Candy Corn

The Family gets very excited for candy corn.

It's a once a year, Halloween treat. Yay!

Made with real honey. Oh yes!

The perfect combination of Fall colors. Without question!

Sweet and delicious. Absolutely!

But mostly we love it because...

instant vampire fangs!! Mwah ha haaa!

Christine

Winter Ready: Step 1

They are blissfully unaware what is about to befall them.

Hello Pookie, May I take your photo.

They run in the garden without a care.

Enjoy this while you can my ladies!

The Husband and I, however, are very aware of what is to come.

Look pretty for the camera ladies!

Freezing nights, brutal winds, and snow. Yep, Minnesota winter is on the horizon. -brrrr-

Yes Jade, I'm still taking photos. 

And unlike what we've read in a recent StarTribune article about people abandoning their chickens as winter approaches -WHAT??- the Husband and I have begun winter preparations for the care of our little flock - which we fully intend to keep and care for!

HEY! What do you mean just ignore her and maybe she'll just go away??

Everything we've read indicates that chickens that are winter hardy, which ours are, do not need a heated coop. In fact heating the coop can be a bad idea. Winter hardy chickens should acclimate to cold weather.

I cannot begin to tell you how nervous this makes us! But we are going to trust the experts.

What chickens do need is a draft free coop, plenty of fresh water, and extra food as they expend extra calories staying warm.

So our first order of business...how to keep the water from freezing!

To the Google!!

We found a widely used method of keeping water from freezing is to run power to the coop (gotta love the man who will climb under the coop to run power to keep water thawed for your chickens!!)...

attach to a light socket...

we set ours on a ceramic tile...insert a 60 watt light bulb...

set a cinder block over the socket...

cover with a terra cotta pot base...

set waterer inside pot base...turn the light on and VOILA! Just enough heat to keep the water from freezing. We hope! Again, we're counting on the experts here.

Step one of winterizing the coop...done! Whoop whoop!!

Now to collect a handful of these and plan step two.

Christine

A Couple of Bad Apples

Maybe it's the anticipation of seeing the beautiful Fall colors.

Maybe it's the thought of sweet, juicy apples.

In truth it's probably the promise of apple doughnuts! -yum-

Whatever the distraction, somehow I never realize how completely uncoordinated the family's attire is until we are halfway to the apple orchard!

Maybe it's just that we are not that family. 

You know the ones I mean? 

The ones that dress in beautifully coordinated outfits. They get the completely put together, happy faced, family photos on their orchard outings? I always have high hopes that this will be the year we are that family, and we get that photo. It hasn't happened yet. -ho hum-

No indeed! We get these photos...

"Look Mom. We're a couple of bad apples!"

Stop it!!

And then I get...

Awww, there they are. The family that I love. What a joy.

Wait what??

Ya goof balls!!

And good golly how did this happen??? -YIKES-

I may have to learn to just be content with the lovely scenery and the sweet apples, and maybe have another apple doughnut!! -sigh-

Christine

One Fungi

Fall is upon us!

The leaves are brilliant in color!

But the flowers in the garden are wilting and turning brown. They have begun to die.

There's new growth in my garden though.

Mushrooms. Fungi! Oh so much fungi!!

Why did the fungi leave the party?

There wasn't mushroom!

Ha ha ha ha

A little mushroom humor for you. Funny, yes? 

Anyway...

There's quite a variety of mushrooms growing in my flower beds.

In the past my reaction to these mysterious organisms was to exclaim, "Ewww!" as I scooped them into a bucket to dispose of them.

But this year I was struck by their beauty.

These unique little creatures feed off dead plants and leave behind new, rich soil.

They're kind of amazing!

How about this one...

Why did the mushroom get invited to all of the parties?

'Cuz he was one fungi!!

Fungi/fun guy! Get it?? Ha ha ha ha

Gotta love a little mushroom humor.

Anyway...

My garden is full of mushrooms that are breaking down the debris, to create new, rich soil, so that new growth may thrive.

Beautiful!

Christine

A Bunch of Junk

October already?! 

September was so busy, it seemed to fly by!

It brought the beginning of school. 

Yay! They were much more excited than I expected them to be on the first day.

Then they gave into reality. Yep, that's more what I expected.

September brought after school activities too. Hello crazy schedule!

It brought friends and family into town for several weekend visits.

The Husband's Mom was one of our weekend guests.

And then September brought more after school activities.

It brought a birthday celebration for this sweet boy. He's not technically mine, but I love him with a mama's heart, so that makes him officially one of mine too! 

Him and his sweet sister, I claim that girl with a mama's love too!

And September brought more after school activities. -sigh-

It brought a wedding for one of the Husband's cousins.

She looked so beautiful!

It was an outdoor wedding. It was a beautiful day!

The little flower girl was beautiful too!

Ahhh weddings! They're just so beautiful!!

And then September brought more after school activities. 
-oh my-

Then, just as September was coming to a close, just as I thought I had totally missed it, I received the email reminder! I hadn't missed it after all! There was still time! Junk Bonanza was here!! I could still make it! Whoop whoop!

Make it I did! The Husband even took the day off of work to go with me! He's the best!!

We were in junk heaven!

Trinkets!

And doodads.

And whatnots!

And these guys!

So much junk, so little time!

Actually there was plenty of time. We even managed to stop for lunch in between our few purchases.

We bought this box, that I filled with things that I had on hand; silk flowers, a candle, feathers, mini pumpkins, and pieces of burlap, for $4.50. It's perfect for a Fall centerpiece.

We purchased a little glass carafe for $2.50.

All I can say is I broke my own "never buy anything because you think it's cute" rule when I bought it. 

But it's such a cute little container. 

Yep, totally broke that rule. 

But it's such a cute perfect olive oil dispenser. Uh huh, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

And last, but not least, we purchased an old painting ladder for $35.00.

Yep, a ladder.

We, and by we I mean the Husband, sanded the rough edges with a pumice stone,

sprayed it with a clear coat,

and now it's the perfect place to store throw blankets in our living room!

It's silly, I know, but I'm a little giddy about the ladder.

Anyway, I'm glad I didn't miss Junk Bonanza! It was a good break. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled running for more after school activities!

Christine