Time Began in a Garden

It's 'Fall Break' here...and the flowers at the garden center have been calling me....

so I gave in...

and went to see what was for sale....


oh my!

a rainbow of colors...

soft pastels, gentle hues,

pinks, purples, yellows, creams,

and all the soft blends inbetween...

petunias

pansies

snapdragons

some sage

and some sweet Johnny-Jump-ups!

Rise and shine this morning!

Pumpkin-spiced coffee and pumpkin gingerbread, warm from the oven, with my ya-ya, N....

then out to the garden...

jiggity-jig!

As my lawn was scalped earlier this morning, bits of grass floated in the air, landing upon everything... softly revealing what was to be invisible. Mr. Spider, sitting in the middle, is not amused that he's handi-work is now apparent to all!

A snail vine settles into its new home...

As a sundial so poignantly

reminds those who glance...

...time began in a garden...

an English

Garden reborn....

and a garden sink adorned in such finery!

must she ??!??

Oh! But for October

It was incredibly hard this morning to get up for work. Sure, it was Monday, but that wasn't really why. Here's why...

It was cloudy....

and the first day of October.

It should be a law that if the first day of October is cloudy with rain likely, then everyone gets to stay home and bake oatmeal raisin cookies, knit a little while watching Martha, drink coffee with honey and cream, read your fall magazines, make a pot of Pumpkin Corn Chowder in your flame orage Le Creuset dutch oven and watch the gray sky softly smile upon you.

(sigh..................)

But it's not a law... and I had to go to work. Crum...

But returning home had my little autumn spirit all a flutter with plans of creating my yummy Pumpkin Corn Chowder.

*now, don't you all go wrinkling up your nose all snooty like and sticking out your tongue and muttering "Yuuuuck!" Just put your tongue back in, smooth out that nose of yours and give me a minute...

This recipe is one I developed and it just simply never fails me. I take it up to the cabin in the woods. I make it in a crock pot. I make it on the stove. I make it on the weekend. I make it when it's cold.

Pumpkin Corn Chowder

1/2 pound bacon - chopped

1 big onion, chopped

1 clove garlic - chopped finely

4 stalks celery, chopped (but not too small!)

1 1lb. bag frozen corn

2 bay leaves

1 T. dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (that's right..nutmeg..and don't leave it out!)

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper (I use mixed colors of peper in my grinder - pink, white, black and green)

1 - 32 oz. carton chicken stock

1 can evaporated milk (not the sweet stuff!)

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

Brown bacon in dutch oven until a bit crispy over medium-high heat. Drain off fat. Add onion and cook until tender (about 3 minutes). Add garlic, celery, corn, rosemary, bay leaves, nutmeg, salt and pepper (careful with the salt because the bacon and stock have salt in them, too) Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add stock and pumpkin. Stir gently to combine. Add evaporated milk, stir. Cook over low heat for abut 30 minutes until warm. (Do not cook over high heat or the milk will curdle.)

Now, I wanted you to see what it looks like...

not the MOST photogenic, but OH, SO YUMMY!

Let's celebrate Autumn!!

Enjoy!!

'TAG! YOU'RE IT !!"

My good friend up north, Miss Foolsewoode, has 'tagged' me...oh, a game of tag!! So I get to copy these insightfull blogging tips, then add my own at the end... so here we go! The * tips are my favorite...

