A Walk in the Park -

 

Our neighborhood park and pond have been really scenic lately. . . . . . 

. . . . . . and even the garden has sprung back to life with more color in

dahlia blooms - after I cut the plants almost to the ground ready for

 winter - plus more roses and camellias.  

We are incredibly busy lately - or perhaps incredibly slow getting

 things done!! Bob is so busy daily raking and blowing the masses of falling

 leaves and acorns, the latter huge, all raining down and covering every

 surface. Mowing the grass continues as with the very warm

 temperatures it continues to grow non-stop. 

Daily doings just keep rearing their heads - some pleasant, others

 ugly - all requiring time. Changing the clocks. . . . . . and then getting

up at 5 AM on Tuesday to watch the spectacular lunar eclipse in our

dressing gowns and slippers from the garden. . . . . . seem to have us, 

well at least me, a bit groggy and unstable this week.

Despite the downs there of course plenty of ups and we feel

grateful that we can do what we do these days.

I see Holiday Open House signs and ads everywhere, and tomorrow

 evening we plan to head to a favorite location of so many years, 

SuzAnna's Antiques, at their always fabulous venue. Although they did

 move from Raleigh and we have a much longer drive, we can't miss

 it as there are many friends there to catch up with, and lots of holiday

 merchandise to view.  Just hope the coming heavy rains don't get here

 until Friday. Driving at night in heavy rain is no longer fun for us - know

 what I mean?

Are you ready to "deck the halls" yet?

I see some of you have already started.  I will need to get

 organized and and start pulling out the storage boxes soon!!

Hard nuts to crack -

 

. . . . IS FOR AUTUMN

They're always here! 

No matter the season, grey squirrels are part and parcel

of our garden still with several large oak and hickory trees. 

The acorns and hickory nuts are collected, persistently gnawed, 

and often stashed and stored around the garden for later meals.

These critters have voracious appetites.

Perhaps they are descendants of the original farm inhabitants - this land

 was once farmland - who decided to coexist with the humans who 

built on their territory back in the 1960's.

This week I made a quick stop at JoAnn's Fabrics/Crafts for yarn and

 found this! I'd actually seen it a couple of weeks back when there - with

 a $24.99 price tag - and decided to pass.  

This week fall merchandise was on sale, 70% OFF which was huge, 

and this wall hanging was still there. . . . . . waiting for me! 

At just $7.50 I couldn't not buy.  It's really nice with a real wood frame

 and leather hanger.

Today is cloudy and quite cool with some rain expected later this

 evening and during the night.

This evening we may light the fire for the first time - all is set

with logs on the hearth ready to burn.

The clocks go back tonight and tomorrow morning may be a day

to sleep in. . . . it will be chilly and overcast all day.

Happy Saturday

This was the week . . . . . . .

Good Morning and good news. . . . . . . the house next door was sold

 and the closing was on Tuesday.

Two months with new owners who at first planned to raze it and build a

 fancy larger home for themselves, then made the decision to sell it on as 

they apparently couldn't fit their 'dream home' on that size lot - thank goodness!

Many people viewed the property offered 'as is', but as major renovations are

needed to bring the house back into shape, wouldn't pay the asking price.

Our new neighbor, Frank, in his early forties, we feel is going to be really

 nice - having chatted with him briefly to date.

Back view of the house next door.

I'm looking forward to  hearing what his plans are for the renovation. 

It may be a while before he moves in but yesterday there were

already people at house with cameras, laptops and clipboards etc. 

perhaps planning interior renovations/changes/updates etc.

The weather is changing. 

Yesterday's fall out from the most recent hurricane to make its final sweep

 across North Carolina, brought some rain and very strong winds. 

Acorns are almost over at last, it's now leaves, leaves, and a million more

 leaves, sailing through the air, piling up along the roadside curbs, and 

covering the garden which means plenty of raking and blowing ahead.

I love my newest mug, one of the many great birthday gifts received from 

granddaughter Jasmin.  Look at that naughty 'exploring' squirrel on the handle.

I also have a new book with a very interesting cover, a birthday gift from

 dear friend Ruth in England who knows what I enjoy reading and always

 picks amazing stories to share. 

This will be the perfect color mug for my coffee while turning the pages.

Autumn inspired breakfasts started this week.

Some days hot oatmeal, today and often, yogurt with toppings such as

 these, dried cranberries, chia seeds, muesli with nuts and oats etc.

Before the weather changed - time for some clean up jobs

 around the garden. . . . 

. . . . . and some perfect days of sunshine and warmth before the leaves started

their change to rust, orange and shades of brown.

Colorful flowers are almost gone other than a few dahlias and re-blooming 

azaleas in the front garden, however the camellias in the back are blooming

 now. . . . . and, as you can see, the newly sown grass is doing well.

Let them eat Autumn cake. . . . . . .but pasta first!

In the blink of an eye things changed. . . . . . .Autumn arrived this week
and I almost missed it! 
 Medical appointments led to a major medical procedure yesterday - all is well
 thankfully. This morning after my first full night of sound sleep in almost a week, 
I awoke to a cold soaking rain, the leaden sky sunless and threatening, fallen
 leaves - the fig tree now almost bare - and a little voice telling me I can eat real
 food again after a five day liquid diet and a 6 lb. weight loss due to it!

