Monday Morning Musings

We had our first real freezing temps last night. I'm afraid my petunias, tomatoes and summer squash are toast! It really wasn't supposed to get quite this cold, according to the weatherman. You would think I would know by now NOT to trust him.

Most years, my flowers don't freeze until the week before Thanksgiving, so I'm wondering if this is also a sign of a cold winter? We had over 10 heavy fogs in August, and my hubby's aunt reported that onions have unusually thick skins this year. We cut open a couple of persimmon seeds this weekend and they all have spoons~a sign of snow. It has been a while since we've had an especially cold winter, so I guess we are due one.

The chickens don't seem to mind the cool mornings. They are always anxious to be let out and start their daily hunt for bugs.
I found this metal chicken/rooster basket at the flea market last week. I think he is so cute!! He is out on my porch right now, but I'll be bringing him in for the winter. I'm looking forward to using him to decorate with all year round. I can see him with pine cones or Christmas balls in December. Then, maybe some little cloth hearts, followed by pretty eggs, then shamrocks, and on to some red, white, and blue for next summer!

R~Mary

Wednesday Afternoon

It's a beautiful fall day outside. We were expecting rain, but got sunshine instead! I love the way the water in the pond reflects the color of the leaves. As you can see from the picture, we still have plenty of green leaves that haven't changed.

We've picked quite a few of our little pumpkins. Some were 'volunteer' plants from last season and the Baby Boo pumpkins were planted in late June. Our big pumpkins are still GREEN!

This crisp weather has me in the mood for soup, so I am going to try a new recipe for supper tonight~Cheeseburger Soup. This is where I found the recipe:

http://www.recipezaar.com/32898

I am going to substitute real cheddar for a portion of the cheese in the recipe. It just sounds like too much Velveeta to me! I made some bread yesterday, so we will toast some of it to go with the soup and my daughters are talking about making crab cakes~which will be another new recipe for us.

R~Mary

Tagged!

Sue over at Simple Country Pleasures has tagged me to tell 7 random things about myself. I must choose 7 to carry the tag on, so I'll choose 7 blogs that I'd like to know more about. Rules are easy, link to your tagger, share 7 facts, random or weird and choose 7 others, of which you will notify and share links. The seven I choose are: Nancy Jo, Debs Room, Alpicks Treasure, Thriftshop Romantic~and I think I've read this tag on most of the others!

My Seven Random Things:

1. I recently gave up coffee, now I drink herbal tea at breakfast every morning.

2. I collect old pictures from the late 1800s-early 1900s.

3. I have been working on family genealogy off and on again for over ten years.

4. My favorite small towns in AR are Eureka Springs and Mountain View.

5. I have made several quilt tops, but have not quilted any of them.

6. I am learning to knit--starting with a knifty knitter loom kit.

7. I was born without an organization gene, so I spend a lot of time sorting through things and attempting to organize them.

For all of you interested in Primitive Crafts~we are having a give-away over on our craft blog: Cordwood Cabin Primitives. Pop on over and sign up!

Butter Stretcher

There has been a lot of 'talk' among bloggers lately of ways to save money, so I thought I'd share this recipe for 'soft' butter spread that I have used for years. It is from Cheaper & Better by Nancy Birnes.

Country Butter

1 pound of margarine (I use butter to avoid hydrogenated fat)
1 cup corn oil
1 cup buttermilk

Whip ingredients thoroughly in a food processor or with a hand mixer. Store in tightly covered container in the refrigerator. Will keep well for one month.

You can halve or quarter this recipe if you want to mix up less spread.

Since I use butter instead of margarine, I usually take it out of the fridge about 5 minutes before I want to spread it on toast, muffins, pancakes, etc.

R~Mary

Nature's Beauty!

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough. ~Rabindranath Tagore

I took this picture last week when we were out driving the back roads. I will miss the butterflies when winter comes!

R~Mary

Fall Days

A little color is starting to creep into the Sweet Gums and Oaks down the road! I noticed this morning that our Dogwoods are also starting to change. I hope to go back in the mountains and get more pictures tomorrow or Friday. Hope you are all enjoying your fall!

R~Mary

Fall Days Around The Homestead

The chickens are busy. . . .

and the pumpkins are growing!

Hope you're having a great week! I'll be back soon.

R~Mary