1. Look, read, and learn.
2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other.
3. Don’t let money change ya!
4. Always reply to your comments.
5. Blog about what you know & love.
6.* Don’t use filthy language-buy a dictionary.
7. Blog about something educational.
8.* Be yourself; others will follow.
9. Don’t have too many blogs that will become a chore to maintain.
10. Keep it simple, user-friendly, interesting and organized!
11. Keep the blog simple and sweet!!!
12. Share with others your thoughts and don’t be shy!
13. Never ask for link exchange. Blog hop to increase traffic.
14. Don’t clutter your blog with ads all over the place. IT’S IRRITATING.
15. Don’t comment for the sake of commenting. Some looked too fake and its a big turn off!
16. Share something interesting and you will gain more readers.
17. *Show that we care to all bloggers, treat each other as friends.
18. *Pictures say a million words. Keep them coming!
19. *Blogging should be fun or you’ll get tired of it pretty soon.
20. *Don’t think people will come to your blog if you’re not willing to pay a visit to them.
21. Everyone loves read short posting and best, illustrated with a picture.
22. Try not to publish more than 5 posts in one blog a day. Even if it’s from feed reader, it’s quite hard to digest and catch up reading everything.
23. Blog: the other window to peek into people’s life, minus the trouble. Keep a certain level of privacy to yourself.
24. Never tell your readers that you are going on vacation. That’s basically telling them to not visit your blog for a week. Instead, write several posts, and take advantage of the timestamp feature.
25. Try and write with people in mind that are “somewhat similar to you”. Allow your audience to identify with your blog and feel “at home”.
26. The key to a good article is a good introduction. A joke, a question or a picture does wonders.
27. If you are looking to earn an income blogging read StevePavlina.com and Problogger.net, you will be amazed at what you can learn.
28. Write for yourself first. Remember that it takes time, effort, patience…and above all, daring. [The Laidback Buddhist]
29. Photos for your blog should always be shot in the RAW! No, not in the buff, but in RAW format. That leaves you a lot more room to play with your subject. Finally, make sure not to step on your subject (see below).
30. Blog about what you’re interested in, and what you want to share. And it’s your blog, you make your rules, which is why I can make 2 suggestions, I make the rules here.
31. Don't try to impress anyone...or write to anyone else...stay true to yourself...no matter what that looks like.

and mine....
32. Let your passion be your guide.

Now it's MY turn to play tag! So.... I tag two of my favorite bloggers:
Jolene of 'Give a Family Tree a Shake...'
Jassman of 'Follow Your Bliss'
Ladies, simply copy this list, star your favorite ones, and add your own tip at the end... Thank you for playing 'tag' with me........... YOU'RE IT!! : )

A Buzzy Kitty, He Is...

What a beautiful day it has been! I made a trip to a new nursery (for me) and found some wonderful gifts for some friends of mine...I'll show you in a minute. A quick trip to the grocery store found my perfect pumpkin just waiting for me to put him in my cart, so I did! And a little friend of his! Gambit has to check this out, of
course!





First gift is a pair of lantana, for my friends, the butterflies! Now, I'm not a fan, really, of lantana, but those sweet insects are...and if I want them to grace my garden, then lantana it is!




And this gift was for the baby Gamby and his sis, Bella.... catnip!! As you can see, I haven't even gotten it into the garden, and Gambit is already in love!






Speaking of Bella, once again... these two show up and it's a frolic in the garden! She's a mess, and totally happy!





For me, I bought some baby zucchini plants. I'm going to try my hand at these guys. I'm hoping to make some zucchini bread from them!






Good grief! Such help, they are....

not!





I also picked up some crook-necked yellow squash...one of my favorites!






This little guy was talking the whole time I was out in the garden... I think he was chewing me out! "Hey lady!. How about refilling my feeder with some fresh nectar?!?!" Okay, okay!

Oh oh! Someone found the planted catnip!

He can't resist it!





..... my cat with a buzz......







Tomorrow, more planting.... I think seeds, this time. Sunflower, sweetpea, nasturtium....
oh, happy dancing in the garden in Autumn!

Shine On, Shine On Harvest Moon...

Yes, it's that time of year again...one of my favorite! Tonight is the rising of the full Harvest Moon. It's carries this distinction because it is the full moon occurring closest to the autumn equinox - which was three days ago, on Sunday.

What sets tonight's full moon apart from the others is that farmers – at the climax of the current harvest season – can work late into the night by this moon's light. It rises about the time the sun sets, but more importantly, at this time of year, instead of rising its normal average 50 minutes later each day, the moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night. Farmers have used this lunar light to their full advantage to pull in their crops for centuries and it's probably one of the most romanticized moons of all.

So step on out tonight for a minute. Grab a glass of wine, a pale ale, or whatever suits your fancy. Take a few minutes to look at the heavens and watch one of nature's best show. I'll meet you in the moonlight.