Well, it's happened again.  I have run out of things to talk about, without repeating myself, yet again.  

 

So I will leave you with this happy thought:  the basil is hanging in there, now that we have gotten some rain.  So we are eating basil on everything.  I hear it's good for the digestive system.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

I saw this on our walk recently, and thought you might like to know that Dog fennel blooms, and this is how it looks.  All that whiteness are the flowers.  Not big or showy, but flowers just the same.  It looks different than when it isn't blooming.  I like it, it looks softer, friendlier.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We saw this on the deck post, and knew immediately that it was a stick bug.  Of course, Seek had a more dignified name for it:  Northern Walkingstick.  OK.  This one was about 3 inches long, so I guess it was a male.  The females are 3.7 inches long.

 

Still, interesting to see.  Our own Nature program, right on the front porch.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

Thank you to all our friends and family who called to check on us here in western North Carolina.  

 

I am here to report that we are all fine.  We got about 7 inches of much needed rain over three days, so the garden is happy.  We walked down to the creek yesterday expecting it to be running with lots of water, and it was just a trickle.  It has been so dry lately that all that water must have soaked down into the ground.  Good news for the aquifer.  We also expected to see trees down, but there wasn't much wind, so we didn't see any.  It appears that hurricane Helene bypassed us.

 

Asheville and the surrounding areas weren't so lucky.  They suffered major damage and devastation.  

 

Our prayers are with them.

 

 

 

We are still harvesting eggplants and a few tomatoes.  The apples and pears are just about done.  But what a beautiful year we have had.  So grateful!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look at this:  the end of the red apples.  We had such a great year for fruit.  

 

We picked about 100 cherries, a ton of blueberries, another ton of apples, and a whole bunch of pears.

 

Life is good here at Crazybrook Farm.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

I know this looks a bit odd, but lately I have noticed that the Redbud trees are holding onto a lot of seedpods.  Some of the trees look almost black with them.  

 

I think it's another sign of overfruitiing this year to make up for the last two years.  

 

I am hoping that one of those seedpods on my Redbud tree flies over the driveway and plants itself where my old Redbud tree used to be.  I'll let you know...

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

 

 

I know it's a common weed, but this pokeweed caught my eye with its red stems and purple-black berries.  

 

I just looked it up in one of my weed books, and I learned that the leaves, roots, and berries are poisonous.  My book also describes it as a malodorous upright perennial weed that grows up to 12 feet tall.  Now that paints a pretty picture.

 

Anyway, I thought it was kinda pretty, so I took its picture, and showed it to you.  

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

 

 

The tulip poplars are changing now too.  They are yellow and brown, and dropping their leaves as we speak.  They are easily recognizable from a distance by their conical shape, and up close by their fabulous tulip-shaped leaves.  You may even see some pointy cones with seeds on the ground underneath them.

 

Look for tulip poplars;  they are beautiful in the fall.  I will show you them again in the spring, when they bloom.  

 

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

 

 

As we were walking up the hill I saw more sourwoods changing color.  It is interesting to me how some are darker than others.  But you can see them all along the roadways and in your travels showing their beautiful fall colors.  Some are still sporting their seed pods, which stay white and poke up at the top of the trees.  Maybe from a distance that's what makes them look pink.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!