Snow on the Pumpkins

I bought some really cool pumpkins for Halloween this year. They looked so cute on the porch for a week. Here's how they look today, though. Poor things. I suspect that they'll be pretty soggy for trick-or-treat night--and into the compost bin the next morning.

October Snow

Yep, it's snowing here, coming down like crazy. I had to go out with a broom and brush the snow off a lot of our trees--this is normally a task I have to do in the spring, not the fall. The weather reports are saying that this snow will go on for all of today and tomorrow. Whoa. It's only October. Looks like I'll have to go out with my broom again in a couple of hours.



That mountain of snow is my big crabapple tree, that is bent down to the ground.




Here is my helper.

Paperwhite Season

I love to grow paperwhites in the winter. Dave calls them stinky-whites, because of their aromatic smell. They are a way to have a flower bloom in the off-season. This year I got a few really big bulbs from the West End Gardener in Boulder and put one in a little McCoy-like planter and a couple in a large glass container. I love the look and can hardly wait for them to bloom. I should have some good ones for the table on Thanksgiving.

Cabbage Into Sauerkraut

Dave is making sauerkraut. He did this a couple of years ago and when it was done, we had a German party.

He went out to the garden and harvested some beautiful cabbages that I grew.



Then he got busy working under the able supervision of Molly.















It was finally ready to ferment. He covered it up and put a plate down over it, with a stone on top (wrapped in plastic) and shoved it over in a dark corner of the kitchen counter. After a week, the smell was too much to be ignored. When I mentioned that it was becoming rather aromatic, he denied that it could be the cabbage. Nonetheless, he moved the pot to the basement--and lo! and behold--the smell went away. Whew. The smell hung around in the basement for only a day or so and then dissipated. So now, we wait. And no, his finger isn't in the chopped cabbage--he wouldn't be able to play banjo if that was the case.

Foggy Walk

I got up one day this week and when I went out to get the paper, I was struck by a scent and a feeling that I rarely experience here. Moisture was redolent in the air, taking me immediately to the south. A heavy fog hung over the trees, obscuring the neighbors, and I took a deep breath to smell and feel humidity that is almost never here, but always present in the southern states. As the morning progressed and the fog hung on, Molly was eager to accompany me on a walk to enjoy it while it lasted. By the time we finished our walk about three hours after I first walked out to get the newspaper, the fog and humidity had dissipated.

Ham Radio Operators

Currently, Warren Kennison is playing with us in Steel Pennies while Rob Clark travels the world. And in this configuration we are all ham radio operators: Warren, Dave, Terry and myself. Pretty unusual, I'd say! That might be a good name for a band, but Steel Pennies is better!

Carpet of Leaves

The cold weather we are having has ripped many of the leaves off of our trees. This ash tree outside of our sunroom window has a beautiful carpet of leaves underneath. This morning I read that biologists are saving seeds from all types of ash trees because a pest called the ash borer is killing all the trees and there is no known cure for it. So troubling, like the chestnut trees and the American elm.

Moose

Dave and I went and stayed in Breckenridge last weekend for our anniversary and one of the highlights of the weekend was the moose we saw when we went for a hike. We were on the Sawmill trail and a couple who were coming down the trail paused to tell us there was a moose ahead and to be cautious. We walked along keeping our eyes peeled and I finally spotted him across the stream, lying down and keeping an eye on us. We took some pictures and made sure to keep our distance.

We found from talking to the locals that there are two that hang around that trail, and they are well known to the people that live in Breck. We also stopped to read some signs that gave etiquette for being around mooses. It primarily said to stay away from them and that they are "unafraid but not friendly." I didn't really need to read that sign--I was too afraid to get very close and Dave was pretty cautious, too. It was great to see him though.

Fall

It's fall here; I wish it was still summer. I marked the change in seasons with some gourds on my table. Usually I put them in a basket but I think they look nice just sitting on the tablecloth. My favorite is that big, old turban squash sitting right in the middle.