It must be almost Fall (my favorite season). I see a touch of red in a far off tree and the bottom of my driveway is covered with gnarly apples as it is every other year or so. It's time to clean them off before I break my neck stepping on one of them when I get out of my Jeep to get the mail. (I almost did this the other day. Managed to grab a door handle on the way down. So graceful... not.) Actually there are way more apples this year than normal. I wonder if that means we are in for a real winter. (That reminds me -- I need to purchase a 2025 Farmer's Almanac.) We haven't had an old fashioned winter in several years now. Anyway -- think I will pick up driveway apples until they stop dropping and move them to the back pasture to feed the deer, bears and maybe the wild turkeys (not sure if the turkeys eat gnarly apples -- not sure if bears do either but the deer that hang out in and around my pasture definitely love them. If I dump them in the right place, I will be able to watch a few of them dine every evening until the apples are gone or under deep snow. It's a peaceful sight.)
Thinking of wild animals who seek haven in my back pasture -- it is also blackberry time ... and ... I seem to be in competition with what I call the neighborhood bear(s) because he/she/they have been around quite a lot this summer. One of my pasture neighbors has wonderful photos of at least one of them. It looks quite tall in the photos as he/she/it reaches up toward their bird feeder. Let's say there is only one just to make the pronoun thing easier. Anyway ... this particular bear does not share well. I have been trying to get enough berries for even one pie. It's taking way too long. This bear hogs all the best berries. I just hope I don't run into him/her while on a mission to get a few more. For now, I just try to make a lot of noise and to have my trusty garden/yard/pasture vehicle nearby for a quick escape. Ah life in rural NW Pennsylvania. I so love it. I really do.
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