After waking to a chilly 38 degrees this morning, we enjoyed the slow warming to 73 right now at 3:30.  It felt to comfortable and pleasant to stay in so we puttered around outside in the sunshine.  Cliff did some leaf blowing which was good for him.  It's what he used to do and tackling these chores for short periods works for him.  About 3 o'clock I grabbed a cup of tea, my book and headed for the front porch to stay outside as long as I could before temperature began dropping.  

 Right now I'm reading High Plains Tango by Robert James Waller author of Bridges of Madison County  

I barely made it through three pages without being painfully pelted by corns from the oak's branches that canopy the open front porch.

Cliff's hard hat is locked in the shed so I put on my gardening straw hat.

Feeling safer and able to read..................

Yesterday Cliff had laser eye surgery. His lenses from the cataract surgery 3-4 years ago began to opacify blocking light from entering the eye.  Our optometrist set up the appointment with an ophthalmologist in Blue Ridge, GA (bout 35 minutes away) who specializes in laser surgery.   He looked like he was 14!!  He's actually 33! His staff loves him.  He's soft spoken, kind and put Cliff at ease.  It took longer to prepare him because of the eye drops, etc and wait time than the actual laser surgery.  Cliff told me it was amazing!  He actually got to see the flakes being blasted away.  Each eye took only about three minutes and he was done.  He could read tiny fine print immediately.  This has boosted his happiness meter.  Cliff enjoys Smithsonian magazines that his friend, Dutch, passes on to him.  

Suddenly our hummingbirds have disappeared.  This is the earliest ever.  Is this a sign that we're in for a cold harsh winter.? The last day I spotted one at a feeder was September 30.  Normally they stay until around Cliff's birthday, October 11.  I'll clean the feeders tomorrow and leave two up for a few more weeks because travelers will depend on nectar for energy.  The pineapple sage trumpets are in full bloom for awhile providing natural nectar for late migrators.  It seems as if summer whizzed by this year. Leaves are beginning to show their colors and float gently to the forest floor.