Foliage and Knitting

One of my maple trees in the front is looking so beautiful.  I see this tree when I look out my front window.  This tree framed by my new gold curtains is a beautiful sight.

The other tree is still mostly green, though there is change, and several of our trees on the property are still mostly green.  Such an interesting year.

So far this fall I've knit three cowls, two scarves, a baby hat and I am working on a hat for me!  This is the softest yarn and a lovely heathered grey.

I'm starting to get busy on my list of gifts for people, and I believe that we will continue with our pattern of gift giving.  I'll talk about that in a post soon.  

Happy Friday Everyone!

Autumn Is Here

Though we are having warm, nearly hot weather this week.  Last week when I mowed I wore a light jacket.  This week I was in capri's and my short sleeves rolled up to avoid a 'farmer's tan.'

The leaves are changing in earnest now, and these are some photos I took today while mowing.

That crooked tree on the right really blocked my view of the red tree!  I'll have to take a walking tour of the property soon.

Our Red Sunset Maples are just beginning to turn.  They are always lovely.  I'll share them in a few weeks!

What is autumn looking like in your area?

Mild Autumn

We are having a very mild autumn this year.  It reminds me of the year (2001) when we bought this house and made it into our cottage home.

These are photos of our Cleveland Pear that we planted 14 years ago.  It's still turning colors.
 

My Goldmound Spirea is beautiful in the autumn.
 

Our neighbors gave us Stayman Winesap apples.  The smell and taste is amazing!

 These leaves are preserved.  I put them in glycerin and water and now they are soft.

How's the weather where you live? 

Garden: Late Autumn

I haven't posted many photos of the garden lately.  It is mostly finished for the year, but there are a few things in bloom so I thought I'd show you.

This is a daisy like mum.  It blooms in late September.  This one is  pale yellow, another one in the garden is pink.

Feverfew 

This one makes me laugh.  I sowed these hollyhocks in late May.  I had one come up and bloom.  Now there is this small one with buds on it.  It will not last, we are expecting COLD weather later this week.

 My beloved hydrangea. This one blooms on old growth, but last years winter killed all the old growth.  I was thrilled to find that the plant was not dead however and I am expecting lots of blooms next year!

 Here is the pink daisy mum.  It gets pinker as it's blooms fade.  I don't see any bees on it, but normally the bees are all over these.  They are thankful for a late source of pollen.

This is a Gold Mound Spirea.  It is such a pretty shrub.  In the spring and summer the foliage is a chartreuse color with dark pink flowers on it.  In the autumn, as you can see the leaves are russet colored.  

You can probably see that the lamppost and the fence need new paint and a few repairs.  That will have to wait for spring.  Not enough time to get them done before the cold weather settles in.

 My beautiful tree.  The leaves changed in late October and it is nearly bare in mid-November.  

This is the third wasp like nest we've found in our neighborhood.  They are all about this size.  

Do you garden?  What are your favorite plants in your garden?

After The Rain

This morning is a bit hazy, it may be partially cloudy all day, but the rain that came and dropped 4+ inches is gone.

 I can't quite capture it, but this small red tree is so stunning.  It is in my sight every time I walk in the kitchen.  I see it out the sliding door to the deck.  

I took this with my phone from my deck this morning.  They aren't great but they give you an idea of the beauty in the changing leaves that I am experiencing at our home.

I am hopeful that the chairs and table on the deck will dry up and I'll be able to sit outside and enjoy the beauty.

How is Autumn coming along where you live?

Wait Until You See This…

Last night we were driving home from our friends' home in Maryland.  We were about 5 minutes from our house when Tim swerves a bit and we were all saying "Whoa! A tree's down in the road."  From our quick assessment there was a tree down in the westbound lane (we were headed eastward) and there was some branch debris in our lane that Tim masterfully missed.

He quickly turned around because a tree in the road at night on that road is going to cause an accident for someone headed west.  When we got back to the tree we were shocked to see this -

30 seconds before we had been coming the other direction and drove under this tree!  I was in the front seat and hadn't even seen it over the road! (I lightened this photo up in editing)

This is what it looked like with the light we had last night -

The tree top is caught on the phone lines, keeping the tree from being down on the road bed completely which would have been disastrous!  Tim says he is certain that we wouldn't have seen it until it was too late; we would have hit it.

God protected us!  Tim immediately called 911 and was told that the state troopers would be out and our local power company.  We waited directing traffic and flashing lights so that on coming traffic could be warned.  The trooper didn't arrive while we were there but we left when the power company arrived with their big truck and flashing lights.  They were going to have to close the road they said.

