Happy Halloween 2013

 

Snapped this picture of rather unusual SUV.  What made is unusual you ask?!  Well, some might guess the skeleton tied to the front brush guard and I admit that's not something you see every day.  On a day like Halloween this would be considered expected.  However, I took this picture back in September...you see what I mean?

 

Happy Halloween All!  Be safe!

Title Town!

 

2013 World Series Champions!

I Got A New Shed...

 

Check out my new shed everyone!

 

I'm kidding!

 

We opted to outfit Emilie with braces, instead of buying a new shed, for the next couple of years.

 

A much better return on our investments for sure!

 

Smile!!

Turf Maybe?!

 

Well, it didn't take long for Trixie dog to take a dump on the pool cover, UGH!

 

I can't imagine it's the color as I thought that dogs were color blind, so that's not it. 

 

Whatever the reason is I'm NOT happy about it that's for sure.  At least this load I can reach with the shovel to remove, however, it's the land minds she plants in the center of the cover that have me worried, YUK!

 

Who wants to come over for the first swim of the season come Springtime?!

Noise! Noise! Noise!

 

I'm working from home today but finding it hard to focus with all the machinery noise coming from the street out front.

 

The town is replacing the water and sewer lines on our street and what a mess it has become. It looks like they're digging and installing, what I believe, will be the new connections to each home.  So, today they're taking care of the three neighbors across the street, hence all the noise.

 

The posted completion date was November but I don't see that happening...

A Stinky Katydid?!?

Here are a couple insects that have yet to stow away for the winter.  They were both hanging out on our back deck basking in the warm sun. They better get their tails in gear or there gonna find themselves out in the cold!

 

 

A Brown Stink Bug (Pentatomidae)

 

A Katydid (Tettigoniidae)

Mashed Potato Tatas!

 

Had dinner and a couple 3 or 4 or 5 drinks at TGI Friday this past Saturday night - good drink!  Good food! And good friends!

 

I was also lucky enough to have been served some mashed potato boobies!

Ready For Winter Nap!

 

So, this past Saturday was a beautiful and a productive day out in the yard.  I spread several wheelbarrows full of manure and compost, soaked good with the hose then turned it all in!  Raked smooth, then spread 3-pounds of winter rye and watered, phew!

 

Still can't stand up straight but that's what ibuprofen is for?!

 

She's been tended to and put to rest for her long winter nap.

Color Me Burnt Yellow...

 

The leaves of our neighbors Hickory tree have turned an awesome burnt yellow color, which looks even more impressive against the deep blue of the sky!

 

This tree also attacks oodles of squirrels, both grey and red, as they vie and scurry for the nuts this tree produces.  They're on the ground and up in the tree working feverishly.

 

I'm not the Farmer's Almanac but I'd say they have an idea that we're in for a terrible winter.  I hope this isn't the case but we'll see...

Old Faithful

 

Our clematis is still sports purple flowers and here it is mid-October!

 

This plant was here when we bought the has some thirteen years ago and faithfully comes back each year and provides fantastic flower throughout the Summer.

Title Town - Go Red Sox!

 

This athletic supporter says, GO RED SOX GO!!

All Grown Up!

 

Our Zinnias and New Guinea Impatients are still doing wonderful too!  They're loaded with lovely, colorful flowers and sports oodles of new blooms a coming.  Hard to believe that I planted them when they were just tiny "plugs" - look at them now!

 

Again, like the zucchini, their days are numbered and will come to a sad end when the first hard frost of the seasons comes a calling.  Until then we'll continue to enjoy them, along with the Bumble Bees.

The Little Zucchini That Could

 

I didn't have the heart to pull our last zucchini squash plant out of the ground, especially with there being a BIG, open-for-business female flower on it!

 

Sadly, I'm afraid that it's days are numbered and it won't be very long now until we get hit with a hard frost.  I guess I'll wait for that to take place, then pull and add it to the compost pile.

 

Who knows the little zucchini growing just might grow an inch or two more...

"Music" To Our Ears and Palate!

 

Boyeah!!

 

My pre-ordered garlic bulbs arrived a couple weeks ago, yippee, and I planted this past Sunday!!

 

Feeling courageous I ordered a new variety of garlic this year.  It's called "Music" and was toted as being a very cold hardy, slightly spicy, incredibly flavorful garlic.

