my best friend's ghoul-friend

 Woo hoo!  Another Halloween is successfully in the books!  Halloween socks were donned.  Halloween decorations were hung.  Halloween cards were mailed.  Thirty-one scary movies were watched.  

And then there was the baking.

One mini pie pan + store-bought cherry pie filling + leftover pie dough (thanks, half birthday!) = perfect mini ghoul pies.

Once baked, the red cherry filling added a delightful affect.

Leftover filling was stirred into oatmeal to make a "Hearts of Newts" breakfast.

I used a zombie cookie cutter and my handy mini pancake maker to make a zombie pancake chasing after 'brains.'

I made 'brain' cupcakes, too!

The cupcakes and the ghoul hand pies were made last week, for our Small Group meeting, but I had some leftover frosting...so on Halloween, I utilized my "perfect vanilla cupcakes for two!" recipe to make two tasty Halloween-themed cupcakes.

After a multi-week frenzy of scares (and sugar), I'm ready to look forward to a more peaceful November. The weather has been cool, and I've still been seeing bees napping on the few remaining flowers.

There's even the odd weevil still kicking around in my front porch plants.

I've continued to spot a turkey or two from my office window - just a glimpse as they head across the field and into the trees.

There's a huge double telephone post right in the middle of our barnyard - annoyingly - but it does draw birds!  It seems to be a favorite of turkey vultures.

They are massive!

With the weather getting colder, I hurried to plant my bulbs last week...fifty grape muscari and twenty large ruffled parrot tulips.  After I'd planted everything, I noticed about twenty "bulbettes" - tiny tulip bulbs about the size of a Chapstick lid - in the bottom of the bag.  Viable?

I decided to plant them in a leftover pot, which I placed under the front juniper bush.  

We'll see what happens in the spring!  

We've been getting some seriously hard frosts lately...

...and the fall color is nearly finished.  We had one last glimpse of it as we drove through Morgan-Monroe State Forest this week.

The annual flower garden is completely done.  Only a few persistent perennials remain in front.  Since that seed supply is gone, we're faithfully filling the feeders.

The cats are letting us know that they know about the cooling temperatures.  We've got cats in windows, seeking the sun...

Cats in laps...

...and cats on heat mats.

Claudia is soaking up every last bit of sun, too.

We've got at least another couple of weeks of blue skies and cool temperatures before the real bite of winter has the potential to arrive.

Perfect for cleaning up the garden beds and a few brisk walks. 

Have a great week!  

foggy bottoms

These recent cool, foggy mornings don't need to be near Halloween to be enjoyed...but it sure doesn't hurt!  

I love the fog and the rain in autumn.

The nearby horses are calm and patient, waiting out our infrequent storms.

Since we're so close to November, the bright reds have turned to rust, and the yellow leaves are deepening into gold.

Down by the pond, the colors are lovely.

A belted kingfisher scolded me for interrupting his hunt.

In the garden, the goldfinches are still finding seeds.  Their little acrobatics are so fun to watch.

Many days are overcast, but the sun still comes out and makes the colors bright again.

Claudia is still showing up for regular meals...

...but sometimes, she brings her own.

Somehow, after a lackluster summer, the snapdragons are taller and stronger than ever, seemingly unaffected by the ran and the frost.  They are making gorgeous late-season bouquets.

I've been drying seed, trading seed, and cataloguing seed for weeks.  It's satisfying work as the rain beats against the windows and the cats are snoring peacefully in their nearby beds.  I'm looking forward to a season of major organization and planning.  Hopefully this will help to make 2021 a little bit better than its predecessor!

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!