Welcome Fall

As far as I can figure out Fall begins officially for us sometime tonight, so let me wish you a very happy Fall !  It's cool and wet here, a distinct change from yesterday's sunshine and warmth. Time to think of cozy sweaters and maybe different food than we've been having. Maybe hearty Beef Stew. That sounds good. And pie. Let there be pie. Hmmm. I shall be busy.

 Don't you love peeking in on the Squirrel family?  Susan Wheeler's illustrations are so cute.

Pumpkins, lumpy or otherwise, are everywhere right about now.  I still prefer the lumpless ones.

I hope you are having a great Monday!           Granny Marigold

Thrifty Buys

The garage season is almost at an end for the year. Thrifty buys are harder to find now. I did pick up this lovely big tea pot for two dollars. I make myself a pot of tea every single day so I'll use it a lot.

I love hand made quilted bags. Besides being pretty, they are so useful. I carry groceries, library books, garage sale treasures, sometimes I even use one to carry my camera and binoculars when I go for my walk.  This bag cost me 1.50. This side is my favourite. The next pic is the other side and you can see the trim and lining is a cheery print.  There's even an inside pocket ( cell phone?)

These pears were a thrifty buy at .49 cents a pound. They will have to be eaten today because they are quite ripe. No problem around here.

Those are my only treasures today. I hope you are having a restful Sunday.

                                           Granny Marigold

Harrison Lake

The warm, sunny days of September will soon enough turn to the wet,cool days of October so we took advantage of the weather and  drove to Harrison Lake where we met up with our son and his family. Had a pleasant few hours then came home ready to put our feet up.

          The little man trying to make a hole in the sand using his Grandad's cane while his sister and another child work on a sand castle.

           As we left town I snapped a quick picture of this house. I like the purple trim!

                             Have a happy day!     Granny Marigold

Our trip to pick fruit

It's a beautiful, sunny Fall day and we took advantage of the cooler morning temperature to go to the Pumpkin Farm which has WAY more than pumpkins. You can either buy ready picked or pick your own. We chose the latter. except for pumpkins and gourds which were already picked .    Here my DH is picking plums ( we had 24 pounds when he was done).

 It's a great place where you can walk around ( or be pulled in a wagon) and look at animals in the barn, feed hungry goats, see chickens, turkeys, you-name-it.

Here are just some of our plums. Most will end up in the freezer ( which is getting very full).

We also picked huge apples and winter pears.. I believe these are a variety called Bosc.   Unlike regular Barttlet pears these keep well . They stay firm and taste more like an apple than what you might think of as pear. I put some on a tray to show you.

I plan on making a Caramel/apple pie later in the week when we are supposed to have a few cool days. Maybe even some badly needed rain!

Thanks for visiting. I hope your week is starting out fine! 

             Granny Marigold

Today's project

This area of my kitchen/dining room used to be a busy place where important notes were pinned on the bulletin board, school papers that needed signing were put so they wouldn't be forgotten, and the hundred other things that are part of life with school aged kids.  Now it was really not necessary any more SO....

I asked my DH if he would remove the bulletin board and build an insert to fit the spot. He did just that and even put a piece of  white metal to serve as bulletin board but using magnets instead of push pins.  It's the part behind the cups ( that have no saucers).  Below that is an area just the size for my " printers boxes" which I change with the seasons.  I am so happy to have this new space and so thankful for a hubby that can do such .

Hope your weekend has gone well and you're ready to face the new week!

                          GRANNY MARIGOLD

Interesting houses

I love old houses. There's something fascinating about them that I don't feel for new houses, no matter how big and fancy they might be. Whenever I can I take pictures of houses that appeal to me and here are a few.

Too bad about the trailer in this one. I would have preferred it GONE. If I were computer savvy I could eliminate it but I'm not so it has to stay.

The next five photos are some that I took off the internet, then the last one is,again, one I took. I hope you enjoy looking at old places too.

Butterflies

This lovely visitor to my Zinnias gave me an idea for a post today. This is a Red Admiral, or Red Admirable, as it apparently first was called. I was puttering outside when I saw it alight and I ran in to get my camera.  At first I stayed a few feet away and took a picture, then I got bolder and came right close as you can see from the second pic.

I wonder if I've shared my Butterfly collection before. I don't think I have. This cupboard is in the sunroom but NOT in the sunshine since that is the one thing that will fade the colours. On the very top is a collection of local butterflies I made years ago.   On the bottom shelf, the green one on the left is from New Guinea and the two on the right of that shelf are from China and Peru. This was my first set of Butterflies gifted to me by my youngest son. Since then I have added  many more.

 

This is not a good pic of this pretty green one from Sulawesi ( I think that's what is written on the back.) Each framed butterfly comes with a certificate pasted on the back which identifies it and also assures that none of them were taken from the wild. They are raised in "Butterfly Farms".  Can you imagine these big butterflies flying around you? 

                                           The blue one  is from Brasil .

 Sorry for the glare on the photos.  I've also included a picture of my Dragonfly "collection". When we came back from one of our trips we found many of these had gotten caught in the grill of the van.
Of course that started me on yet another collection. The oval plates that they are resting on have colourful Moth  motifs. Those were a gift from one of my daughters, as was the metal Dragonfly  hanging behind.

Thanks for popping by today. As usual I love to have you comment so I know you were here.

                Granny Marigold