I often wonder when I get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle and I'm running late, or when we leave at a different time than we had planned, if God is protecting us from something.  Last night we stayed a little later than intended - great food and fellowship is a wonderful thing, and who wants to leave?

Now we know that we very well could have been the ones God used to save lives last night.  If we had come through a bit earlier it may not have been down yet.  See when we drove to our friends house, we went on this very road and the tree was not down.  The tree was so hard to see - that it others headed westbound may not have been able to stop in time before hitting the tree.

We are thankful for God's protection.  We recognized that we often take for granted His keeping us.

We are praying today too, for Lindsay and Joseph as they drive back from their Honeymoon.  



ps- We believe that He holds us in His hands and that He sometimes does allow for us to go through accidents and other hard things, for our good and His Glory.

Early Morning

When I stepped out on my deck this morning I was greeted by cool air and the beauty of a bit of mist in the trees.

 We live, as the kids like to say "in a ditch" with hills all around us.  It is lovely and interesting to see how it gets light long before we see the sun and also how at night it is dark here while the hills around us are still bathing in the light.

 I have been so enjoying the weather this last week.  We've had the a/c off, and it has been wonderful to enjoy the outdoors again.

 There she is!  I loved how the mist looked when the light hit it...

 Looking toward the barn - I love the sunlight on the trees...

A few minutes later and it is much lighter, though the sun hasn't risen much more yet.

I am enjoying this easing into Autumn, though I wouldn't be surprised if it heats up again, before we have our real Autumn weather, after all, it is still August which is notoriously hot around these parts!  I am thankful for the break from the heat.

I'm heading into the shoppe this morning, the website is still getting it's makeover and you're going to love the way it looks and functions!  I've had a preview and I like it already!

We are busy with Autumn buying - beautiful scarves, hats, handbags, jewelry...we love having a girlie shoppe!

I must run...I need to get ready for the shoppe and I want a chance to taste the pumpkin bread I made this morning!

This Is On My Mind

www.images.google.com

I am thinking about peach trees!  We are hoping to put in a few fruit trees this year and peaches are high on our list.  

Do you grow peaches and if so, do you have any tips? I'd love to hear them! 

My favorite are Red Haven....yum.  

Join Rhonda Jean with me today...

A Tree For Kyle

This blurry photo is the best I can do with my little point and shoot! But it looks so nice in Kyle' bedroom. You see yesterday, I had him cleaning his room while I sorted through his clothes, packing away the ones he has outgrown. It occurred to me that other than a string of lights over his window, his room didn't have much Christmas spirit! Then in a flash - a brilliant thought - "I have small trees downstairs! Wouldn't it be cute to put one in his room." But what, other than lights would I put on the tree? Then it came to me - he has a huge bin of Hot Wheels! I could put some of his cars on the tree with yarn. As I looked through the bin I realized that he has a lot of motorized vehicles from the movie "CARS"! I grabbed my left over red yarn, wrapped it around one of the back tires and tied it to the tree. I also put a few other cars on it - like one of his Jeff Gordon hot wheels. He loved it!

Here it is with the flash on my camera - you can see that Lightning McQueen has the top spot...of course.

What is the most creative thing you have ever decorated a tree with?

Off To Longwood

Today my littles, Becky, and I are off to Longwood Gardens!

We have a special reason to go - one that at least Becky and I are excited about! Becky's son Mikey has been doing an 8 week apprenticeship at Longwood this summer. He has been able to work in 4 different areas of the Gardens and to meet most of the employees. One person he met asked him about school and he explained he was homeschooled. Apparently none of them have ever really paid attention to homeschooling or known any homeschoolers as Mikey is their first ever homeschool apprentice! So this gal was interested in our co-op and asked if he thought our group would like to decorate a "wildlife tree" this year at Christmas! Were we ever!

The wildlife trees are a new thing for this year - at least having students decorate them! If you click here and go to the bottom of the page you can read all about it!

We are going to involve our 4th - 6th graders in this project. It has to be all natural and I believe we want them to look like ornaments. Today we will be meeting with the coordinator of this project at Longwood and get some supplies. She mentioned birch bark etc...

My mind is swirling with ideas. Cranberries and cumquats, pinecones with birdseed, orange cups with seeds....

Have you made outdoor ornaments for the birds, and if so what did you do? I'd love to hear all about it!

Tomorrow I will show you photos of our trip!