It has been a nice and quiet week here, just what I needed after being 'on the go' the week before.
I guess I needed a little vacation after my vacation, although it really wasn't a very busy or strenuous one at all.
I took some naps, read a lot, worked on sorting my pictures, did some gardening and cooking and just took it easy.

Of course I took up my morning walks again. The lower light, especially in the mornings is so pretty right now.
Everything gets a little glow, like these Teasels at the Willamina pond on Saturday:

And with that low, glistening light in my eyes I almost flattened this Woolly Bear caterpillar:

It is renowned for its ability to overwinter as a caterpillar by freezing solid! 
Than in Spring they thaw, feed briefly, pupate in a silk cocoon, and emerge as adult moths.
Traditional weather lore claims that the width of the caterpillar's rusty-red middle band predicts the severity of the upcoming winter (a wider band indicates a mild winter).
If there's any truth in this it looks like it's going to be a rather cold winter!

It seems like the Canadian Geese have gotten the message as well and are already fleeing the North and are on their way to warmer regions.
This flock probably landed here last night and are having a bite to eat and maybe another night sleep before proceeding further south.

                                                     

They were aware of me but fortunately stayed put. I always hate to disturb them thinking of how tired they must be flying these huge distances so I took these pictures from quite a distance but they came out fine.

Since my camera broke down (I dropped it one time to many I guess) I've switched to a much smaller one James uses for his appraisals. 
He actually has three of them, as backups if one misbehaves, so I've claimed one for myself.
It's also a Canon, with almost as much zoom as my old one, but much smaller. I like it, only disadvantage is that it doesn't have an eye-piece so since I'm far-sighted I find it difficult to see what exactly I'm photographing. 
Oh well, film is cheap these days so I just snap a whole bunch and hope I get at least one good one ...

My vegetables and flowers survived my absence just fine.
This Russian Kale didn't do to much over the summer but is obviously liking the cooler temperatures of lately and is growing like weeds!

And yes, that's one tiny broccoli head developing there in between all those huge leaves! There's another one coming up behind it but those seem to be the only ones I'm getting this year ...
My tomatoes did much better than last year. The cherry tomatoes are producing like crazy and finally the heirloom Brandy-wine tomatoes are ripening as well.
They are sooo good!

 

Some of the Bell-peppers are actually coloring yellow and some even show a little reddish. 
They need a little longer/more sun to really turn red but Oregon's season is usually a little too short for that. We'll see!

My Cosmos took it's time to start flowering but is now going full-speed and still have lots and lots of buds. I love them!

The Zinnias are pretty much spent now, I should have deadhead them to coax out a few more flowers. I might still do that ...

                        

I'm working on this seasonal appropriate puzzle. Lots of fall colors and pumpkins!
Not too difficult, perfect for my time of recuperating ...

I'll end with a picture of the soup of the week, an American/Hungarian Goulash soup. 
Great for the cooler days (65F) we're having at the moment!