New England colors -

 

~ Autumn colors in the New Hampshire countryside ~

~ Autumn colors at the New Hampshire coast ~

Enjoying our time in New England.

Wonderful weather, sunny and dry, with just a little rain on one day.

Fall colors and packing -

Time is going quickly and I still have so much to attend to prior to flying

 away to New England for an Autumn break.

 The pots of tri-colored chrysanthemums have been lovely all week - a bargain

 at LIDL 2/$12.00. Hoping they will remain pretty until I return to deadhead

and encourage even more blooms for a while longer.

Yesterday Bob mowed the grass. Later I steadied the ladder while he

 cleared off the roof over the front porch where many twigs had been

 deposited by Hurricane Ian.  

We are always very careful when working with ladders of course!

This is all I have time for today. Picking and packing clothes for a cooler

 region of the east coast has to be done. We have enjoyed beautiful

warm weather here all week but on checking New Hampshire, Vermont

 and Maine it's already much cooler!

Hoping your Autumn weekend is fun and colorful.

October Shades, Knitting & A Soup Recipe -

Goldener lights set noon asleeping

Like an afternoon;

Colder airs come stealing, creeping

After sun and moon;

And the leaves, all tired of blowing

Cloudlike o'er the sun;

Change to sunset colours, knowing

That their day is done.

. . . . .George Macdonald

Here today the sun is bright, the sky clear and blue, and it's warm.

I just did a little flower bed clean up and it was actually hot.

The knitting came out last weekend as we awaited the storm.

The clicking of the bamboo needles and the warmth of the yarn 

between my fingers was calming as all raged outside the windows.

This is the color for the first cowl of this new season. It will 

complement my ZARA brown wrap coat from a couple of years

 back, and a new cashmere sweater of a similar shade - the label

 named it Syrup - I'm thinking more Ginger Snap.

FYI - if you're shopping for new sweaters (also coats, jackets and other

 items), and have a T.J.Maxx close by which has a 'Runway' department, 

you too might find an amazing selection of items at deep discounts.

Even though the cashmere sweaters are marked Past Season they

are classic, never look dated, and are beautiful. 

The VINCE, NAKED CASHMERE,THEORY brands etc. originally

 $350+ were selling for $129+, and in my store there were dozens in

 all colors to choose from!

Yesterday I cooked, and cooked some more!

What started off as just using up a butternut squash for my favorite 

seasonal soup (easy recipe below - I just change to lo-sodium

 vegetable broth), ended with a complete meal including delicious

 roasted Halloumi cheese and veggies, and a dessert - apple

and blackberry galette.

A most tasty and warming meal for a cooler Autumn evening. . . . and

 of course leftovers for another day!

This could have been Bob cleaning up after Hurricane Ian, except

the leaves here are still mostly green. Of course they'll be many more

 fallen gold and brown leaves in the weeks, even months, to come!

We'll be traveling north soon and I know the colors will be advanced

 compared to here in the southeast.

Have a great week - I'm picking out clothes for New England and 

think I'll include at least one warm, cozy cashmere sweater!

 

September touches of gold -

It's almost over! How did it pass so quickly?

If you aren't really into bright orange 'Halloween' pumpkins there

 now seem to be so many other colors to choose from.

I really love these yellow ones. . . . . . .

Soon the fig tree will drop all its leaves. . . . . .so far just a few

 golden ones have fallen. . . . . . . 

OK I admit I did bring home a couple of small orange pumpkins, for the

front porch. . . . . . . and to welcome the arrival of October later this week!

Note the Swedish Ivy. This was the second summer on the porch.  

it has grown so much whilst hanging outside, and now it's starting to

 bloom with those pretty white 'candle flowers.' 

Later, before the first frost, I will have to find a place to over-winter

 it again - no space in the house.  

If you grow these, any tips are appreciated. 

Can I cut it way back to make it more manageable during the winter?

Would it survive in an unheated space such as the potting shed?

Should I ask my neighbor with the glass enclosed sunroom to

 adopt it for the winter months again?

Thanks.

"Good Morning Autumn"

 

A brief introduction to Autumn in North Carolina on this lovely Friday morning.

This morning at 7 AM the light on the fig tree was so beautiful

following our first cool night.

This made me jump! Our resident Charlie gecko clinging onto the dining

 room window to wish me "good morning."

The last of the dahlia blooms still enticing the bumble bees.

Definitely a toast and marmalade morning!

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Then.........and Now!

I'm not saying life has returned to normal. After all is there really a 'normal' when everything can change so suddenly?  Days come and go and every one is different. My virtual visit of the last 12 days to the UK is over. It was completely different from my real in-person visit back in June. Arriving home the week after the Platinum Jubilee was somewhat sad as we missed the celebration - but of course much quieter. I think now what if we had planned to visit during the recent two weeks, how would that have impacted our time. . . . . . I doubt it would have been a vacation.

Growing up in a family who loved and respected Queen Elizabeth II and the monarchy, losing her, no matter when, was always going to be a day of grief for me despite being so far away from home. You may think it audacious of me to still call England 'home' having been gone almost 60 years, but it is and always will be. I can't ever change that.

So now I'm moving on and planning Autumn days and some travel come October. Decorating the cottage is low key, no over the top pumpkin displays outside but perhaps a large pot of bright chrysanthemums to take the place of the fading canna lily. Indoors I've a vignette on the dining room table, small white pumpkins on the mantel. A few more wait in the wings to go on the front porch once the 90F days leave - please let that be soon!

Butternut squash, often said to be the 'favorite squash' of many, is always a pleasure to cook with. Sometimes though, when the local growing season is long over and the squash are not so good in the grocery stores, I think back to these, just harvested from the field, tender to cut, quick to cook, and so very flavorsome as a bowl of soup or a savory roast. I was thrilled when I found these at the pumpkin farm on Saturday. Yesterday I stocked up with fresh carrots, parsnips and ginger -

so I'm heading to the kitchen now where I'll get cracking on something tasty for supper. Also bought two roasting pumpkins. . . . . . more on preparing them another time as they will stay fresh for quite a while.

Autumn is waiting in the wings. . . . .

 

Knitting needles are out. 

A sign of what's to come. 

I will stay busy and creative while watching movies

 and such during those many long evenings ahead!

My favorite season is on the way. Gently moving closer through the slightly

 shorter days and cooler nights. The leaves on the massive oaks have yet

 to turn; the fig tree still bears remnants of its fruitful bounty; the

 hydrangea blooms are rusty, their leaves dropping haphazardly into the

 flower beds, having struggled through the hot, dry summer to make a

show and present their seasonal best.

September is bringing changes and I'm ready, are you?

I'm not planning much in the way of Autumn decor, just moving things about

on shelves, adding my papier-mâché versions of pumpkins and the

 lovely painting of the white pumpkin - a favorite always. I took them out of

 storage over this long weekend and couldn't resist displaying them.

A visit to the pumpkin farm will come later once the weather has cooled.

I will look for green/grey/white pumpkins for a dining room table display

and some potted chrysanthemums for the front steps.

Do you have plans to decorate for Autumn?