Happy Halloween everyone!

I hope your Halloween was a safe and fun time for all involved. Halloween used to be my absolute favorite holiday (right up there with Christmas), but it's pretty low key these days. I carved the pumpkin this evening and he is now cheerily glowing on the fireplace mantle.

Other than our annual Jack-O-Lantern we don't do anything on Halloween. We're a half mile off the road behind a locked gate eight miles out of town, so we never get trick-or-treaters. The kids are grown and live in other States, so there's no more taking children out trick-or-treating either. My daughter will post photos of my sweet little grandson making his Halloween rounds on Facebook so I won't feel left out.

OOPS...just got interrupted by a phone call from Texas! It was my grandson calling to tell me about Halloween! Guess that was my treat...sure hope there aren't any tricks in store before the night is over!

Signs of the Seasons...

Today I noticed that the berries on the holly bush at the end of the front porch are starting to change colors. Right now they have a pinkish tint to them, but before I know it they'll be bright red and ready for Christmas!

I've noticed other signs that Autumn is moving steadily toward Winter. We've had a couple frosts so I went out this afternoon to check the broccoli in the garden. It's doing great, but the frost killed some volunteer potato plants so I dug them up. Got two medium size potatoes for my efforts so we'll be eating them for supper tomorrow night.

The butter beans were also killed, but the catnip still looks good. I'll need to harvest it soon as I'm sure the cats would enjoy some toys stuffed with catnip, especially Possum, the new kitten (who is growing like a weed).

My garden spiders are slowly dying off as well. It always makes me sad to say goodbye to them, but they've lived their brief lives and next Spring their children will replace them. The only one still hanging on is the one of the porch. I guess she is better protected from the chilly nights.

Almost all the leaves have blown off the persimmon tree and there are only a few stubborn persimmons still clinging to the limbs. The dogs continue to root around beneath the tree looking for sweet persimmons, but it won't be long before there will be none to find.

However, the dogs have other things to enjoy now. They love lying in front of the fireplace when I have a small fire going (the photo is Guinness from a few years ago made just before Halloween). They also enjoy the cooler days and have been quite rambunctious the last week or so.

Elvis has also been quite frisky, hopping around his cage and greeting me at the door when I bring him treats. I'm sure his rabbit fur coat feels better to him when the temperatures drop!

Saturday I bought a pumpkin, which I will carve on Halloween. Since we live so far off the road I'll put it on the fireplace mantel for us to enjoy. I just can't imagine Halloween without a jack-o-lantern, even though they signal the end of October.

November is quickly approaching. I see the signs of it everywhere and I welcome its arrival with open arms!

I wanna be a star....

As soon as I saw her the theme music to Project Runway went running through my mind. Obviously our pup Aislinn is an aspiring fashion designer. Check out this adorable orange poncho she created in the short time I was outside feeding the ducks and chickens!

While I was outside feeding my feathered friends I was composing today's blog in my mind. I'd intended to write about the corn field being harvested today, the Autumn coolness in the air and it being time to dig up my sweet potatoes.

My mind changed the minute I came in and laid eyes on Aislinn. She was sitting primly in her crate wearing her stylish new poncho. She fashioned it by chewing a hole in the middle of her blanket (which is actually a dust cloth I bought at Dollar Tree). Maybe this is what she intends to wear for Halloween.

Aislinn is incredibly difficult to photograph as she is never still. There's no way I could even attempt to take her photo outside the crate. As soon as she's out Aislinn is off at full speed around and around the house. She has an all out bouncy joyful run that is a delight to see. In fact, Aislinn is just a pure delight and we are very grateful that she came into our lives.

Hmmm...I wonder if she'd make me a new outfit if I gave her a tablecloth to chew?