Fall & A Friend...

Even though it's not official, it's Fall here in Minnesota…

This is a tree down the street from where I live, I took this picture about a week ago… the temps have been (mostly) in the 70s for highs, and cooling well overnight (but not freezing yet).  It's also been an unusually dry year, so leaves are falling a bit early… hopefully we get some nice color anyway…

I had posted previously about a Chickadee… I moved the fountain so I could see it better through my French Doors, the following photos & video captured another little Chickadee…

Checking things out...

Taking the Plunge…

Ignore the audio on this little clip, its from something Jeff was watching on TV (My Cat From Hell) & is an amusing misfit for the video which was taken through my French Doors...

Isn't this cute??

I had seen a Chickadee perched on one of the couches on my deck, and had suspected he was going to try to get a drink out of my fountain…  so I got sneaky & grabbed my camera…  I carefully hid and peeked out the window… and at first he was taking a drink, then suddenly…

He jumped right into the little "pitcher" that pours water into my fountain...

Here's a zoomed in shot… what surprised me was that he was just content to "soak", he wasn't splashing around at all… It was just so cute watching him soak in my fountain, but it wasn't to last, he was gone again in about a minute!  I didn't know I was providing a soaking tub for the local birds…

Summer coming to an end...

As I look out at the woods behind my house & see leaves starting to change colors & fall to the ground I realize Summer is coming to an end.  The change of seasons isn't bad, each season has its own beauty & blessings, it's just a change… and I look forward to each change, since each brings new activities, new foods, new sights… and of course new challenges.

As the challenges in my gardens come to a close, the challenges in homework start up… This Fall I will be doing double-duty again in teaching, I will continue to teach the Young Adults fellowship & will assist with a Women's Fall class as well… Kitty likes this… she goes from watching me through the windows (as I putter in the garden) to being by my side in the Office as I work on my homework…

Oreo likes the Office Chair… the one that normally sits at the computer… but I gladly sacrifice it to her for the company - it can get very quiet when I'm here alone studying…  I loved the way she was curled up in this photo, with a paw reached out toward me… It's not unusual for her to reach out & touch me gently with a paw to remind me that she's there...

She was sleeping so soundly… she's getting older, she's 12 now, and she sleeps more than she used to… but she's still a very healthy cat (according to her Vet she's quite young for her age)… she's always been sweet & docile, and that's not changed… She's got the softest fur I've ever felt on a cat, she's wonderful to snuggle with!!

(Can you tell I like my cat??)

Ok, where was I?  That's right, Summer coming to an end…. so as its ending of course we're trying to get to all those Summer activities we hadn't gotten to yet, or hadn't gotten enough of yet…

We went to yet another outdoor concert, these are coming to an end… this time we saw Classic Brass Inc.  This group has as one of its members the conductor of the band Jeff is in… Jeff was excited to see his conductor play Trombone (Jeff's main instrument).

Picture as we drove to the Apple Orchard...

We also went for an early visit to an Apple Orchard (a typical Fall activity), no Sweet Tangos yet (perhaps next week)… but we picked up some tasty cooking apples…  Right after we decided to go over to Stillwater, its a town along the St Croix that's very picturesque (but I didn't take pictures this time)… we mostly wandered down the main street & in and out of Antique shops…

To end our Summer with a bang we went to ValleyFair, a local amusement park (no pics here either)… we had a ton of fun riding roller coasters (they have several) & other adrenalin pumping rides… I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this sort of thing…

Today is Labor Day, and today we're simply hanging out around the house… we're going to rest a bit before Jeff goes back to work…

Goodbye Summer!!  See you next year!!

The Great Minnesota Get Together!!

We decided that we'd go to the State Fair this year, it had been a year or two since we'd been…

I wanted to get some seeds I knew I could pick up from a vendor at the Horticulture building (California Poppy seeds - a bit of home).  Jeff had other things in mind - mainly all the naughty foodstuffs he could shove down his gullet.  Despite our different approaches to the fair we both had a great time!!

Some pictures, enjoy!!

Wow!!  That's a BIG Pumpkin!!

Not sure what's with this expression on Jeff's face, but he cracks me up!!  I posted this on Facebook & said he was excited he'd found the Great Pumpkin :)

On the Sky-ride (most pictures are from here, I finally had my hands free).  Boats & Travel trailers on display...

Cars… Trucks… Tractors...

Travel Trailers...

Rides off in the distance...

One of 100s of eateries...

Antique Tractors...

Antique Tractors...

We stole a kiss along the way :)...

Not sure what was on display here… patio stuff… ??

John Deere is famous around these parts!!

Storm chasing car...

We're getting closer to the rides...

Scooters & ATVs… (I like the pink one)...

"Scamp" travel trailers, we toured these - I was drooling!!

Motorcycle "trike" with trailer… Jeff was drooling...

Rides are right below us!!

Lawn Mowers & Snow Blowers!!

Jeff wanted a picture of the Gold'n Plump Chicken Van (in front)… :)

Grandstand - where all the big name music acts will be playing… lots of other music venues…

That's all for now, on to more GAVOTing adventures!!

Adventure at the Arboretum….

