September 1...First Day of Fall...Maybe

 

 

 Here's more information you never knew you wanted to know.  I like to think of the first day of September as the beginning of a new season. I'm so done with summer  with the heat and drought so I plan on thinking I'm in Fall....meteorological Fall, that is.
Here's some facts from the 'net:

So what's the difference between Meteorological Fall and Astronomical Fall? The obvious difference is they have different start and end dates. Meteorological Fall starts September 1st and ends November 30th. Astronomical Fall starts September 22nd and ends December 21st.

Is meteorological or astronomical seasons more accurate?

The length of the meteorological seasons are more consistent than the astronomical ones, so that we can observe, forecast and compare season statistics reliably from year to year.

Are you having a good week?  We've had a few cool days and a small amount of rain (3.2mm in the past 24 hours. 16 mm in August.)  I took advantage of the coolness and baked some muffins.  
We did the grocery shopping this morning which meant we skipped our walk. ( We can't do both any more it seems). We'll get back on track tomorrow. 

Thanks for coming by,  Granny M

Wordless Wednesday

 

 Thanks for coming by,  GM

Fruit Flies

 Fruit flies have been a plague every summer for as long as I can remember. I've tried various traps and vinegar mixtures but they kept multiplying. I know someone who threw out a box of ripening  pears in desperation.   So why did I not know that fruit kept in those mesh veggie bags  is safe from the fruit flies? Of course one can't keep an entire box of fruit in a bag but at least a small amount can be in the kitchen with no problem.  The peaches were ripe and needed using today so I made a few little jars of jam. The pears are still quite green.
Do you have problems with fruit flies? And if so, what is your solution?

from the internet.....

Are mesh bags good for storing vegetables?

The breathable nature of mesh produce bags is vital to preserving the quality of your produce. Unlike other storage options, these bags don't trap heat and moisture, which can lead to spoilage.

 

Thanks for coming by,  GM

Chit Chat

 

 

Once again it's Saturday and all the usual Saturday chores await me.  First, though, a short visit here.
We went for our walk and on the way back stopped at the fruit & veg market where we bought cherries, peaches and pears. I love how available all the fruit is right now. We were given some plums earlier in the week and I made a Coffee cake that didn't have fruit as an ingredient but I layered the sliced plums on top and it was delicious.

Yesterday ( or maybe it was the day before) when I was at the Dollar Store I saw this pad and  realized how handy it would be to use as a menu planner.  I've been writing our menus out on a scratch pad but this will be better. I've quit writing in pen because I change the plan so often. Nevertheless, it serves as a place to jot down ideas as I think of them.  ( The stickers barely visible on the right were used to decorate my September/October pages).

Plums

As I sat out on the porch with my second cup of coffee I saw an unusual bird in the garden. It seemed familiar and  I knew we'd had some pass through other years (as they migrated) but I had to look it up to find that it was a Western Tanager.I'm always thrilled to see a different bird stopping by.

inserted later....

The Western Tanager migrates long distances, either individually, in pairs, or in groups of 30! Often they migrate only at night2. Night migration is surprisingly common for many bird species, as it allows them to avoid predators and provides a cooler environment for travelling.

from the internet

I had better get the vacuum cleaner out and make myself useful. I hope you are having a lovely weekend. Thanks for visiting.

Granny M

Decorating for Fall

 

Thank you all so much for the lovely birthday wishes!!  I truly had the best birthday.

I was over at Linda's Life Journal ( a great Blog, BTW) and she loves decorating for different seasons even more than I do. In fact she's done for Fall already ♥♥♥.       I had to make a quick trip to the Dollar Store to get a few more things and I was ready to start.  Those who object to rushing the season should maybe quit reading right about now. 

I started with the front door using the same GATHER sign as last year.

I had taken out my pear/lemon collection last week....that's not TOO Fall-ish.

This cast iron basket full of different nuts comes out every year too.

Eldest daughter gave me this 2 tiered wire stand in the summer but I never got around to using it until now.

If you're still here I thank you for your visit today. Do you plan on doing much in the way of decorating for the season? Let me know in the comments. 

 

 

Birthday

 

 It's my birthday and I've been having a lovely day of doing not much at all. I paid a brief visit to the thrift store ( went there mainly to drop boxes off) found a nice purse ($2.50), went to the library and picked up a book I requested as well as a novel in which the Royal Princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret are hidden away in the depths of Ireland during WWII.  So I've been reading and visiting with the grands...generally enjoying my day.

