Welcome Autumn

 September first is the first day of meteorological Autumn. DH and I have had a friendly argument going for years about the beginning of each season and now I learn that all along I was going by the meteorological version and he was all for the astronomical one.   I copied this little bit of info from the internet ( in case you're interested).

 You may have noticed that meteorologists and climatologists define seasons differently from “regular” or astronomical spring, summer, fall, and winter. So, why do meteorological and astronomical seasons begin and end on different dates? In short, it’s because the astronomical seasons are based on the position of Earth in relation to the sun, whereas the meteorological seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle.

 Meteorological Seasons

Summer runs from June 1 to August 31; fall (autumn) runs from September 1 to November 30; and. winter runs from December 1 to February 28 (February 29 in a leap year)

 

 

There now. I've managed to bore you with my trivia and I'll go on to bore you with tea cups. Here are a couple of the saucerless ones I collect, ones with Autumn tones.

This one has sort of Autumn colours.  Both this tea cup and the next one are Queen Anne china.

I got out my Gather sign , the same one I used last year, and hung it on the front door. It was a gift from GD Kate.  I'm always the first one on our street to put out anything seasonal. I have another sign for the back door which I just remembered. I'll go find it and hang it today.

Thanks for coming by,

Granny Marigold

A Small Project and a Cheeky Squirrel

I found some interesting pieces at the thrift store. I'm not sure what the long one is for  but the three smaller ones look like butter knives (?). I like the way the handles have been wrapped with wire and coloured glass. DH drilled holes in them and eldest daughter brought fine wire to attach them. I hung it in front of my garden shed.

It's odd. The blades are shiny but in the picture they're black.

We have a very busy squirrel who brings nuts from way down the street to bury in our yard.  Once in a while it takes a break and sits on the lawn swing to eat and keep up his energy. I foresee many Hazelnut  and Horse Chestnut trees needing to be pulled out next year.

We're continuing with our cool days. I was out doing some gardening earlier and a very light rain began falling. I hope we  get a significant amount.

 

Thanks for visiting,  GM

 

In my Garden

 Thank you for all the birthday wishes!! I appreciate every one.

Yesterday DH had an errand to run that would take him not far from the plant shop so I tagged along .

I bought these 3 Echinacea plants. The one on the left is Wildberry, the other 2 are Cheyenne Spirit.
I'm impressed with the size of the plants. I hope they'll bloom yet this Fall.

My Thai Basil is doing great. I bought it for its looks because I really prefer the Sweet Basil ( which is still doing well but I had to move it into the shade for those hottest days.)

Yesterday I also bought Parsley and another mint. Grapefruit this time.  For now they're on the porch.

Tomatoes are producing more than we can eat. Time to freeze some.

Remember my only Zinnia?  Here she is and she's doing well. The pink blooms fade a bit as they age.
I hope to have better luck with Zinnias next year.

 That's what is happening in my garden. We're expecting showers for the next 2 days so my thirsty plants will get some much-needed moisture. Hopefully the showers will be heavy enough to have an impact on the wild fires.

Thanks for dropping by,   GM

 

 

This and That

My birthday was celebrated with family and I was showered with love, gifts, and cake!
Second oldest daughter and youngest son both brought cake.  There were pictures of me but I always manage to look sad even when I'm having a great time so I'll skip those.

 

My Lilies are looking wonderful.

Here's a little 'before' and 'after' shot of what I've done in the sunroom.

We're into the last full week of August so I'm slowly bringing Fall-ish things out. Our weather is cloudy and cool so that adds to the Fall feeling.

I hope you are having a good week.

Thanks for coming by.  GM

Flowers and Fruit

 As an early birthday present DH took me to buy plants!! I had fun choosing 3 Dahlias, a Helichrysum, and some little herbs.  I treated myself to a bouquet of lilies too but they haven't opened just yet.
Tomorrow I'll find better pots for the herbs which I will keep inside for now. There's 1 Rosemary and 2 mint plants (spearmint and peppermint). I wanted grapefruit and apple mint but there were none.

 

They were selling fruit at the plant shop as well and we got cherries and peaches. The peaches will need at least another 4 or 5 days before they're ripe enough to use.

