Cordelia's Cordial III

     Grapes are almost ready. I'm still stripping leaves and vines from them. Need to really cut them back this weekend, rain or no rain. Time to get them ripened to harvest for wine.

                       Everything has changed......bushes are turning into twigs, wind is starting to howl, rain starting to fall, again, and again, and again.......

 Welcome to Vancouver Island.................

                               And the grapes are just waiting. Racoons showed up last night.....I thinkt hey were pickign at the fruit..........

                       And the wind and rain, and ocean continue to turn into storms. I love it.

                                        And Cordelia still supervises her grapes. Grapes that will be her wine. Will have to drop off a bottle or two,to her family, when it matures.
                                  Cordelia's Cordial III...............because she is very cordial.

CORDELIA... White Cat in the Grapes

 There she is. Cordelia. Of the Grapes. Gold Eyes. The White Cat with personality. The white cat who lives behind us , on the hill. The white cat  who shares moments with us, and we feel lucky to know her.

                  We're waiting for the grapes to ripen so we can pick them to take to the wine shop. Cordelia seems to like sleeping on the fence under the vines. She has very nice family up the hill. Never asked her to come here. And yet, here she comes, practically every day. She's a flirt.

                                    She likes to supervise.....usually she nods off.

                                     She likes to comment.............

  Rubs her face on the grape vines......toddles around your feet...

                          Poses for important photo shoots.............

                                               Craves attention...........

                                         Hopes she gets a snack................

                             Enjoys lots of ear scratches. We just can't help it. She's just lovely.She says hello, bides her time, toodles off somewhere, then magically reappears.And we, the lucky ones, wait with bated breath till she reappears and carries on the conversation from where we left off...........

FIRST DAY of FALL

 One of my things to do on a stormy day. Stand at the edge of the shore. First day of fall today. Best place to be. This is how I like an ocean....dark, twisting clouds, rocks greasy from  rain and surf.

 "We knew it would rain, for all the morn a spirit on slender ropes of mist was lowering its goldtn bucket down into teh vapoury amethyst." (Before the Rain by Thomas Bailey Aldrich)

        Sweet peas in one bunch, still hanging on for dear life.......Pods flopping.

                    ....and Cordelia looking thru the glass door. As usual.

                   lady's mantle sprouting here and there. Soaked with rain.

                   A few sweet peas. Just a few. Not enough to bring in. Just enough to gather rain.

 It's fall. The teakwood bench always gets moved to the covered porch for the winter. The neighbourhood cats usually find it. They will be sitting on it  out of the elements, looking in the window.

                    And the grapes. Cordelia of the golden eyes. It's time to strip the vines. Let the grapes ripen and breathe before they are harvested.

  Lots of grapes this year. Tons. Thinking wine and coolers.............

 

Smoke Bush. Starting to go crispy in the fall. Light shatters from it.  Just like cobwebs......making eyes like an owl.  Very cool.

                           "The maple wears a grayer scarf, the field a scarlet gown......"
                                          (Autumn by Emily Dickinson)

    "There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood...touch of manner, hint of mood; and my heart is like a rhyme..." (A Vagabond Song by Bliss Carman)

                And Fog. Wonderful fog. Down by the Pier. It's fall. I'm so excited! (Until January hits then I will wish it were spring......that's a song, itsn't it? " Might as well be spring....") Now I'm going to have that running thru my head for the next month........

Mt. WASHINGTON in SEPTEMBER

 This is what we see from our front hill. Only this is a LOT closer.....Mt. Washington in September. It's elevation reaches 1,590 metres adn is located on the eastern edge of Vancouver Island Ranges.  It's beautiful.

 Only 25 kiometres from Comox Valley. There's hiking in the summer, trail bike riding, and skiing, of course, in the winter.

 The mountain was named after Rear Admiral John Washington, official Hydrographer, to the British Royal Navy during excurions in the 1860's.