Birthday Flowers

 A book I may have posted about years ago. I know I've read it years ago and loved the words also the drawings.

 

 

 Tomorrow I'll probably bake bread and clean the house but for now I'm a lady of leisure.

Thanks for dropping by,  GM

 

Thoughts on a Smokey Sunday

 

 

 

 Our hot and dry weather continues. I moved the chocolate chips out of the pantry and into a cooler spot but didn't think to move cookies.  For a bought cookie I like the chocolate covered digestives but when I opened the box I found they had melted enough and stuck together.  ( In that case it counts as eating  a single cookie, right?)

Remember this house near Abbotsford that is for sale for a mere  $ 4,485,000?  I found out that it has 9 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms.  No buyer as yet which is not surprising.

I also posted pictures of the style of houses being built around our neighbourhood  Like this one...right next door.  The style I don't much like at all.

I started to think what style appealed to me and came up with a few.  I like them all but if I had to choose one it would be the first one. I like the fishscale shingles in the gable end and the bit of stained glass in the window.  Which would be your choice?

Enough of my ramblings. In a short while we're off to a party. We'll celebrate in spite of the smoke that is making breathing difficult and be thankful that we haven't had our homes destroyed by the wildfires.

Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.. I appreciate them all.  GM

Saturday Walk and Some Baking

We walked by Willband Creek again this morning.  Our air quality is bad due to all the wildfires but we weren't about to miss our walk. We saw a number of rabbits and a large flock of Cedar Waxwings.  They were too high up in the tree for me to get a proper picture so I took one off the internet. The first pic is one another walker took.

 

 Earlier in the week we bought some peaches ( they were rather small and not as lovely as these are.)
Nevertheless I made a peach pie. DH made the pie dough.( My arthritic hands have trouble with that.)

While the oven was on we made two Banana loaves ( or breads). There was too much batter so the extra went into a little ramekin.   The reason the loaves look different is because DH put them into the oven before I had a chance to sprinkle topping on the second one.   I sure appreciate his help in the kitchen. But he gets ahead of me sometimes :)
 

Thanks for your visit today, Have a lovely Sunday.

Granny M

Late Summer

 We were given this cute Patty Pan squash and lovely sweet peppers. I've diced the peppers and froze them in snack-sized baggies. The squash I think I'll just keep to look pretty.

 The squash and peppers are so very yellow so I went outside and looked for more colour. 

 The Black-Eyed Susans....

 ....and a lone Day Lily bloom.

 I tell myself that Autumn is coming, bringing cooler temperatures and a new crop of apples.If I tell myself enough times I may believe it :)    We bought a box of peaches on the weekend but they're not quite ripe yet. Meanwhile we are under yet another heat warning.   GM

 

Miss Kitty

 

 It was just around this time last year when we noticed a half-starved cat hanging around. She was so fearful that I had to stand six feet away or she wouldn't come and eat, in spite of her hunger.

Very soon it became apparent that she was going to be having kittens. On September 3rd five adorable little ones were born.

 

 All 5 kittens found good homes.

This one, the only one to look like the mama, stayed in the family. Granddaughter Kate took him home to be a little brother to her cat,  Remington, who is totally black. The two of them get along wonderfully.   (This picture was supposed to go AFTER the next one.)

Miss Kitty is strictly an outside cat but she seems to love us and in spite of not really wanting a cat at that time, now we can't imagine life without her.

 Here she is being silly!

Thanks for visiting,  GM
 

My Week

 This past week went by so fast. We had a couple of cooler days, even a few drops of rain but now we're back to hot.  This is the weekend of our big Airshow so in addition to the heat we have a lot of noise. Somehow, after Airshow weekend, it seems summer is on its way out. Since Autumn is my favourite season I'm okay with that.

Eldest daughter and Youngest Son brought me 2 pails of blackberries. I made 11 jars of jam as well as blackberry crisps.

 On our morning walks we could see that the level of the water in the lake is slowly going down.  It would be a good time to dredge out those water lilies!

There's a Heron sitting on a stump in the shallow water. It's hard to see it.

 In the flower garden the Phlox are doing well in spite of no watering. The Morning Glories are also still doing well. In fact they're invading the Phlox. Notice the one on the right of the picture?

That was my week. It was a good one and I hope yours was as well. Thanks for coming by,  GM