Colourless Skies & Flat Lighting & Archer Days 9-11

A gardeners lament - oh, I should have been out in the garden yesterday when it was nice. Rain, wind and cold for the next 5 days. You can certainly tell when I'm reaching the end of the garden season when I'm borrowing neighbourhood trees and gardens. Such opposites - the eyebleeding colours of the glorious little Japanese Maples compared to the colourless sky. While I'm dropping in the photos into my draft here, the sky looks like it's oozing into the background text. Thank goodness for the nice little Blogger borders. Not only are the leaves shocking on the branches, they leave such perfect red, orange and yellow puddles below.

Beech hedges are used very rarely in Ontario - perhaps because they are so slow growing. Just around the block is this lovely example. Patches of it are yellow, green and yellow - almost looks like that tricolour wool - then it goes a good shade of tan brown - holding onto the leaves through whatever snow and wind it gets. The old leaves drop just as the new ones emerge.Same hedge, just a bit further down - will try to get a good photo after a blast of snow.

Again, amazed at the Lysimachia clethroides. It's never been this interesting in the fall.

This was taken on the day I should have done all my chores - pretty light - light wind. Hakonechloa is one of my favourite shade grasses. This variety is green and gold - excellent colour in the fall as well. The only thing it doesn't do is standup in the winter and show off its seedheads - can't really complain with something that gives you 3-season interest and grows well in dry shade.

Well, it's that time again - from here on in, it's Archer, the Dog Guide puppy we're fostering for a month. So, if you don't fancy reading about Sir Archer - consider yourself warned - stop reading right now!

So, for those of you have been following, you know that Archer likes water and rarely if ever sleeps. Although just to make a liar out of me, he's fast asleep at this moment. Added to his special talents appears to be an ability to escape from his cage which he did at 4:55 a.m. the other morning. Actually, he may have released himself from prison earlier and just revealed himself to us shortly before 5:00 in the a.m.

Yes, I know you look at this photo, and butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. While he was free, he made a nice puppy puddle in the hall - very kindly placing it to the side so that when Kevin and I went on a merry chase to return him to prison neither one of us stepped in it. When I finally got him outside, he barked sharply and said, (rough translation), "I've peed in the hall you fool, no need for me to freeze myself outside. Open up now." Neighbours no doubt were less than impressed.

Semi-comatose, Kevin found a metal clip to double lock the cage, a roll of towels for the puppy puddle and went back to bed.

I got up and did laundry.

Here he is frolicking in the leaves. I'd be frolicking too if I were more awake. He's going to be one heck of a dog for a sight impaired person who sleeps 3 hours a night, does triathlons, and must escape from enclosures....perhaps a companion for Jack Bauer on "24" should he ever be blinded by one of those bomb totting bad guys?