Fall, not quite faded

The leaves are starting to fly off the trees here in Wisconsin, so it occurred to me that I might want to grab a few pictures of them before they all fly away. Last night, before taking Dakota to the dog park for a 2.25 mile sunset walk, I took a few shots. It's always amazing to me how the camera really doesn't capture the stunning beauty of nature's displays. Well, at least MY camera doesn't capture them...one can only hope I'm promoted in the spring so I can start saving for a digital SLR. I practically drool when I see the pictures out of those. Or maybe I should just rehabilitate my old Pentax and go old-school. That took WONDERFUL pictures.

On a different topic, I'm just stunned and dismayed by how ridiculously fast the light fades in the afternoon now, after the time change. Dakota and I arrived at the dog park at 4:50 or so last night, and the light was already fading. By 5:45, when we left, it was practically pitch-black. I felt sorry for a woman who was there with her two Basset hounds, Ernie and Floyd. Floyd was being a good boy and sticking by Mommy, but Ernie had let his wandering spirit (and stubby little legs) get the best of him and he was stubbornly staying "lost" in the park while his owner bleated for him to come back from the park entrance. She had a small flashlight with her, but I'm sure the prospect of trying to hunt down a short, stubborn Basset hound (named ERNIE, no less) in the dark was a daunting one. Thankfully, Ernie returned to her, running and huffing, and looking quite disdainful that she'd allowed him to stay unsupervised for so long...

What I'm drinking

I can't, for the life of me, find any internet references about this wine, so it is a bit of a mystery to me. I'm pretty sure it was one of my Wine of the Month wines, as I don't see anything about it that would've intrigued me enough to pick it off the shelf myself.

Anyway, it's a 2003 Castel Sallegg Kalterer See Classico. Almost Beaujolais-like -- it's fruity, young, and doesn't leave much of an impression. Kind of like winey water. Oh well, it's liquid and red and has alcohol in it. Works for me.

Ungulates have trouble with the clutch

I went to a Halloween party last night, only for a couple hours, but it was a pretty good time. I went as a Biker Cow. Yes, I said a BIKER COW.

I have this cow costume that I purchased at the last minute from Target back in 1999, for the very first Halloween party I was invited to as a Madison resident. That, along with a vampire cape and a set of spiked jewelry (one necklet, two cufflets) created my Vampire Dominatrix Cow costume that went over like wildfire and played an important role in the events that transpired that evening that have made the last seven years the best of my life. Over the subsequent years, I've gotten much reuse out of those costume parts -- except the dominatrix jewelry, which was lost. But you'd be amazed at how versatile a cow costume and vampire cape really are.

For the latest example, last night, I took my cow costume and put a black tank top over it, then pulled the top of the cow costume alluringly off my shoulders. I then put my motorcycle chaps and boots over the bottom half of my Halloween bovine, which caused the infamous rubber udders to protrude quite shockingly from the space beneath the belt of the chaps. Topped it all off with my flame headscarf and a "talking" cow headband that made cow sounds when the nose was pressed. That didn't last long as part of the ensemble, because it was sort of obnoxious, but it was fun for a few minutes.

I think many people had a tough time with what I was, exactly. Perhaps they don't see enough bikers to be able to catch on to the dead giveaway costume pieces. Or perhaps they were just distracted by my udders. But, I did get a couple people who asked whether I'd brought my bike with me, and I just simply answered, "No, ungulates have a tough time with the clutch," and took another sip of my beer.