A full fall day

This is Scarlett, a former foster, who is with us until Sunday.
I can let Scarlett out with Vince, she's not going anywhere,
but I keep an eye on her, as she does on me.

Once a week I bring all the dog beds out to the front porch, vacuum them, spray them with OdoBan, and give them some fresh air. Our house still smells like a kennel, but it's got to help, at least for a day or two.

These are just the upstairs dog beds.
There are 6-7 more downstairs

Friday afternoon I had a follow up appointment with Rex. It's been 3-4 weeks since his final heartworm treatment. He's doing fine and I think he'll be going to his new home in the next week or so, with the understanding that he should still be kept relatively calm for a few more weeks. There is just a senior dog in his new home, so I don't think that will be a problem.

Rex has a bit of a tendency to counter surf, but otherwise his manners are really good and he's quite calm and settled, especially for a young shepherd. He's been staying in the kitchen at night with Max, but without being crated.

Later in the afternoon, after the vet appointment, I took Maya and TJ out for a five mile hike. After the time change this weekend, I'll have to go in the middle of the afternoon to get in five miles before dark. I will have to adjust my work schedule and go out mid-day.

It was warmer than it needed to be today, but it may be the last day that it is this warm for a while so I won't complain (except about the swarms of ladybugs that have invaded the house). It was so dry this summer that it seemed that the leaves were just turning brown and falling off without changing colors. The color change came late, but it seems even more beautiful than I remember in years past. I swear there's more red in the late changing leaves. The maples seem to be redder this year, the dogwoods are a deep crimson, and even some of the oaks seem to be producing a rust colored fall leaf rather than just brown.

It was a beautiful walk, although Maya was disappointed that we didn't spot any deer. We did see some trail markers that made me think there's a trail ride planned for this weekend, and when we got the pole barn there were horse trailers and people setting up something called "cowboy church." Christians on horseback, lovely, probably starting another holy Crusade slaughtering the infidel. This infidel will avoid that part of the park this weekend. Maybe it will rain. 

Here's a branch of a maple tree with orange/red leaves.
At right is an individual leaf.

This tree couldn't quite make up its mind which way to go.
The resulting confusion is really beautiful, however.

There's a little more water in Sparky's watering hole than there
has been for a long time, and the river seemed up a bit too.

I believe this is a sweetgum leaf, deep purple.

Dogwood

Dogwoods are among the prettiest trees in both spring and fall.

Not red, but it sure is pretty.

The sumac is about done with its annual splash of color.

The sun had set and the light was fading fast on the last half
mile of our hike, but this tree and others like it looked like
they were lit up, making the most of the final rays of light.