shotgun overrun

 Gorgeous weather for early-morning hikes!

Unless we have free time, we usually hike in the state forest by our house.  It's pretty, but...it's also hunting season.

I'm not a fan of guns...at all.  Deer hunting lasts until late January, though, so we try to wear bright colors and make a lot of noise on the trails.  

It's still fairly warm (low 80s) during the day, but we're starting to get some fall color.

Even our front bushes have put on color from last week to this week.

The bushes are directly behind Todd...just a hint of color last week...

...this week...the start of brilliant red!

One of my favorite flowers is in full bloom right now - celosia.  They love the dry, they love the heat, and they'll keep right on trucking until the first frost.  So many different shapes and colors!

There's always someone hiding inside...

It's been so dry that they're going to seed early...I'm going to be sure to save as much as I can.  They are cross-pollinated, meaning that the insects carrying pollen from flower to flower will cause the seed to produce an interesting blend of colors.  If you're interested in an identical version of a flower like this, it's best to order the seed directly from a seed company!

Still plenty of insects, but cooler nights and mornings mean that bees are sleeping later and later.  

They'll be around until it gets fairly cold, but right now, they're loving the temperatures.  The resurgence of warm weather has brought out the wood ducks, too!  

Some friends brought their pup over for a hike this week.  She was happy to see the kittens...through the glass, of course!

They're usually too busy to be bothered with company.

Nice early autumn days with a little bit of baking...

apple cider muffins

...a little bit of quilting...

...and a little bit of knitting.

A nice way to ease into the season.  Have a great week!  

berry'd treasure

It's hard to believe that we're only a week away from September. Summer has been so nice this year that it hasn't yet worn out its welcome.  There are signs, though, that it is marching past regardless.

Changing leaves...

...and berries.

Ripening apples...

...and late-season sunflowers.

I've started doing garden clean-up, pulling out dead annuals and opportunistic weeds...with a little help from my garden pal, of course!

Of course, Todd is another great helper. ☺

The days have been so cool lately that we were able to take a longer hike one morning. So many spiderwebs...another sign of fall.  They were gorgeous in the early light!

Despite being mercilessly harassed by deer flies, it was such a nice morning. And despite the late date, there's still a lot going on in the garden.

All the celosia is filling in and I love it!

pink spiky plant is celosia, too!

Everything just looks great.

We've got a roasting hot week coming up, with temperatures into the 100s.  Here's hoping that we - and the garden! - make it through relatively unscathed.  Cooler temperatures on the horizon...I hope.  Have a great week!  

hot water plotter

It's almost October, and quilts are out!

Happily, it rained on our first "official" day of fall.  After a long, hot summer, there's really nothing that I love more than chilly fall days.

To commemorate, I baked pumpkin bread "acorns."

They were so delicious that I made a loaf, too.  The recipe I use is less ostentatious than its showy cousin, the one that uses 3 cups of sugar and 2 cups of oil for 2 small loaves.  My stripped-down version calls for just 2 tablespoons of oil and 1/2 cup honey, and as someone who loves pumpkin bread, I honestly don't miss it.  A simple frosting of cream cheese, vanilla, milk, and a bit of honey makes a perfect topping.

Although we have an apple tree, pumpkin is still king here in the fall.  I have two other pumpkin staples that I have to recommend:  spicy pumpkin scones and brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies.  It's not autumn around here without them!

Mornings have been delightfully brisk.  Todd dons his warm plaid shirts without comment, because he knows that I have to have the windows open, even if it's only 45 degrees.  It's fall, y'all!

We had our first fire this week!

Since I don't normally do them, most of my 500-piece puzzles got the axe during my Marie Kondo sweep.  However, this one made the cut...barely...because of the cheerful autumn theme!

This is the perfect weather for crafting.  I found and completed another knitting project, a hot water bottle cover.  

I've mentioned this here before, but I used to consider hot water bottles tools of the elderly in some sepia-toned past.  It wasn't until I was staying with a friend in Germany that I was introduced to their pleasures - they retain heat for around 8 hours, and there isn't anything more delightful than a fresh one slipped under a quilt.  I didn't get to use mine in South Carolina, but Indiana weather is pretty perfect for it!  

I've been continuing to work on embroidery practice.  I've always had trouble transferring patterns before, but I've discovered that coping the design on tracing paper with a permanent marker, and then tracing on the back with a charcoal pencil, works nicely.  With some pressure, the charcoal transfers tidily to your fabric surface.

I've mainly been practicing stem and chain stitches...

...but I think I'm ready to move on to my old nemesis, the satin stitch.  

photo courtesy of trishburr.com

Speaking of tools of the elderly, I bought a magnifying lamp with bright LEDs to help with this detail work.  I'm prone to migraines so wanted to limit my eye strain.  So far, so good!  

Because of persistent tendonitis, I've had to pause on quilting right now.  I've moved on to a different project: dried flower wreaths.  It's a lot harder than expected - my flowers are mostly larger, with no frilly "fillers" available.  I'm pretty clumsy with it.  At least I have a lot of material to work with!

Although I have a few other varieties, I'm mainly working with celosia.  I love the colors!

Looking back at this time last year, I can see that in the first week of October = first frost!

The trees around the pond were in full autumn mode.

It's quite the contrast to this year (glaring at our 85 degree forecast today).  Still, I know that it won't be long.  

Have a great week!