a Michi-gander

October is the perfect time for a fall road trip!  So I headed a few hours north and met my friend Heather for a Lake Michigan adventure.

The dunes are steeper than I expected!  You can see tiny specks (people) making the climb in the second photo.  

So many gulls!

Lake Michigan is so pretty.

Lighthouses!!

We got some good weather and quite a bit of (nicely atmospheric) rain.

Even with the damp and the chill, we were able to orchard-hop...

...and totally dominate the area's largest corn maze!

The breaks in the storm...

...gave us time to leaf-peep...

...and check out some of the things that Michigan is famous for.

Well, I've never seen a black squirrel before, anyway!

We even got to sleep in a castle one night!

I had my own balcony in the Queen's Turret...

...that was perfect for a little late-night knitting!  

We came, we saw...and I got home juuuuust in time to celebrate Todd's half birthday with a burnt, sloppily-decorated cookie cake that pretty much accurately reflected my out-of-it state of mind after much driving and not quite enough sleep.

We still went for our walk this morning...

...and I love that it's sweater weather (this week), and that it's just enough cold for our leaves here to finally start changing.

Hooray for fall at last!

Have a great week!

It's a snow go

 The most beautiful month!

Busy days have delayed our trips to some local state parks, but it's so beautiful around our house that I don't feel like I'm missing out.  We're right on the edge of a state forest and the color on our own property is outstanding.

The cardinal blends right in!

Despite having a very light dusting of snow, mainly accumulated in bushes...

...many flowers are still going strong.  I love being able to pick fresh flowers in October!

Cooler weather is bring possums and strange cats to our porch, snacking on Claudia's leftover food.  Calliope keeps a close watch...

...while the kittens keep a close eye on her.

Still-warm sunbeams provide great opportunities for laziness!

October also brings Todd's half-birthday, celebrated on the 15th. This year I made coconut blondies, pressed into half of a pie pan (and held at bay with pie weights and aluminum foil)...

A halved recipe from Desserts For Two

The foil peels away to leave a perfect half pie.

Perfect for two people to celebrate one half birthday!  

October brings the best of both worlds.  We're making fires and cuddling in quilts, but we're also outside in shorts, picking flowers.  It will freeze tonight, but be back up to almost 80 by the weekend.  The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the trees are glowing with color.  Happy, happy fall!

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!