Happy Fall

I love autumn, it's my favorite time of the year, it's still nice out but the air is crisp and has a bit of a chill to it...….so happy not to be sweating like during the heat of the summer.  I could skip summer - go from spring directly to fall and I'd be happy, love winter here in the northwest too, love rain although we don't get as much as we used to.

I made these pumpkins several weeks back.  I saw them in a magazine, can't say which one now as I gave the stack of them to a friend.  I made a total of 9 pumpkins, which is what I got out of one 8 ft fence post. And one 4 ft dowel was enough for all the stems. I bought orange and green outdoor craft paint.....just put one coat as I wanted the wood to show through. Found raffia in my stash and bows were made. The magazine version also had some artificial leaves at the stems, I bought a small package but then didn't like the look so squirreled them away into the bin of craft supplies.  I'm pleased with how these look on my porch, the other 3 are on the other side of the door. They would look cute with jack-o-lantern faces painted on them too but I want these to last for the entire autumn season, not just for Halloween. Will have to figure out where to store these the rest of the year.  I'm wondering if I should get a real pumpkin and carve it for trick or treaters to see......guess it will depend on if I have time or not...….

Happy Fall You'all

Yes, been missing in action again - just not doing anything much and don't feel like writing a thing. It's ok - just trying to go with the ebbs & flows of life as smoothly as possible.

Here is the finished Bella Shawl (by Annie Lee-Baker) - I finally got it blocked early last week. I used Berroco Boboli Lace Yarn. Colors are not as vibrant in the photo - very foggy out this morning so this is the best I could do. I love the way it turned out - not sure if it's me though, will try it on with a black outfit and then decide.....but it was great fun to knit.

I just started on a new shawlette/scarf using Huckleberry Knits gradient yarn - it goes from green to blues to purple. This is a no thinking shawl which suits me just fine for tv watching.

We get no real fall color here in SW Oregon - too many evergreens, temperatures not right. We have numerous oaks on our property but they always turn an ugly yellow brown and then fall off but this year one tree is a lovely orange. This pic was taken yesterday when it was sunny out, today we're socked in with fog.........at least at our house, sunny in other areas.

Oh, and as of last Friday fire season was officially over - whoo hoo!!

Colors of Autumn in SW Oregon

After growing up in the east coast when autumn comes here I'm yearning for all those beautiful falls colors from the bright yellows to the golden oranges to the bright reds. But alas, here in Southern Oregon we have so many pines & firs there is little autumn color and then what there is just doesn't live up to the northeast. The best colors I've seen are in city yards and parks where liquid amber trees have been planted. Driving home from the weekend trip to the coast I savored what little color I saw in the mountains - yellows of the scrub oaks against all the green of the pine and fir. So, this morning I looked out on our own property to see what could be found. Above is our japanese maple.

 Here is a high bush cranberry which is set off by the rhodies, pine and blue vinca ground cover

 Here is one of the many scrub oaks, this one in Bailey's yard

And here is a smoke tree on the side yard - usually the leaves are a dark burgundy red, now they're turning a light coral/orange color before they fall for winter.

So, is there anything else I miss about the east coast.....YES! Maryland Blue Crab! But that's it!

Autumn adventure..........

Tuesday my friend Yvonne and I went on an autumn adventure. We started out the day heading to the Butte Creek Mill to explore and shop a bit for staples like flours, oatmeal, etc. Colors of autumn found there.

Next it was on to Union Creek for lunch and hiking along the Rogue River at the Rogue River Gorge and Natural Bridge. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of our luncheon spot, Beckie's Cafe who is known for the great pies. We both had burgers, fries and pie, me oh my! Bad year for huckleberries so I had blueberry - yum!

Yvonne taught me the names of many plants I didn't know. Below is hemlock, I was especially taken with it because of the tiny little pinecones, probably 1/2" to 3/4" in length.

What a fun day!