Pre-Fall Yard

It won't be long before everything will be dying back for the winter.  It's kind of a sad time of year for me but then again, I just have to think about how all winter long, I don't have to go out and water and weed.  That changes my mind fast...ha. It always surprises me come Spring and everything pops their little heads out of the ground.  Sometimes I forget what I have planted where.  It's like getting all new plants come Spring.  Our yard is actually starting to look like we have lived here awhile.  Three years ago today, we moved into our new house.  How old does a house have to be before you have to stop calling it your new house?  I think I'll give it a couple more years.

Apple Time

After a morning of tomato picking, we headed to Spradlins where we pick our blackberries and blueberries.  They also have an apple orchard.  Strange thing was, when we got there, they were closed. It's not like them to be closed at apple time and on a Saturday afternoon.  We sure hope nothing has happen in their family to make them close their stand.  So, we continued down the road a bit to Steele's Orchard.  You can't pick apples there but they have all kinds for you to buy.  We ended up buying a 1/2 peck so I could make apple butter.  Once I tasted how good the apples were, I didn't want to use them for apple butter.  I just wanted to eat them.  Might make an apple pie out of them also.  Just might go back and get more if I really get the inkling to make apple butter this Fall.  It is one of my favorite things that I make in the kitchen.

Tomato Fields Forever

Wild morning glories!!

Michelle in the tomato fields again

Pretty tomatoes and okra 

We were suppose to have company from Florida this past weekend.  Fred and Elaine!  Under the circumstances of having to find a new ALF for Charlie to live, they were unable to come at this time.  Michelle had planned on coming home to see her Aunt and Uncle but came home for the day any ways.  We headed to the tomato fields since I knew Michelle would want to pick tomatoes like she did when she was growing up in Florida.  She picked almost a full five gallon bucket of tomatoes and then finished off the bucket with okra.  Chuck and I picked another five gallon bucket of tomatoes.  I planned on canning most of them.  We will probably go back up the mountain and pick again before our first frost.  It's wonderful being able to have beautiful tomatoes all summer and Fall.

Deja vu

I couldn't believe it!!!  I spent 20 minutes in a tomato field this morning.  I never dreamed that I would be walking up and down tomato rows, picking beautiful tomatoes by the bucket fulls ever again.  When I went to my friends house yesterday ,she had a huge bowl of pretty tomatoes on her kitchen counter.  I asked her where she had gotten them and she told me about this little farm on the other side of Decatur, up a mountain where you could go pick tomatoes and green beans.  After having lunch in town, Chuck and I set out to find the tomato field.  We found it!  It's owned by this nice little old man.  He told us to go up the road, turn left and it took us right to the fields.  It was a bit different than the Florida fields where we used to pick, but the tomatoes where just as pretty.  Plus, get this....we can pick from June until the first frost which should be the end of October.  It's going to be wonderful having pretty, wonderful tasting tomatoes all summer long.  Who knew I would have my kitchen counters covered in tomatoes again...just like my kitchen in Florida, once a year.  I certainly felt like Deja vu  today.  

Mom's Angel Wing

When my Mom died 20 years ago, I inherited her house, personal belongings and all of her plants.  Not only living on this earth without my mother but having to deal with owning two houses, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of but I thought I had the responsibility of keeping her plants alive, which some were years and years old.  One of them was this HUGE Angel wing begonia.  I'm talking about a plant that was as tall as me with these gorgeous giant blooms on it.  It survived nicely in our back yard in Florida for seventeen years.  I even started several plants off of it.  When we moved to Alabama, Chuck put all of the plants up over the cab of the U Haul so that they wouldn't get crushed.  Everything seem to have made it.  Because it was winter time we put all the plants in the barn.  The problem was, it was the coldest winter in 40 years in Northern Alabama and we didn't have any electricity for six weeks.  That meant no way of keeping the plants from freezing in the barn.  I thought I had lost everything.  I cried the day I walked into the barn and saw the 65 year old stag horn fern all black.  Then there was the Angel wing begonia with no leaves left on it.  I told my Mom how sorry I was for losing her plants but in my heart I knew she would understand.  Well, come summer the stag horn started spouting new fronds but the Angel Wing was deader than a door nail.  Before we moved from our house in Florida, I had planted some of the Angel Wing in the ground by the deck.  Since Ryan's ex- sister in law had bought the house, Ryan and Michelle would go to the house where they grew up, to pick Genavive up from her Aunts.  When Michelle found out that I had lost Mom's big begonia, she asked Jenny if she could have a couple of pieces from the one that I had planted in the ground.  Jenny being nice as she always is, said " sure".  So, long story short....when we moved Michelle to Nashville last winter, she had the begonia from our Florida house.  Mom's Angel Wing Begonia!  I took care of the precious plant all winter long until it was big enough for me to cut two pieces from it to start my own.  Michelle now has the original from the one from Florida but now I also have Mom's Angel Wing begonia back!!!  I know Mom would be proud of both of us for keeping her plant living in our lives.  Thank you Aunt Jenny for sharing part of the plant that I had started and thank you to Michelle for asking Jenny to share it with her and letting me have the chance to start a new plant off of hers.  This plant will always have a special place in our house and in my heart.

Coffee Table Cat

You've heard of " Coffee Table Books", well, we have a " Coffee Table Cat".  This has become one of Prince George's favorite place to sleep on the front porch.  Even though, there isn't much room for him to stretch out, he's so fat.  Some times I find him hanging off on a couple sides of the table.  I think the glass must feel cool to him in the hot weather.  He's lucky.  The indoor kitties aren't allowed on the tables in the house.  Neither one of them would even " think" about getting on one.  Oh to be an outdoor kitty!!!

Redecorating the Yard

After walking around the yard the day we moved the fire pit, I decided that the yard wasn't looking how I wanted it.  I know... that sounds funny but it's like I needed to redecorate out there.  I decided to move the 12 hosta plants that were under the living room window.  That side of the yard just needs hydrangeas all along it.  It's the North side of the house, which gets mostly shade.  The side of the house that you first see when you drive up to the house.  Won't it be pretty when that side of the house has nothing but big, tall, blue hydrangeas all along it.  So, this meant I needed to find a shady spot to replant all of the hostas.  The only place that I could find that would be in the shade all day was the path on the way to the TT.  I started out clearing under the trees.  What a job!  There were weeds, vines, fallen limbs and poison ivy.  I had to move the two big pots of stag horns which meant they needed to be in the shade also.  I worked out there all afternoon but once I got it all done, I was very pleased on how it looked and how it will look come Spring when all the hostas come back for the summer.  It will soon be time to winterize the yard by putting all the potted plants into the green house.  The yard will look empty all winter long but if we are lucky we'll have some pretty snow to cover it all up, this year.  We've had a very unusual cool summer.  Maybe we'll have a really cold winter.  Here's hoping!!