Country Home. . . . . . . . . .

On Thursday, a sunny afternoon trip south of the city took us through green

 and gold farmland. Once off the highway, weaving our way through small towns

 and communities, we noted agriculture was obviously the main way of life. 

Fields had been tilled ready for crop planting, trees were almost fully leafed out

 green and gorgeous.

This country farmhouse, old and in need of perhaps a little sprucing up, stood

 surrounded by huge trees. I asked Bob to turn the car around so I could go back

 to take these few photos with my phone. We talked of how we'd love to know

 the history of the farm, its inhabitants, was it still in the same family, will they

 plant a usual North Carolina crop this year, corn, soybeans, cotton, even tobacco.

 I can imagine the perfect sunflower field here. . . . . . . waking early on summer 

mornings to see a field of tall golden 'faces' turned toward the rising sun.

Yesterday the weather was the exact opposite of the lovely day in the country. . . . . we

 were under a tornado watch almost the entire day whilst having more storms with

 strong wind gusts and heavy rain. Thankfully our area was not too bad, but not far off 

property was damaged and many people have lost power. 

Let's move!

It's a fixer-upper of course. . . . . . . . and someone with deep pockets will

 hopefully come along and turn this country house into a home once again.

It's actually on the main street of a small North Carolina town, surrounded by

smart, well cared for homes. It's sad to see this one unloved.

Driving back from the coast on Sunday afternoon was lovely - everywhere 

green and fresh after heavy rains. The fields were plowed, bright green

 cornstalks were already about a foot high.

******************

Speaking of heavy rains - we were hit by such an intense electrical storm

last evening that serious flash flooding occurred in Raleigh. Here in the 

garden we've got a lot of clean up awaiting when it dries up - especially 

re-spreading all those cypress wood chips we spent an entire weekend

of back breaking work on in such hot weather!  Some have even ended

up in the street after being washed down the driveway in the river of water -

it was quite frightening.

Bob is heading out now to check under the cottage for any water - we

are said to have received up to 5 inches of rain in about half an hour!

Our fear now is although today is lovely, dry and sunny, more storms and

 rain are in the forecast for this week.

The country drive. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . on Sunday afternoon was perfect.

Our first day of cooler temperatures after such a long hot Summer.

Autumn definitely now in the air. In fact this morning it was so cool 

I decided the heavier duvet needed to be dug out from storage.

Of course with the sun out it's now warming, and by noon it will be hot, 

but the thought of cooler nights from now on is wonderful. 

Anyway, on Sunday a brilliant 'Carolina Blue' sky beckoned and we headed 

south through the city in search of these. . . . . . . . . 

Perhaps a wee bit early to be thinking pumpkin decor however I just don't want 

them all gone by the time I return from Europe in October. 

The above pic shows some of the pumpkins I bought on Sunday.

The green-gold pumpkin on the left has already been enjoyed - oh my, roasted 

with fresh sage and olive oil, it was SO tasty. I will be making a delicious

pumpkin soup today with the leftovers. . . . . and will roast the seeds.

Driving through the ever burgeoning downtown area - Raleigh just continues expanding, 

upward and outward. . . . . . but if you keep going it's just 30 miles south to the country.

I love looking at the homes along the country roads, wondering who is enjoying

 life away from the hustle and bustle of the city. . . . . .hanging out in a red painted barn, 

mowing all that grass!

Our destination of course. . . . . . the Johnson's farm where we come each year 

for pumpkins. This is just a corner of their front yard. Freda, who plants each

 seed by hand, is already bringing in the beauties from her huge pumpkin patch

 in the surrounding fields.

 Sadly we missed seeing farmer Doug this visit - he was out searching for a lost cow.

  We plan to go back in late October to visit the Johnson family again, always enjoy the

 lovely chats and catching up on country news.

Here are links to our visits in the past years where you can see the incredible 

selection of pumpkins, gourds and veggies offered at the Johnson's farm between

 the small towns of Angier and Coats in Harnett County, North Carolina.

Johnson Farm Pumpkins in 2013

Johnson Farm Pumpkins in 2014

As always, homemade country ice cream is a treat and this is one of the best.

We stopped, along with the motor cyclists, pick up trucks, big families

 with cute kids, texting teenagers, and a good excuse for 

two scoops as we'd not eaten since breakfast. . . . . .  

 black cherry and butter pecan for Bob, tiramisu and coffee for me - it was really good.

Later I'll share more of the pumpkins and gourds I bought for decorating - they are

 in the cool of the cottage where hopefully they'll stay fresh until I return home from

 France and can decorate for Fall/Halloween.