Our weather has turned cool and we're so thankful. It seems every year around the middle of August summer begins to slide into Fall. Now if we could have a day of rain that would be great.

This week is going by so quickly. It seems once it is Wednesday the week is almost done. Monday and Tuesday go by at a normal speed but once Wednesday comes things speed up. Do you notice that?  Maybe it's just me. 

Have a pleasant Thursday. Thanks for coming by,  GM

 

Sunday walk

 We did our usual Sunday morning walk in Elwood park by Fish Trap Creek. The water level is so low and there is vegetation of some sort growing on the water. The few ducks and geese that haven't left to look for a better habitat create lanes in the murky water.

 
After those depressing pictures you need a smile.

Have a good week.   GM

Left-Handed People Day and Pickled Beans

 

 Today is apparently National Left Handers Day.  It is celebrated on August 13 every year. I thought maybe they had it today being that it is Friday the 13th.  This day "recognizes all those individuals who have mastered using their left hand in a right-handed world."

In our family my DH is a leftie as well as eldest son and eldest granddaughter. Both DH and our son are missing part of a finger and I have no doubt it has something to do with the tools they used (both are/were in construction). Tools that are made for right handers. 

 We're still having very hot weather and the smoke that hangs in the air makes breathing hard. Also today the smoke has a particularly bad smell.

First thing this morning we went to do our usual Friday grocery shopping. Came home and sat down for a second cup of coffee before starting on the beans which were picked yesterday. Do you make pickled beans?  They're quite easy to make and most of our family likes them. 
We had gusty winds yesterday and one of the bean poles was knocked over. I'm quite tired of beans by now anyway.

Thanks for visiting,  GM

First hint of Fall Decorating

 Just a small hint of Fall in these (silk) Chrysanthemums.

 

I bought this little jug at the thrift store recently. The Fall Heleniums are from my garden and have been blooming for over a week already.

Are you tired of summer yet?  The heat has been so exhausting that I'm looking forward to Fall and hopefully some cooler weather.  These next three days we'll be experiencing temps close to the high 90's which is quite unusual for us.

  I've been sorting through my kitchen drawers and finding containers with no lids that will fit as well as  lids with no "bottoms".   This seemed apt.   GM

Chickadees and a Snake

 

 We had a lovely rain on the weekend. Not enough to do a thorough soaking but every bit helps. 

It was cooler today but the rest of the week is forecast to be hot. I baked a cake and made scalloped potatoes. I'm not going to use the oven for the rest of the week if the temperature reaches 30 again.

This afternoon my DH and I were on the porch and we noticed Chickadees pecking away at the seeds on the tall Mullein. I took a few pictures but through the window they are not all that clear. I hope you can see it.

 The picture below is what I was trying to take but it takes a better camera than I have to take such a good photo.  This one is from the internet.

Here's a picture from the past. 2010 was a dry summer too and this little garter snake came for a drink at the birdbath.  I saw it quite by accident when I was outside. I had time to go in and get my camera. He must have been very thirsty.

I hope your week is off to a good start. Thanks for visiting,  GM

African Violets and Cookies

 

 I have often lamented that I have no luck with African Violets.  I buy them in bloom and when the blooms fade I can't get the plants to rebloom. Some time ago I had 4 sad looking violets which I was about to throw out. I changed my mind and kept 2 of them putting them in a north window and giving them a severe talking to. Lo and behold after many months of ignoring them I saw buds forming so I watered them.

Now they look like this!!

While they were being ignored I found this beauty and couldn't resist taking it home. African violets don't like the awful heat we've had ( no one does) so I put it in the bedroom where there is A/C. The blind is down to keep it cool so in order for my violet to get any light I put it on the bed right under the skylight.

Truly a pampered plant but it is forming new buds even while it has the blooms it came with.

 It was cooler today and the cookie tin was empty so I baked a batch of Almond cookies. They're quite a plain cookie but lovely straight out of the freezer and with a cup of tea (or coffee).

 The week is almost done. I hope yours was a good one.

Granny M

Around my Garden

 I took my camera and walked around my back yard this morning. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 

GRANNY MARIGOLD

Smile

 

 

 

 Granny Marigold