A nice Thanksgiving this year. Sarah’s turkey turned out well, even after some extra time in the oven. Her mom Zita delivered extra good green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and homemade cranberry sauce. Tante Berti has retired from her position as dessert chef, but bought us a huge yummy chocolate cake in consolation. The…

The mornings have been bright and cold recently. The Cache La Poudre River is fairly still in most places these days, so it freezes overnight, then shines and steams when the morning sun hits it.

I think this is a White-tail buck, since does do not usually grow antlers. He tried to hide from me in the grass behind the fence at first, then decided to escape to the river.

The trees around Fort Collins are pretty much bare of leaves now and must rely on the morning sunlight for their color. Dark clouds are becoming more common too. One of these mornings this driveway will greet me with some snow, I’m sure.

The nights are getting cold now. This morning was the first time I noticed parts of the river, just a trickle now, frozen along with the surrounding swampy areas.

I wonder if this hay will stay here all winter, or if it will be moved to covered area soon?

The geese have been arriving for a month or so, and now seem to be settling in for the winter.

Ann’s mom Carol surprised us by asking to try a climb at the gym! She got all harnessed and tied in, and remained remarkably cool as she made her way up her first ever climb.

Ann’s mom is visiting, and they decide to put together a low-key Thanksgiving-style dinner with some of our friends. They make Cornish hens, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans with carmelized onions, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Carol has pumpkin flan (made from our last CSA item – a beautiful pumpkin) ready for dessert. It’s great…

This morning the balloon was flying again, and I resolved to get a better shot of it this time. Sights like this help take the stress out of going to work.