praying (mantis) for fall...

 Green leaves, bright sun, A/C at full blast - is this October?

Flowers are still going strong...

 ...and even my temperamental ferns are putting up new fronds.

I'm determined to move forward with fall, even if the weather isn't cooperating.  Another autumn wreath completed, this one with flowers from my Little Lime hydrangea.

Todd was out of town for a couple of days, so I surprised him with his favorite (a fall staple around here):  homemade apple pie, made with 4 1/2 pounds of apples from our tree!  I tried a braiding technique for the crust, which I'm fairly pleased with for a first try!

I used a mandolin to slice the apples uniformly, and a new technique for softening them: maceration. Since you're using so many apples, it's hard for them all to be fully cooked in the allotted time.  So, slicing your apples thinly and letting them sit at room temperature for 4 hours does a bit of pre-softening. They're delightfully droopy by the time you load them into your pie. No lemon, no butter, light sugar, and it's the best apple pie I've ever had!  Oh, for some ice cream!

Because the weather has been so forgiving, there are still plenty of insects around.  Our front porch lights draw plenty of moths and small insects, and so hunters like katydids...

...and praying mantises...

...are always hanging around.  Unfortunately, it's the time of year for GIANT BLACK SPIDERS with impossibly large leg spans.  Thick, hairy man-eaters who cling to our screen door and make it extraordinarily difficult to go outside in the dark to feed Claudia.  They have made their way into our barn, and I work cautiously in order not to have a traumatizing connection with one.

Little web spinners, however, are welcomed neighbors.  They're busy in the garden...

...and our extreme humidity/heavy dews make wonderful early-morning works of art.

It's crazy to look back at this day in 2019...

heavy frost on my verbena

...and 2020...

trees deep into their color change, Eagle Creek Park

...and consider that it's going to be 85 degrees this October 11th!  No frost, no real color change, no autumn crispness in the air.  Strange...but it's going to be coming soon.

Have a great week!