Happy October! How quickly we got here. It's amazing that as crazy as 2020 has been, it hasn't felt like it's been dragging on forever. It's truly flying by for me. Between work and the latest set of rescues, we have barely had time to breathe. That's okay, though. Busy means life is happening.
We still have some really beautiful things in the garden.It's definitely in the very-nearly-winding-down phase, but the zinnias are still producing here and there, and the French marigolds and African marigolds (which do well in Autumn) are flourishing.
First up are my French marigolds. Aren't they stunning? That color and those curls! Full disclosure, though; in the next picture, you can see that they've grown into the butterfly bush (which is also still flourishing). Next year, I've got to re-design where these are going, but for now, they're lovely mixed in with the purple of the butterfly bush. I think, though, that they needed a larger space to spread. There are GOBS of these, and they should have been planted in a much bigger space. Live and learn! We'll do that next year for sure.
See that pink flower? That's a white zinnia that crossed with a pink zinnia and created the most gorgeous shade of pale pink! Wouldn't it be a beautiful lipstick color? Humans can try as hard as they please, but there will never, ever be anything human-created-related that will compare to the colors that nature produces. Anyone who thinks otherwise has never watched a garden grow and change and flourish.
Y'all, look at Lacey. Isn't she a hoot? She's a half-and-half girl. Half the time, she sleeps in the bed beside me, the other half she sleeps on the floor on one of her big (not-so-cheap-cost-me-a-bundle) beds. She has big dog beds everywhere. Not spoiled AT ALL. Look at those ears. They are the cutest things. I look at her and just melt.
I tell people the truth about me: I'm a cat person, hands down. But then right behind that, I'm a border collie person. THEN I'm a dog person. Make sense? I love dogs, don't get me wrong, but at the end of the day, if I"m going to have just one dog, it's going to be a rescue border collie. I do not pay breeders for dogs since there are thousands of border collies that need adopted. I'm more than happy to pay a large adoption fee but not a breeder fee. I have no issue with a good breeder with ethics and morals. It's just that there are so many terrible breeders out there that the dogs they produce often end up needing rescued. I'll just walk away from that rant, though. Today is a beautiful day, no need to ruin it with that discussion! Anyway, my border collie is gorgeous and sweet and a very, very good girl.
And will you look at Bunny? Mama kitty is so full of herself. I take her on walks around the yard. Here she is sitting by part of Christina Gardens, the giant African marigolds. There are two huge patches of these in front of our house. She loves to mosey around in them. They're fragrant, and I'm sure there are smells of mousies and bunnies and other things in the gardens. She has the best time. Every now and then, her chunky self will get a spurt of energy and go running halfway up a huge tree trunk, then she'll launch off of it and take off on a wild run across part of the property. It's hilarious! I just wanna get her and give her a huggy-squeeze after one of those!
I absolutely have to talk about the beginning of this month. The gifts have been huge. We are having a true Autumn this year. It's been cool/cold for a couple weeks now, and so far, there doesn't appear to be a big warm-up in sight. I mean, it's 39 degrees right now! Plus, the Harvest Moon is just stunning, and the sky is October blue! The leaves in town are starting to turn. Our property/area tends to lag a little bit and Autumn and Spring shows up about a week later than other parts of the county for some reason, but hopefully, soon, I'll have colorful pictures to share.
Bakeries are full of pumpkin everything, and I've been happily eating my way through these early days of Autumn. Candy is a-plenty, too! I finished off my first bag of mellowcreme pumpkins. I have yet to get my bag of mixed mellowcremes, you know - the ones with maple leaves, chocolate bats, banana corn, and vanilla pumpkins. I love those even more than the bag of just pumpkins, but I only ever know of two places in town that carry them. One of my weekend goals is to grab a bag of them. They're really good with a cup of coffee around 3 p.m. I've had several bakery pumpkin items from two local places. I don't dare make large batches of any of it a home. That's all I'll eat if I do. I think I'll make my first pumpkin pie this weekend. I love it ice cold with a huge scoop of cool whip. This time of year, I make mine with fresh nutmeg and ground ginger. I do like cinnamon in it, too, but I like it made with cinnamon closer to Christmas.
I've got to get to the store today for my Crocktober ingredients! I was originally going to make the American version of goulash, but I think I'm going to do the Hungarian (ish) version instead, vegetarian, of course. I think I need to replace my smoked paprika, though. It's over two years old and, although it may be okay to eat (not sure, but maybe), I think it has lost a lot of its flavor. It doesn't smell nearly as strong as it used to, and the last thing you want in this dish is weak smoked paprika. Luckily, our local bulk store carries spices in varying amounts, so they're very inexpensive to replace. If it turns out, I'll share with my folks (mom, hope you read that).
I'm so looking forward to our foliage this year. In a couple weeks, we'll be going for that drive where we get our giant, hot glazed donut and coffee from the donut truck as we head of out of town and up the mountains for leaf peeping and small hikes, followed by a hot lunch somewhere. I cannot wait. I recall a few years ago that my husband and I missed going on this little yearly trek, and I was heartbroken at the time. We are never guaranteed tomorrow. I knew that I would have to wait another whole twelve months for that excursion, and it did depress me a bit. But here we are, getting ready for it again!
Gotta run now. Have to pull together today's list of items needed for goulash and pumpkin pie (best list ever, right?). Plus, this cool air is invigorating, and Lacey is loving it. Before it gets light out, I need to take her back out under that full Harvest Moon one more time! I'll share pictures of the goulash and pie soon! In the meantime, I hope you have a beautiful weekend and that, wherever you are, Autumn weather finds you. Love to you from the Crazy-Cat-I-Must-Have-A-Border-Collie Lady.
PS - the last picture is my own indulgence - baby Trudy with her toy. Be still my heart. This one gets to me. She can have anything she wants. Look at the beautiful shape of her head and tiny self. God knew exactly what he was doing when he designed kittens.
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