The bear's still around (and he brought a friend)

Not really (bears and porcupines hardly ever travel together). I'm sure that the bear was just checking out the bird feeder situation (still inside for now). The porcupine (and his friends the raccoons and skunks are there to dig for grubs in the lawn).

We've had our first hard freeze so nothing else will be growing this season. Snow flurries were forecast for a bit this morning but they didn't happen.

I've been busy with my fall brush cutting. First order of business was to cut back what had grown in the area that I cleared last year. I'm about done with that. Next order of business will be to clear some more of the brambles and collect them into burn piles (burn season is January 15 to May 1).

-JC-