The First Fall Days

Happy Fall.
I know, it was actually yesterday, but it hardly seems to matter,
especially because it doesn't feel like Fall at all...
at least not during the day.
The last two days the temperature has been in the upper 80's.
But I suppose in the mornings, you can start to feel Fall creeping in;
Cold, damp air mixing with the smell of the prep-for-winter-to-do-list.

And, yes, that is a smell.

Two days ago it was that smell that prompted us
to install a new wood stove.
The wood stove is replacing a fireplace that we never used
and also, hopefully, will be replacing the totally inefficient
heating system that we have relied on up until now.
Yesterday morning, another project presented itself.
The garage was long overdue for a new paint job and with the
impending rainy season, it was now or never.
But unlike the wood stove, which went in fairly smoothly,
the painting was a little more difficult,
the main reason being that our garage (unbeknownst to me until now)
is protected by swarms of Ninja Spiders.
If you thought spiders were solidary insects, think again.
Although it was hard to catch in a picture, these guys literally covered
(there must have been close to one hundred of them)
the entire bottom plank of the gargage.
A plank that, despite their presense, needed to be painted.
It was a rather scary battle... Ninja Spiders happen to be quite
courageous little garage-panel protectors,
but in the end, the homo sapiens prevailed,
and the garage was able to reclaim its former color.
Other projects await, I am sure,
we will probably catch whiff of them in the morning.