Persistence

About once or twice a week week, I find this little garter snake in the same spot in our yard where one of the dogs manages to corner it. I really don't mind snakes. I like mice in the house even less than I like snakes, so I do what I can to help him survive, which is to pick up the dog and bring him into the house while giving the snake a chance to slither off into the woods. I wouldn't be surprised if I see him at least once again, in the same spot staring down the same dog, before it goes into hibernation. If you look closely, its left eye is missing. Don't know if that was congenital or a result of one of it's encounters with Cooper.

Our fall foliage is probably at its peak. The rule of thumb for this area is that the Columbus Day weekend is the best time to view the foliage. As tomorrow is Columbus Day, I'm a little bummed that I haven't been able to get out and get some more autumn photos yet this weekend. Both my daughter and I have been a bit under the weather -- she with a persistent fever, me with the same persistent cough I had last year about this time.