 Autumn and Winter are my favorite seasons to cook. . . . . and eat!
Last week the jar of pasta sauce caught my eye in HomeGoods - 
Pemberton being my mother's family name, her father bringing it to England
 from his birthplace in Canada.  A name far from sounding Italian,
however this delicious sauce is as Italian as pasta sauces come, and actually
 came from a gourmet food company in the New England state of Maine!

I tell you, the world is really getting to be a small place in more ways than one.

Cardinals never leave. . . . . . . .

Northern cardinal : Cardinalis cardinalis

The name comes from the LATIN word cardinalis which 

means 'important.'

The sweet, pale-feathered female cardinal is a very familiar backyard bird.

 Along with many bright red males usually close by, they are non-migrators.

 They are extremely territorial in springtime, however become non-territorial

 during winter and gather in small flocks of up to 20 birds. 

We enjoy their visits to our feeders and bird baths, and the now bare fig tree

 is a favorite perch as they go about their day come rain or shine.

 Male Northern cardinal.

I managed to get photos from the window of Mrs. Cardinal yesterday, and
 brilliant red Mr. Cardinal today, when the rain stopped for a while. 
Everywhere is saturated and today yet another storm continues to
 bring nonstop rain for the entire day.

Garden - November 2018

Much of autumn still clings to wet branches.

 While all around the air turns brisk and damp.

 Winter stirs in the heart and mind.

Scribble Picnic - Forest

I had another piece ready for today's theme however I just can't bring myself to post it!

I took a photo of a forested area and worked on it with my watercolor pencils etc.,

but it reminded me too much of the devastating fire scenes sweeping through
 California yet again, with the clouds looking more like billowing smoke, and the
 autumn leaves brown, crinkly and burnt looking. . . . .not a peaceful forest scene.

Instead, this is a photo of a 'forest floor' scene taken in my back garden - which 

I must admit these days is resembling a woodland on its way to becoming a forest!

There are golden toadstools, green and gold fallen oak leaves, acorns etc. Worked 

some with watercolor pencils. . . . .but perhaps it's best just left unfinished.

Today's theme is FOREST.  It will be interesting to see what everyone comes

 up with this time. 

Head over to Michael's SCRIBBLE PICNIC later today.

Sending happy Thanksgiving Day wishes to all. 

I will be visiting family in Arizona for a week and am hoping to get

 photos to share later. It's been a while since I was in the desert!

From the December garden. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . a few pretty things caught my eye outside yesterday.

Prior to more leaf raking - never ending until into the New Year - I spent 

time cutting evergreens for the mantel and, as always, taking photos of the 

visiting birds and squirrels. The greenery consists of Southern Magnolia,

 red-berried Nandina, Camellia and English Ivy. All have been rinsed clean and

 are soaking in water before being bought into the cottage.

~ Beautiful female Eastern Bluebird - her mate was close by ~

~ Gentle rummaging Mourning Doves ~

~ Handsome male Northern Flicker in the now leafless fig tree ~

~ Burying acorns - a grey squirrel's busy time of year ~

. . . . . . and I found these dried seed pods which I brought inside to use in the

 dining room Christmas decor - I love a touch of Nature such as this.

I'm never finished with the holiday decor, always adding, tweaking or
 moving something to a new spot - do you do that?

Pumpkin Squash Pasta. . . . . . . . .

Friday I made a great, quick and easy dish calling for pumpkin or squash.

I actually used what I'm calling a 'pumpkin squash', a bit of a rogue harvested

 from the fields of our farm friends, the Johnsons, where we visited a few weeks ago.

Apparently this year, one of their regular pumpkins also grows this curvaceous beauty

on the same vine!  Similar to a butternut squash but easier to cut through for me.

All seeds are in the bulbous end so with such a long neck you get a lot of

flesh from there. The flavor is mild so I roasted along with chopped garlic, 

red onion and a couple of slightly hot peppers from my neighbor's garden.

Tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, 40mins. in the oven brought all the

flavors together nicely.

I cooked a short pasta, Garafolo brand from Naples which I really like, added just 

enough of the excellent pumpkin and butternut squash sauce - a real steal from

 Aldi - freshly chopped parsley still being snipped from the garden, toasted

 chopped walnuts, topped with creamy burrata cheese and course some

grated parmigiano reggiano.

We enjoyed this meal immensely - along with a robust red wine - in the gazebo on

 what was a perfect autumn evening. Nothing stirring but the numerous late diners

 at the bird feeders, a few squirrels enjoying the seeds on the ground, and the

 sunset glowing in the west beyond our huge oaks.

We have a new little friend in the garden - I'll share some photos soon. 

Last evening, while relaxing on the front porch at dusk, we had a huge rabbit

 sitting in the center of the lawn when a young fox passed by within yards of it,

 not even giving the rabbit a second glance, thankfully!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend and have good weather to

get outside and revel in autumn's beauty. We worked endlessly in the 

garden both Friday and Saturday in what currently is perfect weather, so 

evening relaxation has been extra special here at the cottage.