Okay, so this really isn’t a Halloween costume. Poor Daphne has such a sparse coat that it was recommended that we buy her some “clothes” for winter. I’m not sure that I will be able to talk Mike into taking her out for walks in this. Maybe just the morning walks that he does on weekdays at 5:45am – when it’s still dark outside. For safety purposes, it does have a reflective strip on the back. It’s the best of both worlds – warm and safe.
"Seriously, you bought me a sweater?"
She looks as though she likes it, right?
"Really, a sweater?"
We are now officially one of those people who dress up their dogs. At least it’s not a sweater that is pink and frilly like Sophia wanted to buy for her.
Despite the challenges brought on by chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, deer and even raccoons, we finished the growing season with one beautiful sunflower plant, a plentiful amount of grapes and a tree full of apples. We thought we outwitted the chipmunks by starting our sunflowers indoors, but other animals (and kids, though they won’t admit it) decimated all but one of our plants. The flowers have been blooming for the past couple of weeks outside our kitchen window.
Sunflower & Busy Bee ISunflower & A Busy Bee II
Pair of Flowers
Sophia and I outwitted the raccoon this year by picking our grapes before he could devour them in his nighttime feedings. Mike actually saw the raccoon last night when he let Daphne outside. Apparently he has been eating well this year, without our grapes, as Mike said he was HUGE! He must have come to check out the if the vines were ready for picking. We did leave a few that weren’t quite ripe, but still have two huge containers. I made the mistake of telling my Dad how many we had picked. Now he is expecting me to make grape jelly. Wish me luck! I haven’t done any canning since I was a kid and helped my Mom. Needless to say, I don’t remember a lot of the details.
Grapes
We are still waiting for the apples to ripen, but they are coming along nicely. There are about 6 dozen apples on the tree. Most of the apples are high enough up to be out of the reach of deer. Sebastian is looking forward to the harvest since last year there was only one apple on the tree. The year before we picked three. We have quite the bumper crop this year in comparison.
Sophia was invited to go with her cousin Katelyn to a horse farm last weekend. Katelyn spends an hour each week “working” on the farm and another hour riding the horses. Sophia brought along her Little Tikes camera to catch some of the action. The camera resolution is far less than high quality, but she did have a wonderful time with her cousin (and Aunt Denise). Here are a few of her pictures.
Horses by Sophia - Little Tikes CameraHorses by Sophia - Little Tikes CameraFarm Dog by Sophia - Little Tikes CameraFarm Cat by Sophia - Little Tikes Camera
M. Sullivan Photography 