Hey, look at that! Fall colors! Yeah!

'Tis the season, and it's starting to look like it .. a little bit. It sure doesn't feel like it much yet with day temps around 80-85F, but at least at night we're now cooling down into the high 40's low 50's, which is better than it was.

                 

                                      

                                             And yeah, some color. So pretty!

                                                              

I found these little 'lanterns' along the river.                                               

  

 

Normally they're much more orange, but maybe that'll still happen?  I'll keep my eye on them ..

This fuzzy caterpillar tried to make it's way across the gravel to the other side of the path, like they usually do for some reason?

I think it's a Woolybear, but it has no brown band at all?

                                                

 

And there was this Praying Mantis, sunning himself in the midday-sun.
I know this one was a male, because he flew, before he landed there! Females have wings but can't fly.  

          

And this one, who was a completely different color! Female?

Here's a few more fun facts about Praying mantises: they have bulging eyes and heads that can swivel 180 degrees. They eat nothing but live food, mostly insects and clean their forelegs after eating. Cannibalism is common among them, it is estimated up to 28% of males are eaten by their partner. After mating, the female stores the male's sperm and later uses it to fertilize the eggs that she produces.                                                                    There, now you know! Such intriguing little insects!

On Saturday we went golfing a little later than normal because James had won a round for 2 at a raffle during last month's tournament, cart included, as well as dinner for 2 at the club's restaurant.                                                                                                   

So instead of golfing early in the morning, like we normally do, we went over later in the afternoon, played 9 holes, enjoyed a glass of wine and beer for happy hour and sat down for a nice Prime Rib dinner:

 

 We had a window table, with a view of the setting sun over the Camas Prairy. Very nice!

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, Sam, Ryan and Ronnie arrived on Monday, and 'hit the

ground running' as they say .. 

 

They've immediately started sanding the, now dry, wood they milled the last time they were here, and are varnishing the back-side as well while they're at it.

 

James in the meantime, has spray-painted all the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and I helped painting all the casings.

 

   

  

 

 

 

 

And yesterday we tackled the pantry/laundry-room: 

 

                                  

 

He created a spray-booth out of Sam's trailer:

 

                                  

                             Works perfect!

Austin and James are almost done with the two dormers. Still more to do, but the end is in sight ..

No more scaffolding in the front!

                                   

                                                        But now it's in the back .. can't get rid of that thing!

In the evenings James usually enters all that has been done that day on the computer, and writes down everyone's hours.

This unfortunately is also the time that Merlin wants some 'lap-time' and attention, and it has always been a struggle to accommodate both a cat and a computer.

 

But not anymore!

We ordered this handy dandy computer-desk on coasters that fit over the chair's legs at the bottom, and has a tray/table which can swivel back and forth over his knees.

 

 

 Eh, voila, problem solved! Everybody happy!