Remember a couple years ago I told you that we inoculated several white oak logs with mushroom spores?

 

Well, we have been (not so) patiently waiting for something to happen.  Honestly, we had given up.

 

But this weekend Jon noticed some shiitake mushrooms emerging from the logs.    Yay!!!

 

Cooking them tonight with quinoa and vegetables.  So exciting!!!

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

Crape Myrtles are beautiful all year long.  Gorgeous in summer, blooming for 100 days, and spectacular in the fall before they drop their leaves.  

 

The ones I've seen are electric orange, yellow and red, right now.  This one is at the top of Stonebriar:  worth the walk or drive to see it.  

 

I love seeing it on our walk.  

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

I lifted this page from The Farmers Almanac.  Just a reminder.  ;)  

 

If you would like to read more, go to https://www.farmersalmanac.com/daylight-saving-time-change 

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

As we started out for our friends' house for happy hour the other day, we had to wait for the turkeys to finish crossing the road.  

 

They weren't all that slow moving, so I was really lucky to get their picture.  

 

It is so fun to see all the wildlife in our neighborhood.  OK, maybe not ALL of it, but definitely some.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

This is our road right now!!!  Glad I am not driving it for the first time;  the road has disappeared!!!  

 

We know where it is, but you sure can't see it.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

I know I've shown you Nasturtium before, but right now I want you to see the seeds.  After the flower dies, the stem gets all twisty, and grows these huge seeds.  See them just below the flower?  There are also smaller ones just above the flower.

 

The seeds are heavy and hang down toward the ground.  I can't possibly gather them all, so some fall onto the soil, and we have Nasturtium in this spot every year.  

 

Right now it takes up about 15 feet of planting space.  But I don't need that space until spring, so go ahead, Beautiful.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Thanks to Jon's nice clean windshield, and slow driving, you get to see the Bradford Pears in their autumn beauty.  

 

The ones at the front of the community have already lost most of their leaves, but these still look really pretty.

 

I hope you are enjoying autumn color wherever you are.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

I guess we were the only tricksters out in our neighborhood this Halloween.  At least we didn't see any others around the loop.  

 

But we got big smiles everywhere we went.  It was fun.  Thanks to Jon for being such a good sport:  my bumblebee chauffeur.

 

HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!

 

I know I have shown you a bunch of leaf pictures, but it is October in the mountains, and they are SO pretty.

 

Jon and I went for a walk down the Creekside Trail, and I got this picture of MORE leaves.  Not much water in the Creek, but lots of leaves on the ground.  

 

And look:  we are in shorts and t-shirts still!!!  That probably won't last much longer, but it's great while we can do it.

 

I hope you are getting in some beautiful walks while the weather is still so nice.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

There were the most beautiful sunflowers in the Ingles Market the other day, so I got a bunch for ME.  They are so bold and gorgeous!!!  They make me smile every time I walk past them.

 

The ones in the garden are long gone, but I saved seeds, so we'll have some again next year. 

 

But in the meantime...these will do just fine.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!