Showing posts with label roses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roses. Show all posts

Monday, October 2, 2023

fog-et about wearing flannels yet...

 It's October!!

Despite a really uncomfortable heat spell that's taking the spirit out of the season...

91 yesterday, supposed to be hotter today and even hotter tomorrow!

...we're still hiking every morning.



Because it cools down at night but is just so hot during the day, we're getting amazing fog.






All the spiderwebs are dew-dazzled.




Goldfinches are out, stripping the seeds as quickly as possible.



Still a few rabbits...


...last-minute mating...

milkweed bugs

The Molyneux roses put out their final flush.


We're still getting tomatoes...


...and plenty of flowers.


The garden contains enough "fall colors" to seem as if it's changing with the leaves.


It's October...but it won't really be October until the heat relents.  Until then, we're going to fake it with plenty of pumpkin...

pumpkin scones, which I make every October 1st

...and early-morning pre-heat outdoor time.

leaves are changing...it's going to be cool soon!

Have a great week!





Tuesday, September 5, 2023

old roses and kitten reposes

 It's already September!  Even though there are plenty of signs, it's hard to believe.  

MORE turkeys.  They really ramp up their foraging in the fall.


Late-season roses already have a tinge of brown.


American lotus are blooming.  I'm not sentimental about romantic flowers...actually, I think it's kind of a generic cop-out as gift from a partner...but I do have a sentimental attachment to the American lotus.  They always are blooming on our late-summer anniversary.


More leaves changing too!


Todd has been helping me to tear down the early-blooming beds to get them ready for winter.



Not too much still blooming in the garden by the house, but we're leaving a lot of the dried plant stalks.  They're providing plenty of seeds for the birds!


The back garden is still "growing" crazy. 





The morning dew is so heavy that it weighs down the sunflower heads...another sign of fall.


Belatedly, Todd and I realized that there are actually ripe tomatoes in our caged-in tomato triangle, and we've been braving the jungle to rescue a few.


Note to self:  if you put chicken wire around tomato cages, you CANNOT reach through to pick tomatoes.  Next year will be better!

Ditto on the corn.  Oh well...despite the crows, I think we're going to get some good ears...plenty for decorating and then using next year for seed!


Grasshoppers are always most active in late summer.



Hot, dry temperatures, like the ones we've had for the past couple of weeks, means optimum conditions for grasshopper egg-laying.  I'm seeing more praying mantis oothecas too, even though I haven't seen many mantises.


Of course, this time of year cicadas are singing their hearts out!


I love the change of seasons and since fall is my favorite, I'm really eager for what comes next!  I'm ready to be done with the heat and humidity of summer.

Frances, however, doesn't agree.

Have a great week!


Monday, October 31, 2022

pass the mustards

 We're deep into late fall here and I love the saturated colors.





(one of many deer that we're seeing in the fields in the early evening!)


Some recent rain has helped move the season along, but we still have those deep mustards and muted rusts that make the landscape so interesting in October.  Sigh...the colors and dark brown patches where the leaves have fallen are so dreamy and atmospheric!




Such a wonderful time of year, air so delightful and crisp that we're still sleeping with our windows open...holding morning "staff meetings" on the front porch...

(Todd seen here with our director of "cat"-alogue sales)

Strawflowers are still bright in the garden...


...and unbelievably, my climbing roses are putting out a final flush of blooms.


It's still warm enough to go hiking with friends...



...and find insects burrowing in spent blooms...


...but cool enough to justify lazy hours on the couch, curled up in a quilt with a good book and a homemade English muffin dripping with salted butter.

Recipe found on the King Arthur Flour site and I highly recommend it!

Overcast rainy days or bright skies overhead...


...it's the best time of the year for us!  We've had a long, delightful fall and are appreciating every second of it.

Have a great week!