Fall? Winter?

SD and many parts of the midwest were in a winter storm warning the latter part of this week. I don't think anyone is ready for winter, much less a winter blizzard which did happen in some areas. Schools were closed. Semis overturned on icy roads with the strong winds.

Here in the southern corner of the state our only evidence of the winter weather was...

the few snowflakes that stuck to the deck rug and

 evidence of the strong winds!

we will probably have to stake the new tree next spring

one of our neighbors' tree is a lovely red

and another a bright gold

the trees across the gully are still very green

Monday was one of those beautiful, perfect days for working outside. There had been enough rain recently so I was able to dig another 3 feet to the perennial flower bed where I planted a rhubarb plant I had nursed along all summer, and some tulip bulbs. I transferred the chives plant from the deck planter to the flower bed.  I also planted the 3 perennials I purchased in August when we bought the new Red Oak tree for the back yard. I scattered all the potting soil I had purchased, cleaning up that space in the garage. I moved some outdoor decor indoors, but not all of it as it is supposed to be fall-like weather next week.

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I had 2 more OLLI classes this week. One was a bus tour of What's New in Sioux Falls? and the other a Mixed Media Pumpkins. Not certain what to expect other than knowing it was listed under the creative arts section and held in a carving (crafting?) room at the Pavilion...

our place settings

the mixed media pumpkin demo

work in progress

some tearing of paper to cover the display board as background

painting of paper to tear into crescents for our pumpkin

nearing completion

some painting of the background

before adding the final details

finished project