Thursday, October 01, 2009

Scenes from the porch and garden

I love to read the comments on this blog. Some make me smile, others bring about a warm and fuzzy feeling, and there are those which make me laugh out loud. Like yesterday's fear that someone had hijacked Coffee Tea Books and Me. I suppose it was rather odd that I would endorse not only a book but a movie which starred... a Bigfoot. :)

There are many signs that autumn has truly arrived, not the least of which are the chilly temperatures. I simmered my mother's vegetable beef soup on low today and brought out my favorite deep, dark red stoneware bowls to serve it for dinner.

This soup is the only recipe my mother regularly made in which I made her show me step by step how to make when I was a bride. I always miss her when I make it, which is often in cold weather.

There is a chance of frost tonight so I hurried out to the garden this evening, after emptying the containers for the compost pile in the other corner of the yard. How beautiful were the veggies awaiting harvest. I expect this will be close to the last harvest this year, perhaps a few more green peppers will turn red.

This is the scene beside my front door. Peeking out from between the two mums is my University gnome. I love the way he welcomes me each time I open the front door. He's not happy with the football team right now.

I don't have a lot of decorations on the porch this autumn. I had more than usual in the summer and I found it looked too cluttered. So... autumn brought with it just some additional silk flowers in a red, wire basket and a collection of silk autumnal flowers and grasses in a fun coffee can.

The trees have only begun to drop a few leaves but our front yard will soon be covered by them. Some of the leaves will make their way to the compost pile, others burned and then added to the compost, and those remaining will be mowed over a few times to nurture the soil beneath them. Have I mentioned we live at the edge of a forest? :)

Our back yard is full of black walnuts. There are the shells of completely eaten walnuts, others half eaten, and still more are just waiting to be found in the jaws of a brown squirrel as it deepens its' winter pantry. I can fully understand this need to stock up before the first snow.

14 comments:

Little Penpen said...

Your autumn display is very pretty. I finished mine up yesterday by buying a new silk flag for hanging. I love the colors this time of year.

Beth said...

Your mums are very pretty! I recently bought a bunch of cornstalks, some "Indian" corn and some pumpkins for my front porch. It seems so strange to me to buy cornstalks when we used to just cut them up when I lived on the farm!
I was able to find nice sized pumpkins for $2.00 a piece at a farmer's stand. I bought lots of zucchini and other veggies from him this year and we went back to buy pumpkins from him as well.

I was thinking how wonderful it would be to live at the edge of a forest...I would love that so much. However, one of my dear daughters is deathly allergic to walnuts so we would have a problem with them laying around our yard. I guess we will have to find a walnut free forest to live in!
Blessings to you on this crisp fall day!
Beth

Brenda @ Its A Beautiful Life said...

Beautiful photos...... your soup sounds perfect for this time of year. I just made a curry zucchini soup the other day and it was yum too. Will be posting the recipe on my food site soon.

You mention someone thinking your blog's been hijacked --- interesting response. Because at first, I wanted to stick to only writing 'pretty' things on my site as my theme is a beautiful life. But it seems the part of me that loves whimsy and silly and fun also want their moment in the limelight too..... so why not? We have many facets to our wonderful personalities, so why not our blogs?

Anyway, I love coming to visit and seeing what you are up to! Blessings for a grand day!

matty said...

We had frost. We are talking window-scraping-where-are-my-gloves kind of frost! It is fall! Isn't it lovely??

Love your coffee can? What "kind" is it??

Diana said...

I love Fall too. Today is my bday, so I'm a true Fall baby. Yesterday, I bought my first Fall mums and sat at Barnes and Nobles and journaled while sipping my first of the Fall pumpkin spice latte .I also seriously eyed some pumpkins , but I'd already put my fake pumpkin out on Sept 1. I like the coffee can too. I'm a duck / geese Fall fan. I have 3 Fall scene paintings gracing my living room walls year round. Next favorite thing is snow scenes and they dominate my study. Enjoy the coziness of life and Thank God.

aleahy said...

Hi!
Monster is the ONLY Frank Peretti book that I have read-and I kind of liked it-not usually reading that genre! I tried House i think its called-but WAY too scary. I was serious by the way if you want me to mail you some old Victoria's to peruse and keep at your leisure.
By the way-what conference are you going to in Hartford? is it in Bloomfield?
Alisa in Rocky Hill CT

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Autumn must be here. We had to turn on the heat last night. Maybe we wouldn't if my son hadn't had a cold, but it seemed prudent!

I love to plant the things that one can harvest in the snow - parsley, kale, and parsnips are better after a good frost............And some herbs, too. A few sprigs of winter savory which turns chicken soup into something so wonderful, for instance!

I love soup on cold days!

And what a fight I am having with the "volunteer" black walnut trees which are coming up everywhere...My Ohio squirrels need to get busy!

Your photos are lovely.

Susan B said...

Your pictures are so pretty, and I love your header...so beautiful. I especially love the mums. Vegetable beef soup sounds wonderful. I love soup, and look forward to this time of year, having more soups and stews.

It doesn't feel to much like autumn in our area yet, though the last couple days have been cooler. Have a lovely day.

Scrappy quilter said...

Our gardening season is over too. Yet it was time, I want to be inside now where it's warm and cozy rather than outside with all the cloudy and rainy days. I love your autumn display. Hugs..

Sharon Goemaere said...

Oh Brenda your Fall decorations are so LOVELY!Just gorgeous!!:-)I was born in late Autumn and have been deemed an Autumn by"Color me Beautiful"so I LOVE this time of year.:-)Wonderful post here.Thank you for sharing your world with us.I too would adore living at the edge of a forest!!Love and Blessings~Sharon

Shan said...

Dearest Brenda,

It has been so nice to stop by and catch up with my reading here on your lovely blog.

Please accept my most sincere regrets in the loss of your beloved kitty...it just is so hard to lose a member of one's family.

I completely understand your worry with Christopher and the unsavory world out there. Our Darling Girl attended a lovely College in a very un-lovely area of town. I spent many an anxious evening waiting for her to call and say she was safe and tucked inside for the night.

Your Autumn decor is so lovely and I can almost smell your homemade soup!

I hope you have a lovely evening.

Yours kindredly,
Shan
Honey Hill Farm

Anonymous said...

As it is Hot here today the thought of possible frost seems such an odd thought! :) We will get colder weather in a few months though and soon be wishing for the heat again. Our leaves are beginning to fall here too.
I am a fall person too and so love when it cools down and the fall decorations can be put out and Thanksgiving anticipated. These are the colors of our house furnishings too so they fit right in. I too love your fall flowers! :) We visited an antique store yestereday and they had decorated for fall everywhere. I came back with such pretty ideas!! It cost us nothing to just look and it was such fun. Jody

Anonymous said...

Very pretty! The mums are gorgeous!! Love the post, makes me long to feel autumn.

Anonymous said...

Jody mentioned in her comment about going to the antique store and how it's free to get ideas from the pretty displays. That is one of my favorite things to do. Some of the booths are an absolute treat to look at with their seasonal decorations.