NATURE HAS ITS WAY

Don't Mess with Mother Nature
The squirrels, the geese and the oak trees, at least, think that Autumn is upon us. The furry little idiots (trust me, squirrels are NOT bright) are busy carting acorns - pecans come later - back and forth to their hidey holes in trees or burying them in the ground. With the latter, they will totally forget where they put them and then we'll have to deal with the sprouts in the Spring.

More Canadian geese are coming to visit the park and the pond as they work on their migration to wherever it is they mostly go for the winter. We do have some who will remain here; apparently Chickasha is a hip place to over-winter. Analiese and I got a kick out watching a flock come out of the pond...each in turn in a row, one behind the other. From there, they climbed up the banks and across a path down into a lower area to graze. The funniest part was when a guy came walking down the path. Two of the geese acted as crossing-guards, stopping the others coming up from the pond, until the gentleman passed. I so regret not having my phone for the video!

The oak trees are busy putting up their fall bounty.

We love the view from our dining room window! Often, we see the squirrels running around.

At first, it appeared like fuzzy green balls on the branches. Then the acorns popped out. Yes, they are acorns, and eventually I'll get a picture of one. Ken didn't think they were because they are big and fat unlike the scrawny things you see out in Calif. These are robust acorns! And when the wind blows, they drop down on our roof (conveniently on the part where Analiese studies and I work on Seminary) with rather loud "THUNK!"

We had a dew-free morning on Wednesday and decided to walk through the grass to the pond path. BIG MISTAKE! Because of recent rains, there were a lot of toadstools and we decided to have a little fun, trying to field kick them across the lawn! First of all, Analiese kicked a big one right into my rear, onto my black skirt (yes, I go walking in my Seminary church clothes, I just switch out my shoes for tennis shoes!), making a mess all over. When we stopped at the park amphitheater so I could brush off the fungi, we noticed another, not-at-all-nice surprise. Burrs, that the locals call goats' heads were clinging to the back of my skirt and all over our shoes and laces! They are tiny but devilish! They hurt and stick to practically anything (though we have hypothesized that the geese's rubbery legs aren't bothered by them) and our fingers were soon smarting. So then we looked for sticks so we could pry them off. We at least had two dozen each on us! And, I found one I missed the next day when I went to lace up my shoes. Ouch! I guess this was nature karma for 'shroom kicking!

I was talking with someone in my yard on Wednesday, when, from out of the field across the road lumbered a skunk. (NOTE: Skunks are nocturnal. To see one in the daytime means that Mr./Ms. Stinky is not healthy, which is a problem in it's own right.) Then, a few paced behind it, skulked a mangy cat. Now, I always thought that nasty beast was just a neighborhood roamer, but a neighbor two yards down said it was hers (then keep that thing off of my porch and out of my yard!). Both the neighbor and myself tried shooing the cat away from the skunk, but we didn't dare get too close. Not that it did any good, the cat refused to quit hunting. Eventually both cat and skunk went into another neighbor's back yard, but since I did not sense any lingering odor later, I assume that Mangy Thing did not get Mr. Stinky. What a relief!

NOT Stinky bunnies...Analiese just likes holding them. PomPom is a really cuddler.

Alice is more independent, though, and not fond of Analiese holding her

Plus, the weather has been so unpredictable. The first part of the week wasn't terribly uncomfortable, low eighties. But Friday went all the way up to 93! Not at all nice (especially when you find out what I decided to do that day). Then, I kid you not, I went to look at the weather first thing Saturday morning. The WC said clear skies, a little bit cooler. By 11 a.m., when Jonathan took Analiese to TB for a work shift, it began to rain. And not little sprinklies, either. Full out, fill-the-reservoirs, flood-the-neighborhoods rain. Luckily, it quit by the time I went to a RS activity by 2 p.m., though it was a warm and close as a sauna. Maybe I'm starting to feel a little sympathy for the weathermen...how can you keep up with that?

Autumn Desires
People get so hopeful when September rolls around here, even though they fully know that there will be no significant cooler/comfortable-r temperatures until later October-early November. They are dressing their porches with Fall decor and there are pumpkins in Walmart.

I must say, I fall prey to these wishes myself. I couldn't help it, but Monday, I made split pea soup. I wanted soup (and soup weather) so bad! It was good, but the weather wasn't quite cool enough to make it the absolute wonder that it usually is.

Then, I decided, for the RS activity Saturday, that I was going to take doughnuts. Last year, for my birthday, I had purchased doughnut pans.

I've never had the chance to use them, what with house work and moving, and such. I was determined to try this recipe I found for Lemon sugar baked doughtnuts.

It really wasn't hard - the worst part was grating lemon rind for six teaspoons worth! (eye roll, please) But it was also too warm - remember the 93 degree day? I was sweating something awful. They turned out beautifully...and tasted heavenly! See, after they bake, you dip them in butter and lemon-sugar.

The lemon sugar is sugar infused with the lemon rind and - oh my! - it is wonderful!

Bet you'd like a bite!

My Teeth...the Saga Continues
Sunday evening of last week, I felt something weird in my mouth. Sandy, gritty, on the right side. I clamped down my teeth carefully and met with a spongy feeling - not good. Then, all of a sudden, something strange was wedged between my teeth. I tried with my fingers to dislodge it, but eventually resorted to flossing in that area. Come to find out, an old crown had a chunk out of it and that was the foreign object causing discomfort. Funny thing, though, the rest of the crown had a sharp edge on it and it didn't bother me at all!

So, I saved the chunk and, on Monday, called the dentist. I had an appointment Tuesday to put a new crown on the latest re-root canal on the bottom left. Did they have time to also see to the new issue on the right? SIGH.

The crown went on smoothly and quickly. The other, well, the dentist sanded down the sharp edges and said we needed to replace it (fortunately, no root canal needed this time) right away. So, next week...new impressions, new temporary. I feel very betrayed by my mouth right now.

Sweet Service
I'll end on a happier note. Seminary this week has been very full of the Spirit. I love these kids and they bring so much to the class! The other day, I was sharing a personal story and it hit me...these kids were all looking at me and listening, really listening, to what I had to say. That's a big responsibility!

Besides feeding the sister missionaries this week, which we always do, I was able to go with them to visit an investigator and talk to him about the Apostasy and Restoration of the Gospel. Having studied that not too long ago in Seminary, I had it on my mind and felt good about contributing.

The Saturday RS activity was all about Family History Indexing. I hadn't done it in about a year, but I have done it, so I was asked to help people get going on it. I was able to bring some laptops and my shaky expertise to help a couple of sisters who came. I even did some work myself on the intermediate level. I've never gone beyond beginner before! Oh, and they loved my doughnuts, too!