally, than Rhinelander.

Even so, the trip north revealed that in a color comparison, Rhinelander wins hands down. It must have to do with the variety of trees-- Rhinelander has lots of red and orange maples, as well as paper birch with bright yellow leaves. It also has lots of quaking aspen, whose round leaves are a bright yellow and make a pleasing soft rustling sound as they shake in the wind.

Michael and Emma didn't have school on Thursday or Friday of this week, because of teacher conferences. Still, I had errands to run on Friday and couldn't leave for Rhinelander until about 4 o'clock. So Jon actually beat us to my parents' house.

He finished work early on Friday, so was able to get an early start on the six-hour drive from his current worksite in northern Minnesota to Mom and Dad's. He's actually only about 70 miles from Canada, right now. But we hadn't seen him for a couple of weeks, and he was anxious to see me and the kids-- particularly Leila, who's at that age when she changes so much day to day.

She's getting a little more shy and selective about people now, too. We were hoping she wouldn't cry when she saw Daddy-- he would have understood, but he would have felt bad, too.

But she didn't fuss. She remembered her Daddy and gazed lovingly at him. She grabbed his nose and giggled and coo-ed. But he could see how she's changed in the time he's been away; for one thing, she's a much better "sitter." She still falls over without support, but is much better at supporting her own weight. She can be propped up with pillows and likes to reach for toys from that position.

So we had our little "family reunion" with Jon at Mom and Dad's house, while waiting for Laurie and Mark to arrive.

Their jeep pulled up a few hours after dark, and strangely enough we were still up to greet them (I'm notorious for not being able to stay up much past nine). But the kids, including Leila, stayed up till the crazy-late hour of ten o'clock that night, and the adults even made it a few hours beyond that, talking and laughing.

We haven't had to change the clocks yet, so it's still dark at 7 in the morning. That's nice on the weekends, though, when you want to sleep in without guilt. The guys slept in, and when it was light out, they took Mingo for a bird hunt. Mark was nice enough to pack along extra hunting gear for Jon, who he knew was coming straight from work without time to pack anything. I had offered to bring Jon his hunting stuff, but he'd told me not to bother-- I don't think he trusted me to pack the right items, which would be more insulting if I didn't agree that I don't know much about hunting (let alone his storage "system" for things like that).

Anyway, while Jon and Mark hunted, and while baby Leila had her morning nap, Laurie and I snuck away to have a fancy cup of coffee at a little shop in Rhinelander. The shop was new to me-- I had never even noticed it before. But we asked the lady who waited on us if it was new, and were told it had been there twelve years.

It's in an old house that blends right in with the residential neighborhood around it, so it's easy to miss. But its little room are jam-packed with country and vintage-looking home decor. It also features some really stylish-looking bags, jewelry, and clothing. It has lattes, cappuccinos, and Italian sodas, which you can sip at a bistro table in the tiny front lawn behind the garden gate. I bought an interesting little ornament for my Halloween tree, and we had coffee at a table out front. When the morning sun became rather too direct, we migrated over to nearby Pioneer Park.

There was a small farmer's market going on there, so we perused that for a while before walking under the shade of the park's tall pines. We found a little path that led to the river bank, and along the way Laurie discovered a tiny bird's nest... the perfect opportunity for a cheesy photo. Say cheese, Lulu!

Since we wanted to make it back before the baby woke up (and since we knew Mark would have something good ready for our lunch), we hurried back to the house. Leila was still asleep, but the rest of the family was diving into Mark's German tomato soup and sourdough bread. Luckily there was plenty left for us.

By that time my brother John had arrived as well, so there was lots of fun and lively conversation. We went on walks and enjoyed the blue skies and unseasonably warm weather.

After Michael expressed his heart-felt desire to play croquet, we split up into teams and played the insidious course that John set up for everyone. He always puts one hoop at the edge of a hill, and we end up spending most of our time trying to get through the hoop without rolling back down the hill (easier said than done).

The Mom-Lisa team took an early lead, but that fizzled out fast after the Jon-Emma team made it through three hoops in one turn. Their victory seemed certain, but Laurie and Mark ended up walking away with the prize (gloating rights).

Here's John cleaning his shoes after stepping into a couple of Oscar's mud pies. Oscar has the charming habit of doing his "duty" on paths where people commonly walk, rather than off in the woods like most dogs.

We had a very good supper Saturday night, thanks to Mom. We finished the day with cocktails around an evening bonfire.

Sunday morning Jon and Mark went out hunting again, this time with Emma and Laurie tagging along with Laurie's camera. They found a porcupine near the house and shot it, helping Oscar and the other dogs avoid a snout-full of quills and a painful lesson. Dad buried the porcupine in the fenced-in garden, so Oscar wouldn't be able to dig it up later.

After lunch we said our goodbyes. Emma and Jon rode together in the company truck that Jon had rode down in, and Michael, Leila, and I followed behind in the Tahoe.

So we had a few hours of daylight together in Colfax. I was glad that Jon got to see the place during the peak of our fall colors... months earlier we had discussed how exciting it would be to watch how the seasons unfolded at our new house... particularly in the fall. And we haven't been disappointed. It's spectacular.

Here are a few views from out the windows and around the yard:

The little oriental tree in the big front yard flower garden...

The wood piles and back yard playhouse...

As leaf color lightens and trees lose their leaves, the "bones" of the woods gain prominence. Tree trunks, fallen branches, rotting logs and upturned roots become black skeletons against white sky on a cloudy day.

Last year Emma lamented the lack of leaves in our lawn, and I had to restrain her from jumping into our neighbors' piles of leaves. This year there should be no shortage of leaf piles (or opportunities to rake).