Long Fall

I haven't posted in a while- it's been a quiet October. Everyone up here swears it's also been the longest fall they can remember- it's beautiful and sunny and in the 40's, but I hear winter is coming. The sun doesn't rise until around 9 now- I really enjoy driving to work in the dark- the sky is still pitch-black at 8, without even a glimmer of sun. It's great because when I scrape my windshield in the morning, I don't get that terrible sun-glare if the window isn't fully defrosted before driving. The sun's been setting around 8 at night, so there's been some great daylight after work.

The leaves are gone from the trees now- but I got a few pictures along the river before they fell.Here was the view from my backyard at day:


And at sunset:


The boys have liked being out by the river too- bear will sit with me on the bench while we read outside, and Mr. Darcy does more exploring than he should:


There's a really friendly bluebird in our yard- when I sit outside, he comes and perches- I didn't know what he was- he's really dark, but my neighbor said he thinks they darken for winter to blend in better against the trees.


It's pretty bare here now without the leaves- the evergreens are everywhere, but they're all thin and scraggly, not like the ones in MN:


Not having snow is interesting- there's lots of hiking paths open, with no one around- even the long lengths of fishing boardwalks are completely bare:


There have been a lot of moose around lately- this mama was right by our house, the baby was further away, I didn't dare go further than my doorstep:


There was a mama and baby right by the post office in town- it's neat to see how much the babies have grown- they are a lot bigger than they were.
Here's the baby:

With mom watching nearby:

My weekends are pretty full with orchestra practices- it takes up most of the day- we practice in Ninilchik, halfway between Soldotna and Homer- at the fairgrounds. We have a dress-rehearsal tomorrow and concerts next week, so that will be fun.