foggy bottoms

These recent cool, foggy mornings don't need to be near Halloween to be enjoyed...but it sure doesn't hurt!  

I love the fog and the rain in autumn.

The nearby horses are calm and patient, waiting out our infrequent storms.

Since we're so close to November, the bright reds have turned to rust, and the yellow leaves are deepening into gold.

Down by the pond, the colors are lovely.

A belted kingfisher scolded me for interrupting his hunt.

In the garden, the goldfinches are still finding seeds.  Their little acrobatics are so fun to watch.

Many days are overcast, but the sun still comes out and makes the colors bright again.

Claudia is still showing up for regular meals...

...but sometimes, she brings her own.

Somehow, after a lackluster summer, the snapdragons are taller and stronger than ever, seemingly unaffected by the ran and the frost.  They are making gorgeous late-season bouquets.

I've been drying seed, trading seed, and cataloguing seed for weeks.  It's satisfying work as the rain beats against the windows and the cats are snoring peacefully in their nearby beds.  I'm looking forward to a season of major organization and planning.  Hopefully this will help to make 2021 a little bit better than its predecessor!

Have a great week!

window clings and (half) birthday things

 If you were to Google half birthday, you'd mainly find baby onesies...to which I say, why should they have all the fun?

A small-batch recipe and a foil barrier with pie beads on the empty side that will keep the dough from spreading is all you'll need for the perfect half birthday cookie cake!  Half of a candle set...

...and, if your husband is especially obstinate about PIE being the proper sweet for a birthday - even a half birthday - sometimes you have to compromise.  Voila, half of an apple pie, made the same way.

This is a great time of year, because the third week in October is juuuuust when you slide into deep fall.  One minute your garden is still full of happy flowers...

...and the fall colors are bright and cheerful.

Then much-needed rain comes.  Colder temps, and frost - hard frost.

Colors deepen briefly, and then leaves...drop...fast.

The garden turns completely brown almost overnight.

Then it's time to turn your attention to decorating for the next holiday - Halloween!  Again I say:  why should kids have all the fun?

From garlands...

...to construction paper bats and skulls...

Even window clings for the microwave!

Those hugging skeletal hands, by the way, are on our bathroom mirror, front door, secretary, and even the fridge.  I...love...Halloween.  

It's also the time of year to deal with the remains of the garden - the seeds.  From trading...

...to "practice sprouting" on heat mats to confirm viability, especially in paler seeds.  Will seeds from flowers hit with frost still germinate?  What about flowers used in bouquets?  There's only one way to find out, and it's better to do it now, than to waste valuable space in spring growing flats and soil blocks.

It's been busy.  Bosewichte has been helping in the usual way.

Maybe seeds with bottom AND top heat will sprout faster?  :)  

I've also been working on little projects, like finishing my rainbow gloves...

...and tidying up loose ends, like frogging this old blanket that I knitted a decade ago and never used.  Eight oatmeal-colored skeins of Cascade 220 worsted yarn, current value near $100, will now be used in a sweater.

It feels good to get things done...with a little help from our friends!

Have a great week!

frost tossed

 First frost!!

I love watching the steam rise from the back pond and fields on cold mornings.

What a difference a week makes.  One single frost completely shocked the trees out of their complacency.  Here are some befores and afters, just 4 or 5 days apart!

The solitary frost was followed by a series of warm days, but the warmth wasn't enough to salvage my poor herb garden, which turned to complete mush after the frost.  My zinnias were seriously blighted too. I've collected frost-bitten flower heads, dried them, and am now trying to sprout selected seeds in plastic bags to determine viability.

Nasturtiums are slowly going to seed.  I love these tiny "pumpkins" on thin, curly stems!

I'm drying my few remaining sunflowers inside to protect them from the birds, who are still quite plentiful.

Here they are, watching from a safe distance and waiting for "the intruder" to leave their dinner table!

Working in the garden and slowly cutting it down for winter, I still see so many visitors.  Some good...

...and others somewhat less welcome.  Hopefully good fences will take care of these deer!

Claudia is too preoccupied with our fall decor to be much of a deer deterrent these days.

We took a drive to Eagle Creek Park this weekend for a hike.  I've said many times that there's nothing like South Carolina in the spring, and Indiana in the fall!  It has the three Bs.

Birds:

...berries...

...and beautiful colors!

These colors are so inspiring and I see them repeated over and over in my textile projects:

It's good to know what you like.  :)

Have a great week!