That's it for this summer!!!

My but time is rushing on!
Our unbearably hot summer ended just as fast as it came and we had a few cold and drizzly days and now we are back into a beautiful Indian summer. A gallery visitor asked if this was warmer than usual for this time of year but, in truth, we have had wonderful falls the last few years.
The leaves have dried and fallen off the little wild Pin Cherries, but the Trembling Aspens aren't turning yet. It will come, and we have wonderful drifts of gold. I love fall. Here in Creson and the Kootenays it is a beautiful time of year. The smoke from forest fires and field burning in Idaho has subsided and the world is fresh.
I have had hand another surgery, this time on my left hand. I have Dupuytren's Contracture, which is a genetic condition which can cause ones fingers to draw down as the facia around the ligaments shrinks. Last year and this spring I had 3 surgeries on my right hand and now this is my left. That means 8 weeks swanning about and "petting the cat." I hope to be back in the studio and building birdhouses by late November. Meanwhile i need to produce a calendar or 2 of James' paintings for the 2007 year.
On the subject of "petting the cat".....
Skeeter is growing a bit and becoming less angular. She is built like a Siamese, so while she is no longer skinny she looks to remain tiny. Now the project is to get her comfotable coming in the house for winter.When we first tried to invite Skeeter in she would only dash in and dash out. She was most distressed if someone closed the door. It would absolutely panic her.Who knows, in her other life she may have been abused for coming in the house. She would like to play with feet but is very nervous of them, and she is a yeowly little creature - more confirmation of my Siamese suspisions. We had a very satisfactory visit last night. Skeeter was in for a good hour and more than 1/2 of that she spent letting me "hold" her. This is not the idylic cat-in-the-lap holding I am used to with Bandy. This is an exercise program all in itself. She is up, she is down, she turns around and flops so completely the "holder" has to catch her from falling on the floor, she turns and lies on ones legs, she gets up to lie on your chest, she turns around another 3 or 4 times. What a tiny wiggle wart, but she is a sweet little thing and bit by bit she is learning to trust us. She is "a keeper."