Chickadee with a Side of Fall Colors

The leaves on the maple trees are starting to transform, giving the background a lovely combo of golds and greens.  And what better than a little Black-capped Chickadee to give the background a dash of life?  Although chickadees are not migratory birds, they often disappear from my garden during the nesting season, reappearing late summer to liven things up.  I'm not sure why they disappear but can only guess that they've gone deep into the woods to nest and raise their young.  They use old woodpecker cavities to nest in, so plenty of housing options for them.  Some years they stay here and use one of my nest boxes which is always nice treat.  

Jax and I spent some time outside this morning, me with a fleece on since the temps were down into the 50's.  He ignored the chipmunk burrow that he was so keen on yesterday, instead fixating on something he saw in the woods.  Lots of hackles and barking so it could have been a bear back on the ridge ... or maybe a deer...or maybe nothing at all.

I have found a weekly pilates/yoga class (AARP) on Tuesdays that I like a lot so Peg and I both signed up for it today and met on the virtual mat for a very good workout.  Lots of work on core and hip flexors.  I like the instructor very much - she is very zen and gives lots of options if some of the moves are too difficult.  Perfect compliment to Friday yoga!  

 Poor Charlie is about to have an unpleasant surprise when we scoop him up in an hour and head to the vet.  Because so much of our focus in the last year was on Phoebe, we kind of let Charlie take a backseat.  Although he is 13 and thus classified as a "senior" cat, he seems to be very healthy and shows no signs of aging.  However, he does have a history of tartar buildup on his teeth so is likely due for a cleaning and we also need to get a full blood workup done on him as a baseline.  Since we brought Jax home almost 3 years ago, Charlie has been the "middle child" and just hasn't gotten as much of our attention as the elder and baby.  Most of the extra attention he's getting is welcome, but this trip to the vet will not be well received.  Fortunately, he's a gentle soul and also very forgiving.

xo
Debbi