Happy pumpkin hunting - I hope you get out into the country soon - nothing

 more pleasant and exhilarating on a sunny almost Autumn day.

Nature's bounty from the farm……………

Hello sweet October.  

This is always my special month.  A birthday for me, 

other special family members, and this year I will celebrate 

52 years since coming to live in the United States of America.

Sunday afternoon, dressed up in sunshine and blue skies. 

A few fields of tobacco, dry and golden, awaited the 
last harvest.  

Cotton and soybeans were picked clean. 

Sunflowers, their huge blooms long gone, stalks plowed under.

Horses stood quietly in pastures. 
Now and then a dog barked in a far away field. 
A hawk circled above.

Tractors were still.

The countryside appeared to be at rest in the warmth 

of the afternoon.

We were thrilled to return to Johnson's Pumpkins with 

our granddaughter Cassie this time. She wanted 

pumpkins to decorate her home, and being another 

photographer in the family, I knew she'd capture 

some colorful shots at the farm.

Doug and Freda farm a lot of land in this lovely area 

of North Carolina. 

This is their family farm which goes back several 

generations. They told me this time, now that we know 

each other better, that they were high school sweethearts 

and have been married fifty years. They gave me the OK to 

publish their photo here online - and you have to admit 

they are a very special couple.

I believe the pumpkins are Freda's babies! She planted 

six acres of pumpkin seeds back in the Spring.

After a lot of damaging rain early on, the sun and heat 

of Summer arrived and the pumpkins did well.

She also helped harvest them, and then displayed them 

beautifully in their yard, ready for sale, by the side of 

the country road.

How could anyone resist pulling into the farmyard, 

grabbing a wheel barrow, and loading up with 

such awesome pumpkins, gourds, squash etc.

Cameron, Freda and Doug's lovely granddaughter, with 

Lucky the cat. 

We loaded up the trunk with colorful beauties - mostly 

Cassie's, but I admit to buying a few more too!

There's just something very special about a pumpkin patch.

I think it brings out the child in us.

Surrounded by almost comical shapes and raucous 

colors, the pumpkins seem quite magical.

But, perhaps even more special, is a pumpkin patch 

where the delightful family who grew the pumpkins

are there to tell their story, with laughs, jokes, and 

great pumpkin and squash recipe tips.

Try to visit a pumpkin patch this Fall - you'll have 

a wonderful time.

Pumpkin country . . . . .

This post will wow you with color! Autumn IS on its way, 

and here's proof from the fields of our beautiful 

North Carolina Piedmont area.

My partial stack of beauties - and Jasmin still had to add 

her picks . . .

I love taking country drives away from the hustle and bustle 

of the city.

On Friday we headed south to Harnett County. Partly sunny 

skies, very warm temperatures, and yet a feeling of Autumn 

was definitely apparent as we got farther away from town.

Tobacco fields were starting to be picked, hay was baled, 

corn was gone, fields already being ploughed under and new 

Winter crops were being planted.

When we arrived at our destination, Johnson's Pumpkins 

were waiting, plentiful and pretty, every color, every 

size and, as always, hard to pick favorites from such 

an array.

Perhaps even more enjoyable than choosing pumpkins, 

was spending time with not only farmer Doug - Bob loves 

'shooting the breeze' with him, and his welcoming wife 

Freda who always gives me great recipe tips for cooking 

the pumpkins - but a lot more of the Johnson farm 

family including their children and grandchildren.

Their grandson Easton above, permitted us to watch his 

efforts at hill rolling, posed for me with the horses in 

the nearby pasture, and talked us into playing ball with 

him in the farmhouse driveway. I assure you this was no 

quick stop to grab pumpkins and drive off, it was a truly 

wonderful afternoon visit with the nicest people imaginable.

 

This was granddaughter Jasmin's first visit with us 

to the farm - I think she'll enjoy going again. 

She took some awesome photos, nice to be young, 

able to crouch and get up again! 

Perhaps she'll share them with you later.

If you're close by I think you'd truly enjoy a visit to 

Johnson's Pumpkins as we do. It has become an annual 

happening we look forward to in September. In fact we 

even stopped by in July just to have a chat - Doug 

introduced us to his cows, and took us on a stroll 

around his pond, from there we could see the fields 

where Freda had planted her pumpkin seeds. We know

the hard work involved to grow from seed to harvest

on a family farm is huge, so much of a successful 

harvest depends on the weather. This was an usually 

wet Summer here in this area of North Carolina so

there were problems - quite honestly though I still 

think the Johnsons pumpkins are magnificent as always. 

I also purchased baking pumpkins and butternut 

squash, more on those in another post.