 Mt. Washington is home to the Vancouver Island Marmot. Basically they look like large ground squirrels and are endangered. They're only found in certain places, and one place is on Mt. Washington which is home to the Tony Barrett Marmot Recovery Centre.   They're safe here. Though I've never seen one, I can imagine them staring at us as we walked the trails.....

    Mt. Alexandra  ( I think)............

                         Up into the clouds on the ski lifts. Darn expensive...at least $20 a person. Just to go up to the lookout.As you can see, it was very busy when we were there......

The Chimney...........

                   Looking down on the alpine resort.............

                        Condos at the resort.

                       Up at the top..............

                   The Valley below. I imagine tons of marmots down there all looking up.....

                                     Paradise Meadow at the bottom of the ski lift..........

                                 Sunset from our hill, looking at the mountain  in the distance.

KITTY KOLLAGE.....

Cordelia..............she is so beautiful.

 Love cats. No, I'm not the "cat lady down the street" ( Well,maybe I am... but I will fervently deny it) .Cats are fascinating to watch. I love photographing them. and they seem to oblige. The outdoor cats are easiest. Our three indoor cats are more difficult. They hide.

Spencer.......back in the spring of 2013. Curious. This is how we met. Eye to eye. Through the glass door.

And Bo. Of course. Queen of her realm.

2012. Cordelia. And the grapes.

Grey Cat. Fall 2012. He's disappeared in June 2013. Lovely sweet disposition.  I miss him.

Smokey.

Grey Cat and Smokey. May 2012.

Spencer. Funny boy.

And Cordelia. She has this "look".

Spencer on a mission.

Cordelia. February 2013. Cold morning.

Spring. 2013. Spencer's beautiful amber eyes.

He found my chair I plant. Spring 2013

Bunny. Summer 2012. She's a lot bigger now.

Bo. Under her lappy lite. Happy happy. Winter 2013.

Bo and Bunny. Fall 2012.

And Grey Cat. Spring 2013. He liked to play wth Spencer and Smokey. I wonder if they miss him.

Smokey in the patio garden. I love this shot. Nice angle, and the with the flowers and bench and grapes looks like a hot summer's day.

Looks like Smokey is saying"What?? What??"

Hot hot Cordelia....drooops

 Peacful Spencer. Unusual little cat. So personable and seems to have an old soul.

 Funny Smokey. Hot hot August day. Droops on the fence.

                     Those eyes........

          Morning world....Spencer on the fence in the early hours in the summer.

 Pigeon hunting. Cordelia and Spencer have it done to a science.

CAT. No kidding.

 On the porch. Spencer spent many hours snoozing here...............

 Cordelia on the bench................especially when the other two were not around.

                       YYYAAAWWWNNNNNNN.......first thing to see on an August morning.

 Longer shadows. September 2013. Spencer .

 Eyes of Cordelia. September light.

 Whoa! Bug-eyed Cordelia....watches pigeons on the roof.

   Hot September day..............Cordelia likes her bench.

 The kitty trail between houses...this is Spencer and Smokey's path. Cordelia comes from up the hill.

 Dale with Cordelia........

              Spencer wants cuddles off and on. Wants to say hello.

 And Smokey likes hanging out on the fence, drooping himself over and patting at you as you walk by.  Play!

                                      Tired Smokey.Love his paws......velvet.

                      Cordelia has a "thing" about the greenhouse. In the winter she will sit inside the window ont the white table. In the summer she likes to drink out of the blue water can.  Seems to be her place.

                                          Pretty boy.

                 Anotehr cuddle. Usually when I'm out working in the garden, he will come by.He and Smokey have a sweet family, at the other end of their kitty trail. And then  they come here to see the birds, and Cordelia, and what we're doing. Too cute.

               Our Pye. She LOVES to snuffle the sweet peas. She will pull them out, systematically, one by one and they seem to be liek catnip to her................

                                            Smokey resting .

                                       Watching Cordelia. Cordelia is watching him.

             Bump a Spencer. He loves to bunt his head against your feet.

                 Asleep on warm pavement.......warm August day in the shade.

                                         Tuckered.

                         Cordelia and the Moai Head on the hill.

                    Love when they come to visit.....