Quote of the Day: Proverb
“Bloom where you’re planted”
~ Proverb
This alyssum was a volunteer that grew up in a crack in our driveway. It’s the most beautiful alyssum, it’s bloomed prolifically all summer long and it looks much nicer than the ones I started from seed and planted in the flowerbeds. I must try to save some seed from this hardy little plant, I think it had great genes.
Are you ever amazed by the hardiness of some plants?
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Catching the Moment
I almost always have my camera by my side, even when I’m working inside. You just never know at what moment you’ll want to capture. Luckily last week, I had my camera so I was able to catch Little Softie looking at Dexter through the back door. They pawed at each other a bit and Dexter was chirping away at Little Softie. I imagined her saying, “Dad?”
My photos are almost like a photo diary of my life, hardly a day goes by where I don’t take at least 15-20 photos. My life is well documented through the lens of my little camera. I must thank all of you who read as this blog is the reason I started taking lots of photos, I appreciate all of you who stop by every day to check out what I’m snapping photos of and talking about!
Do you keep a diary or journal? Are you in the habit of carrying a camera around to capture the moments?
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Mulled Cider
Mr Chiots is a HUGE fan of cider, he loves this time of year for the cider. He drinks a big glassful almost every evening. I’m not a big fan of it cold, but I love mulled cider. Often in the evening I’ll put a pan on to mull for a half hour or so and we’ll drink it while reading later that evening. I make my own mulled cider with a mix of spices from the pantry. I love adding all kinds of spices, it’s not always the same.
Generally for 2 cups of mulled cider I’ll throw in a few cinnamon sticks, 15-20 allspice berries, one or two whole cloves, a couple slices of fresh ginger, a few cardamon pods and a third of a vanilla bean. If I have cranberries I’ll throw a handful of those in as well or some orange peel if I have that, but those don’t grace my kitchen often. I generally buy my spices in bulk from Mountain Rose Herbs and it makes an inexpensive way to enjoy mulled cider (and you can use the spices another time if you want to). Not to mention all of these spices add antioxidants to your diet.
Do you enjoy mulled cider? What spices do you like to use?
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Fall is Coming
Yesterday I came home and noticed that the leaves were collecting by the back door and it hit me that fall was here. I love fall so I’m quite excited about the changing of the leaves, raking, pumpkins, cider, camp fires, cool weather and all the other wonderful things that come along with the changing of summer to fall.
If I had to pick my favorite thing about fall, I think I’d have to pick the weather. There’s something wonderful about the crispness in the air after a long hot humid summer. It’s quite refreshing and really helps me get all my fall gardening chores finished.
Do you have fall in your climate? What’s your favorite thing about fall?
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Fall Field Trip to Ramseyer Potato Farm
Last Friday I went on a field trip with my nieces and nephew. They’re home schooled and are involved in a homeschool co-op that schedules field trips for all the kids to go on together. We spent the afternoon at the Ramseyer Potato Farm.
They have all kinds of activities from corn mazes to duck racing. My sister took the two younger kids on the potato farm tour and my dad carried around baby Katie. Unfortunately it was record breaking highs on Friday with temperatures in the high 80’s, it’s a good thing we took plenty of water.
I went on the Ohio Corn Maze with my oldest niece and my mom. It’s a huge corn maze in the shape of Ohio with major landmarks as the maze trails. There were signs with information throughout the maze and the kids had a worksheet to fill out when they found each of the locations.
The farm is also a pumpkin farm, so there were fields and fields of pumpkins. We got to go on a hay ride and pick our own pumpkin from the field. Hannah picked a nice big one.
There were also other fun activities like duck racing and corn crib sandboxes. The kids enjoyed running around and being kids for the afternoon and little miss Katie enjoyed being carried around by grandpa.
When it comes to my family, you can never leave home without ending up at a local ice cream shop (a tradition thoroughly embraced by Mr Chiots).
The kids had a great time, and hopefully they learned something on their visit. They especially enjoyed spending the day with grandpa as he just got home from spending 3 months in South America.
Have you enjoyed any great fall activities recently?
