Slight Detour: Autumn Thoughts and Scenes; TBT

Happily, we have not yet had a freeze.

I was able to pick a few yellow beans yesterday and more tomatoes.

The lone cucumber plant has two cukes almost ready to pic, and the sunflowers, cosmos and black-eyed Susans are still bloomin'.

The cooler weather of late has allowed me to get started on some of the fall clean-up, including pruning shrubs in the big beds around the yard.

Yesterday Laurie came over and picked up some of the pumpkins. They're going to a horse show in Moses Lake this weekend and will be used as decorations.

I'll probably move a few to the manure spreader in the north lawn for fall decorating here at the Lovestead.

Pretty much everywhere I go around the place I see projects that can be done, so in the next few days will tackle as many as possible.

Our trip to Ireland is starting to inspire some excitement. There's always SO much to be done before leaving that the mind hardly has time to think about the actual trip.

I'm having a hard time missing these highlights, though, because so many of my friends are in Ireland right now or have recently returned.

Lorraine and Kate, a mother-daughter pair, have taken carriage rides in Killarney National Park and are enthralled with Adare. Their Facebook feeds have featured pictures of an abbey in Adare where I lit a candle last year.

They've also visited quaint, colorful and beautiful Cobh where the Titanic set sail and a few million Irish departed and emigrated to America.

Meanwhile, my friend Tish and her sister have visited some of our favorite spots, including the Cliffs of Kilkee where Bill and I took selfies while we sat and in lush green grass with the ocean at our backs on a gorgeous, sunny, slightly breezy day.

I saw a video this morning of another friend Karen, a musician, who fiddled with a group at a pub in Dublin this summer.

It's fun to see these friends having so much fun and loving the same areas where we love to return each year.

Soon, we'll be there, and we may even see a friend from the old neighborhood on our Aran Island visit.

For now, it's keep the nose to the grindstone and get stuff done.

Happily, the weather is making much of the workload pretty easy and actually enjoyable.

While Laurie was over yesterday, I heard a rather distinctive bird sound while we were talking. At one time I looked toward the bird and thought that it looked like the right species to match the sound.

Later, while sitting with a cup of coffee in the living room, my thoughts were confirmed. A stellar jay swooped in to the bird feeder.

The bird never could decide where it wanted to position itself, flitting from the bird feeder platform to the top of the travel trailer and several other spots.

This indecision allowed me the opportunity to take a few shots through the window.

I put out some peanuts on the platform, hoping it would come back. Of course, peanuts and squirrels also go together, and the squirrels were enjoying a little extra last evening.

I've heard dozens of versions of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and have loved pretty much every one.

This performance with two amazing vocalists popped up this week, and I've listened to it with amazement several times.

Enjoy. Like someone noted: pretty good for street music.

A few Thursday Throwbacks:

My cousin Bill from Battle Creek, Mich., who came to our North Boyer farm in the mid 1950s. Bill likes his fancy cars, but he looked pretty happy on this day atop Mother's horse Largo.

Thanks to the wonders of social media, Bill and I have reconnected over the past couple of weeks and have enjoyed catching up on 60-plus years of life.