...and just like that, Fall is here!

It's been great to be back at home but it's amazing how after being away for a short time, there are so many changes noticed almost instantly after my return. The leaves are fading, the ground is damp and there has been a chill in the air. Just last night, I witnessed birds flying South! Beautiful as it may be, I'm not sure how ready I am to say goodbye to the gardens. In fact, they are in need of some care but the zinnias, marigolds and basil are still going pretty strong. I suppose harvesting the pumpkins should have been a queue: clean up the gardens and move on, get ready for the Fall Craft shows and hunker down, put on a scarf and have fun, enjoy the cool and bake something!

I've also started harvesting acorn tops. My pin oak in the front yard is producing substandard tops, so I find myself walking the dogs and collecting them from local woods. They're larger and prettier. There are a few scarves in the process of being knit and it's been fun choosing colors and fibers to make each of them special. I've been felting pincushions and keeping busy with a few special orders.

What is it like near you? Has Fall found you yet?

Morning Blackberries

Good morning! My blackberries have been taking their sweet time this summer and they're finally beginning to ripen. It's great to be able to walk out back and grab a few fresh berries to enjoy with my breakfast. What is difficult to show you here with this photo is their size; each berry is approximately 2 inches across! 

Do you have a great recipe including blackberries?

Springing Ahead!

I can't help but to be excited about Spring being here. My seedlings are inches high, my gardens are in the process of being cleaned up and I even noticed my little robin coming home to check out her empty nest. I posted some photos of her beautiful blue eggs last year. Inspired by her and also by having the honor of watching her tiny fledglings take off each year, I've created a small nest with removable eggs. It's in the shop and I plan on making a few more of these for the shop in the next week, so check back. 

What inspires you most in the Spring?

Frozen for Winter

wash and uncap

boil just long enough to easily remove skins

set on a plate, tops down and slide the skins off

halve and cool

Adding a sprig of fresh basil before freezing locks in a fresh flavor. I use Big Mama Plum tomatoes and usually start them as seeds myself in recycled newspaper pots I also make. They are meaty and enormous and make beautiful sauces. There are minimal seeds in this type of tomato, so there's no need to remove the seeds, unless you really want to. 

Today, I skinned and halved one bushel and expect to have another before the season it finished. Happy gardening!

Eastered

I love the colors of Easter. The perfect blend of pastels smell of candy. I've been spending so much time outside lately. My gardens are all weeded except for the vegetable garden. I have quite a bit of work to do in there and well, I've been saving the worst for last with that job. I've been digging up some of my perennials and sharing them with family and friends. 

Good Things

Today was my slowest Monday ever! I stayed in bed for a little while before getting up to open the curtains and walk the two pugs who are usually tossed about above and below the comforter somewhere. It is super sunny and 70 degrees today and there is plenty to do: cleaning the house, heading to the post office to ship this weekend's orders and of course stopping to find some new fiber for custom projects. Not bad weather at all for November. We had a yard sale this past weekend and today's late morning was well-deserved.