The Colors of Fall

Sunrise each morning is, of course, later as we progress through autumn. That is until we change our clocks again… I try to watch for the sunrise every morning so that I might catch a spectacular sight, like this morning’s.

This sunrise lasted just a brief moment, but I got a picture.

We are benefiting from another splash of color in our backyard – this gorgeous maple tree. As the weather gets chillier each day, this tree’s colors become more vibrant. It even casts a glow into our home when the sun shines on it.

And then there are the traditional fall pumpkins lending their pudgy orange selves to our front deck décor.

Happy Autumn!

What's Going On This Fall

I’ve had a break from the world of blogging, but there’s so much going on this fall that I need to write again.

I missed out on the mums, but found these beautiful pots of grasses and foliage to adorn our window box for the fall.

 Inside there is fall color too. I cheat using silk flowers, but they do last a loooong time. Love the colors.

After picking as many apples as possible that could be reached with a ladder, I decided to make an apple pie. Having already made several apple desserts, it was time to roll out the dough…

cut, peel, and core apples (again)…

and enjoy this rare treat. It was delicious!

My current work-in-progress is this moose. Right now it’s an appliqué, but this will be a quilt. Not a full-size quilt, just a wall hanging.

I’ve been working on calligraphy…

and am taking a Spanish class.

Lots more going on, but I can only fit in so much in one blog post.

Harvesting and Cooking

I’ve been cooking the last two days. These are the tomatoes I gathered during the past week.

I peeled and chopped them, and added them to some sautéed onion and garlic in a large pot. A bit of seasoning and some tomato paste to thicken, and voila!

Seven quarts of marinara sauce.

And on Sunday, four pounds of blackberries turned into this…

to make several containers of blackberry jam for the freezer. We are eating some of these goodies now too.

With our family of five, this little bit that I preserve doesn’t hold us all year, but it is nice to make use of what we’ve grown and what nature provides. 

The Hazards of Blackberry Picking

Today our weather has cooled and there was drizzle this morning. That got me to thinking that I had better check on the blackberries.

Like everything else this summer, the blackberries are later in ripening. We have not picked many yet. So I grabbed a container and headed for our very large blackberry bush.

It has been a few years since I did any of the blackberry picking. I expected the scratches from the thorns, and the stained fingers. No big deal.

What was a surprise to me was this threatening-looking spider. Now that made me look extra-carefully at where my hand was heading. (I steered clear of that area.)

There were lots of berries out of my reach, I’m sorry to say. Besides, when you lean in to reach, your clothing gets snagged and it can be hard to back away.

Another surprise was realizing I need to watch where I step. You know I love the deer, but with deer comes deer poop.

Because it was a cool day, I didn’t have to contend with the yellow jackets. Otherwise, I never would have picked blackberries in mid-afternoon.

And it was all worth it. Here are just some of the beautiful berries we’ll be enjoying. Can’t wait to make blackberry jam.

Full Moon and Harvest

Last night we had a full moon.

When I first spotted the moon from where I was sitting in the living room, I thought what a great picture that would make. I went outside to take a picture, but was unable to get a good vantage point because the moon was still low in the sky and all the trees were blocking the view.

So, I waited. About 9pm I was ready to try again. Just as I went to step out on our front deck in the dark, I spotted a glimpse of white in the darkness. Uh-oh. A skunk. Luckily he/she didn’t hang around too long. I’m actually sorry not to have a picture of the skunk, but I really didn’t dare open the door with it just feet away… another time perhaps?

Yesterday afternoon I ventured to the apple tree again. Here’s what I picked within reach.

They certainly sweeten up with time.

Our tomatoes are coming on strong now. Looking forward to homemade marinara sauce soon. As for the zucchini, they win first prize for the most prolific of vegetables. And there are lots more coming!

Birds...nope, Deer...yes

We’ve had lots of young birds learning to feed at the feeders in the last several weeks. There has been a lot of chirping going on. And I was trying to get a good picture of these young birds, but because their colors are muted, and I cannot get close, I have been unable to photograph them well.

I did get this photo of a goldfinch at the birdbath.

Not long after trying to photograph the birds, this mother and fawn appeared.

They were a bit more cooperative.

I even talked sweetly to them…

and eventually was rewarded.