More Signs 'O The Times?

I've reached the time of the year when I feel like I can't take one more hot day.  I think about chilly nights snuggled under quilts, fires in the fireplace, wonderful thick and flavorful autumn stews, falling leaves, crisp air, and hand-knit sweaters.  When living in Indiana I suffered from this in August, but it's a little worse in South Carolina.  True, it's not nearly as hot or humid as Indianapolis, but oh, the warm temperatures start in March here!  So technically it's been summer for 6 months, and I am perfectly justified in my angst.  Fall doesn't start in earnest here until late October/early November, so I'm feeling particularly antsy.

Still.

There are signs.

Our turkeys are back.  They are here early fall until mid-spring every year. 

Our Northern Cardinals have begun their fall molt.

Growing new feathers is itchy business!

They look a little funny now, but this cardinal will have a nice new growth of bright red feathers before too long.

Our local white-tail deer, which make themselves fairly scarce in the summer, are suddenly everywhere.

Fattening up for winter, perhaps?  We've seen lots of older babies, so identified by their size and their protective white spots.

We've also seen a lot of newborns.  Todd saw one that must've been just a day or so old drop to the ground in front of him as he was taking out the dog.  As soon as the dog started barking, the fawn abandoned his pretense and dashed off.

I saw another newborn this morning, huddled against my neighbor's house by the woods.

I didn't see the mother nearby, but the newborn was able to climb shakily to his feet, get his bearings, and dash into the woods.  A little fall magic.

It's not just the fawn-a (ahem) that tells me that summer is nearly over.  The flora does, too.  Our fall-blooming liriope is spiking purple flowers.

Nandina berries are taking on a bit of a blush.

Sweet Autumn Clematis is starting to bud.

And, Lord have mercy, the first of the leaves are starting to change colors.

All of these things must mean that despite a seemingly ceaseless succession of 90+ degree days, fall must be coming soon.  I'll just have to be patient.

Quilts and Plaids and Leaves, Oh My!

Todd and I went away for a long weekend, and while we were gone, there were some major changes outside.  Where there were leaves before, now we had nearly-empty branches.

Our driveway was almost completely obscured.

The pond was choked with fallen leaves.

The remaining leaves were so beautiful.

I pulled out my favorite plaid fleece...

...and decided it was time to "bring the outside in" and start my fall decorating. This is my favorite season, and although I try to swap out my plaid fabrics for blue/green/cream ones in the spring, I had to admit to myself this week that there wasn't much to be done to make the switch.  The house was already in full fall mode. 

The quilts are out.

The bookshelves are laden with dried seed heads, leaves, and other little outdoor mementos.

The little side tables, too.

The mantle  over the gas fireplace is done.

The kitchen has a little fall vignette by the sink:

The dining room has its fall-themed table runner and placemats:

Two weeks ago, I set up a glass cake stand with some old cheese graters on a side table in the dining room.  I used candles inside last year, but this year I used LED lights and it's much easier.  I scattered leaves and acorns around the edges and I really love it.  It's so beautiful at night with the light flickering through the holes.

So, although I meant to do a lot of all decorating this week, I didn't need to.  The house is fall-ready most of the year!

As soon as we got home, I made a cheesecake.  It had a crumble-crust bottom and crumble-sprinkle top, and a generous cup of sweetened cranberries stirred into the cheesecake filling.  The original recipe is here.  I modified it slightly by adding a handful of old-fashioned oatmeal to the crumble mix with a dash of cinnamon and 1/3 cup milk.  I'm not a cranberry fan but I have to say, it was amazing.

It was nice to curl up with a slice and enjoy the beautiful leaves outside my office window.

Have a great fall week!

Devil-May-Care in Long Underwear

I am loving the beautiful South Carolina fall weather.  It's dipped down into the 50s a few days, but for the most part, every day is sunny and in the upper 60s.  Perfect.  And oh, the trees around our house!

This is the view from my home office window.  It is positively distracting!

The cooler night temps have brought one of our big camellia trees into bloom. 

Let the winter bouquets commence!

The cats, of course, are enjoying the sun...

...and I love seeing the turkeys every day!

I've been baking a lot.  I took a basic scone recipe, added cinnamon chips (of course) and almonds, and made "sconelettes".  YUM!

I also found my go-to pumpkin cupcake recipe, through a tasty trial-and-error process.

I used gold cupcake wrappers and gold sanding sugar in a kind of fall theme.

Here's the recipe.  The cupcakes are amazing - tender, flavorful, spicy.  Of course, I added cinnamon chips, which totally took them over the top.  And the cream cheese buttercream?  Oh yeah.

I started a new knitting project, too - a pair of German-style knee socks that I'm going to wear over tights this winter.

The calf shaping is a little complex, and so is the intricately cabled design, but much of the sock is plain stockinette, so it's going rather quickly.  Hooray! 

This warm-ish weather is nice, but I've still been suffering from the chills quite a bit.  I'm 45 pounds down from last winter and 95 down total from 2 winters ago, and I am positively shivering at 65 degrees.  I've been worried about upcoming trips to colder climates, and also the inevitable slide into freezing weather here.  But thanks to a friend's suggestion, I found these today:

Super warm non-bulky layers to wear under sweaters and jeans!  I'm so excited.  I am going to be able to leave the house again!  :)

Hope you're keeping warm.  Have a great week!