 

There were fewer, but larger cloves per bulb with this variety but in the end it worked out to about the same numbers as I planted last year - (37) cloves.

 

Can NOT wait to give these beauties a taste, come on Summer time!

Burning the Midnight Oil of Sorts...

 

Although, it's getting colder and the temperatures are dropping each night there's still plenty of life in the yard.

 

As you can see here our Marigolds are still bursting with color and loaded with oodles and oodles of flowers.

 

Most of the insect are gone; in hiding someplace, however, there are a handful of Bumble Bees out and about.  They're awful slow and lethargic but still enjoying the flowers.  They best finish up and get to their Winter hangout soon or they'll get left out in the cold.

What's Up Doc?

 

Pulled out ALL our carrots this past Sunday and boy do we have a LOT!

 

I didn't plan their planting too well, as I would have preferred to leave them alone and slowly pull them throughout the winter.  This way we could have had fresh pick carrots but I could have also stretched feeding their tops to the rabbits.  However, I needed the raised bed they were in for planting my Fall garlic and the garlic took precedence!

Banana Tree and Babies Inside

 

The last of our plants have been potted up and brought inside for the long New England winter.

 

Our banana tree and her two new babies, which grew this Summer, were the last.

 

I planted this dude in the soil along the driveway back in the late Spring.  Although, she didn't grow very tall, she did produce two new banana plants.  I will leave them as is for the Winter, then come next Spring/Summer I will separate them all.

Organic and Home Grown!

 

JoAnne is gearing up to make sauce and meatballs this afternoon - crock pot style!

 

The wonderful thing is that the ingredients almost all come from our garden, YUMMIE!!

 

#canwait 

Shadow Of A Pepper

 

Check out this interesting green and yellow pepper of ours!

Sweet Potato Vine Potatoes

 

Check out the potatoes that grew from our container Sweet Potato Vines!

 

The Sweet Potato vine is a very popular container plant.  We love them and have had excellent luck with them over the years.  However, I don't recall finding potatoes like these before.  Some were about half the size of the pots they were in.

Root Ball Tangles

 

As a part of my Fall yard cleanup and prep I emptied all the flower pots that housed some beautiful annual flowers this past Summer.  As anticipated each and everyone had more roots in them than soil.  As you can see from the above picture, which is just one example, this pot was full of Morning Glory plants.  I'm guessing this would explain why the potted plants would dry out so fast and need daily watering.

Fall Praying

 

Although it's mid October and Fall's upon us I came across these two male Praying Mantis yesterday when working in the yard.

 

I'm trying to be careful this year and more mindful of these dude when cutting back this past Summers flowers. Especially when it comes to their egg cases, of which I've already found (4).  I will leave these plants alone with the hope that they make it through the long winter and hatch out oodles and oodles of baby Mantis come Spring time.

Zooming In

 

What a beautiful afternoon this past Sunday was.  A bit on the chilly side, especially down in Marshfield closer to the ocean, but a nice day to be visiting an old friend.

Bucket-O-Flowers

 

With Fall underway and Winter around the corner most of the Summer flowers have passed.  However, here is a bucket of Summer colors.  A reminder of things past or perhaps things to come in 2014...

Turkey Bacon

 

Free range no less!

Fun With Pictures!

 

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Mmmmm Bacon!

 

The pigs of Marshfield

 

From small to large and young to old, some penned and some not but there is NO questions there are A LOT!

Where's The Beef!

 

Marshfield Herford's

 

These are just some of the many bovine my farmer friend raises.

What's Up Doc?!

 

YUMMY!!

 

It's carrot picking time here at the ole homestead!

 

Not only am I looking forward to these tasty morsels but our rabbits are too but just the green tops.  These carrots also attracted well over a dozen Black Swallowtail caterpillars.  They dined on them a grew into big, plump fatties! 

Summer Homes For Rent...

 

Harvested our Bird House Gourds the other day.  From the one and only plant, which grew on it's own, we got (11) gourds!  Not a bad haul.

 

They're cool looking when growing with their green and white coloring but now are turning an ugly brown and grey.  Hoping that we'll be able to successfully dry, store over the winter and hang one or two come summer.

Go B's!

 

Let the games begin!

 

The Boston Bruins begin their 2014 season and Lord Stanley Cup run tonight, yippee!