Last weekend Jeff & I were looking for something to do, and wanted to get outside, so we headed over to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum… a large place filled with all sorts of interesting plants & trees… run by the University of Minnesota.  Believe it or not I didn't take my camera (huh?!?) so these pics were taken with my phone… so the quality isn't what I'd have liked, but I just couldn't resist snapping a few pics…

Just as we got there we made a friend, actually Jeff made a friend, though by the end he was perhaps a frenemy….

Its a baby Snapping Turtle...

He was just walking on the sidewalk outside the Visitor Center...

Jeff kindly kept steering him onto the path so I could get pictures, in this picture he put his hand near so you could tell how tiny this little guy was….  But he's a Snapper… and he started snapping at Jeff… so we figured we'd annoyed him enough & let him go on his way…

As we were wandering the grounds Jeff was busy seeing what kinds of birds he could spot… among the variety was a Catbird - we'd heard its unusual call & eventually spotted it!!  Unfortunately they were too quick for me to snap any pictures :(

I did snap pictures of various flowers & wildflowers… and I'm thinking some of these might work in my gardens & even in the edges of my woods… The first two are cousins...

Native Minnesota wildflower: Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida)

Native Minnesota wildflower: Spotted Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens capensis)

A lovely purple variety of Obedient Plant.

Minnesota Native: Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinals)... along with some sort of Aster or Black-Eyed Susan...

This looks like a Purple Archangel, in the midst of what may be some Bee Balm & other flowers…

We both love getting out into God's creation and seeing the bounty of life He placed in our beautiful world… adventuring together is such a joy & blessing!!

Has it really been...?

Yikes... I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd posted to this blog...

I had a really rough week last week... on Monday I went for my annual trip to visit my Allergy Specialist (he's about a 3 hour drive away, not including stops)... the allergy testing always leaves me tired & achey for about a week, which causes me to get quite down, and it's a battle to accomplish anything during that time...

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt (works for Peaches too)

So the fact that I managed to come up with a new recipe (and a variation) for Frozen Yogurt is quite an accomplishment!

Nectarine Clove Sorbet

Strawberry Pineapple Sorbet

I also managed to make 2 of my custom Sorbets (Nectarine Clove & Strawberry Pineapple) during this time, in order to have a total of 3 custom Sorbets to share with my Small Group - we gathered together to visit with & learn about the work of a young doctor (and daughter of one of the couples) who is getting ready to be a full time medical missionary in Zambia.

Weigela blooms...

During that tough week I took it slow, making time to enjoy the Beauty, Bounty, Birds, Bees, & Blooms in my gardens... it was a good time to stop & be thankful for the many blessings God has given!!  I was amazed at how many & how many varieties of Birds were at my various feeders as I was trying out some new feed blends... little cheery friends, little feathered blessings to brighten my days!

This week has been much better & much more productive...  

I've been experimenting in the kitchen again, this time trying to come up with a Banana Rum Raisin frozen desert that's to my liking... my first try had some hiccups but came out "ok"... it's a work in process (yep, no recipe or photos to share yet)...

I've been really busy in the gardens, making up for lost time last week, transplanting & planting some Perennials & Annuals...

New perennial - Phlox

New perennial - Bee Balm

New annuals - Ornamental Peppers & Celosia

Checking on some plants, and appreciating all the changes...

Look at my cute little baby Tomatillos!!

As a bonus, while cleaning up the gardens I made a New Friend...

Lovely very large femal Yellow & Black Garden Spider,
no she's not poisonous...

Now Stop That!!  I think she's Beautiful!! Besides, anyone that voluntarily comes into my yard & kills gnats & mosquitos is a friend!!

That's all for now... hopefully it won't be so long between posts for a while...

Fun Friends visiting...

Jeff & I are enjoying ourselves at home this weekend, just relaxing and having a low-key time… yes, of course we went to church this morning… and tonight we're going to enjoy a free concert with one of our favorite bands (John Phillip Sousa Memorial Band) at Como Park in St Paul… but otherwise we're being homebodies… catching a little of the Olympics from time to time… but spending a lot of time on the deck & front porch just enjoying the picture-perfect weather we're having… it feels so good to sit outside on a beautiful day!!

We were basically keeping to ourselves, but we had some guests drop by… the first one dropped by Saturday afternoon just as Jeff was getting the slow-cooking grill ready to cook up some of his fabulous ribs…

He wasn't wanting to share our dinner, and he was kinda cute, so we didn't mind too much, but…

He was perched on the very grill Jeff was trying to use, so we had to ask him to leave… we didn't want to inadvertently cook our guest!!

The next guests were around all weekend… and we were able to watch them from our lunchtime spot on the front porch… this Chickadee joined us for drinks (non-alcoholic of course) & for a meal… many other birds joined us as well, but we just sat & watched & didn't try to take pics… we also had visiting squirrels, one was a little red squirrel that was chasing off all his larger gray cousins… and we had our regular bunny as well - he's got a funny growth so we know its the one that's always here in the yard…

Then there was the special guest who dropped by on Sunday, I guess you could say he was a bit of a guest of honor, he was the guest that got me very excited… I asked nicely & he let me take his picture… but you'll have to go see him on my gardening blog… follow this link to see who was my Mystery Guest!  This isn't just a tease, trust me, its worth your time to follow the link…