An Apple a Day

Every autumn, H and I head out to the local orchard to pick our favorite varieties of apples. Today was a beautiful, sunny, crisp autumn day - just the right combination to pick apples. We got a bit carried away this year and before we knew it, had picked 38 pounds! I guess I'll be making my usual apple butter, but I've also researched a few recipes for Apple Chutney. It sounds like it would be wonderful with pork, chicken or turkey. My son, the Chef gave me the idea so I'll have to send him some for his approval!

H picked all the ones high up in the trees......

..... while I get all the low hanging fruit! (no short jokes, please)

Two bags worth ended up being 38 pounds; one bag of Empires and another of Macouns which are a nice, crisp cross of Cortlands and Macintoshes.

Just being in the orchard surrounded by all those apple trees was a treat

Kind of makes you want to take a bite, doesn't it?

Somebody found the bags of apples fascinating......

... and promptly fished one out for his entertainment!

Sure wish we could have taken these two munchkins with us. I know they would have enjoyed it.

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

I caught a whiff of autumn.......

... in the air while walking up the road to fetch the newspaper the other day. I also spotted several maples beginning to turn red. I don't know whether to be sad that summer is coming to an end or rejoice in my favorite time of year!

We didn't have much summer this year and the garden had difficulty getting established, but we did eventually get some nice color in the perennial garden. On the other hand, the veggie garden was a bust this year, however, I did manage to get several meals of green beans and lots of peas.

I planted another batch of peas and am hoping to get some before any hard frost comes along.

The deck plantings did well, although it took lots of TLC to keep them looking good.

I managed to overwinter most of my geraniums, thereby saving lots of money!

The dahlias are looking pretty good!

My favorite pot was planted with burgundy leaved cannas, lime green Marguerite and a Sedona coleus.

The fountain corner was planted with lots of impatiens. I didn't think they would do well with the sun in that corner, but I was pleasantly surprised!


The Rudbeckia have reseeded all over the garden, but their sunny faces are always a welcome late summer sight.

That Joe Pye weed in the middle of the garden was not as tall as in previous years, so I think it may be time to divide it next spring. There's an awful lot of it - anyone want some?

We were busy last week with the annual Veteran's Club Lobster Feed. H and I are always on hand to help cook huge amounts of lobster, clams and mussels.


The "before" shot......

... and one of the after

Ah, but the final product is always the tastiest!

The lobster dinner was delicious, as always, but the really fun part was that I won the raffle for four more lobsters! I took them home, picked the meat off and froze it for another tasty dish. Hmmmm, Paella?, Lobster Rolls?, Cioppino? Boulliabase? Oh, stop me please!!!

Yesterday, H and I headed out to our friend's house and his firing range for a bit of target practice. I finally got to fire the 9mm we had acquired a bit back and to reacquaint myself with the Taurus .38. The guys were quite impressed with my marksmanship. Needless to say, none of the paper targets survived!

H is taking aim

Giddy and Clyde!

And so ends another exciting day in the life of a small, aging but fiercely protective gnome.

Life is Good

Hugs, Giddy

Catching up Again!

Sorry I've been out of pocket for a while, but things have been popping around here.

By mid August, the weather had finally turned nice and the garden duties called for daily maintenance. In addition, I had to make an emergency trip down south as my Mother had been admitted to the hospital.

I spent five days helping Daddy take care of Mom when she was discharged from the hospital and not one to sit around and twiddle my thumbs, I cooked, cooked and cooked more so I could freeze meals for them before I left. I think I ended up with about 40 meals for them. Between Hungarian Goulasch, Chili, Chicken Soup, Penne Pasta Casseroles, Bean Soup, Brown Rice, Cabbage Rolls and various other dishes which escape me now, I think they will be set for a couple of months.

I learned my love of flowers and gardening from my Mom and she has lots of flowers in pots around the yard, so I also did watering and maintenance on her blooms. All in all, it was a whirlwind of chores and not a dull moment the whole time I was there. I think they were pleased.

The Mother in Law tongue behind them is a testament to Mom's plant care. It's almost as tall as me!!

I have always admired the photos of them hanging in their bedroom. They were taken sometime around 1948 or so when Daddy was a dashing young soldier and Mama was a beautiful young, dimpled German girl he met while stationed over there after the war. I tried to take photos of the pictures, but the light was never quite just right. The pictures had been colorized and I was startled to see that they had colored Daddy's eyes brown rather than the deep turquoise blue they had been.


Nonetheless, they were and still are a handsome, charming couple and I love them both dearly!

I think I have inherited very good genes!

Life is Good

Hugs, Giddy