I had been worried we would only see shades of brown...
so thank you Mother Nature for the wonderful display!
In between the rains, the farmers have been struggling to harvest their crops. Soybeans are taking precedence as they are starting to mold in the fields. And that is not a good thing. I have a feeling that a lot of crops will be taken out after the ground freezes and they can get in there with the heavy machinery. Harvest in Illinois is at least a month behind, and that was before this last 2" fell. This coming week, while we are supposed to have a moderation in the temperatures, we are forecast to have 3 more days of rain!
My gardens have been suffering from neglect. It seems I am a fair weather gardener wanting warmer temps and dry conditions. Oh, and a few less of those darn biting Asian beetles!
So imagine my surprise, today, when I found this Stella blooming as if it were spring.
And this Fabuosa Daisy just opening.
Most of the cone flowers are long gone with the birds enjoying the seed heads. A few seeds must have fallen to the ground and found time enough to grow and bloom. All of the late bloomers brightened my day.
As did the grands this weekend. A lot of time was spent outside playing in the leaves.
I promised you a photo of the pumpkins they picked after they were carved. Here Papa and the girls are hard at work making scary designs. The most difficult part was getting all the seeds out! But we saved seed from each pumpkin with promises of planting them next year.
Not a great picture, but the girls were happy with the results and they looked great after dark all lit up.
Most of the cone flowers are long gone with the birds enjoying the seed heads. A few seeds must have fallen to the ground and found time enough to grow and bloom. All of the late bloomers brightened my day.
As did the grands this weekend. A lot of time was spent outside playing in the leaves.
I promised you a photo of the pumpkins they picked after they were carved. Here Papa and the girls are hard at work making scary designs. The most difficult part was getting all the seeds out! But we saved seed from each pumpkin with promises of planting them next year.
Not a great picture, but the girls were happy with the results and they looked great after dark all lit up.
**Update on hubby...I can tell each weekend when he comes home how much better he is feeling. He says he didn't realize how bad he did feel. He has more energy and is doing very well with his walking and diet-even on the road. I am proud of his determination and accomplishments! And thank you all for your concern and caring.
I hope you are all enjoying the last days of this year's gardening and hope you have a great Halloween. :)
Mish Mash Monday was originally Monica from Garden Faerie's Musings.
36 comments:
I enjoyed your Mish Mash Monday post. Indiana farmers are in the same boat being a month behind. The autumn colors seem more spectacular this year to me. I hate to see it end.
I enjoyed your post. You are getting some lovely fall colors. I have a few blooms I was surprised to see, too. I hope the farmers are able to harvest their crops.
I am a mish mash kind of person, but keep forgetting to participate in the meme. I don't seem to be organized enough. LOL
HI Beckie....I am so pleased that hubby is feeling better...he is doing well, long may it continue...
Such fun, the girls did a grand job....they are a lovely bunch....I would love to be a fly on the wall in your house......
I bet the pumpkins look great at night....
The rain has obviously suited your garden with those late bloomers.
The warm weather here has allowed many of my plants to continue blooming. Cosmos, calendula, corn marigolds etc are still blooming magnificently. Yet the trees are autumnal....I must say it feels a little odd to me....
The farmers have struggled here, I feel so sorry for them....but sadly we can do nothing about the weather.....
Hugs to you and hubby.....
Hi Beckie, we did that pumpkin carving thing too. It was fun. Good to see all is well up your way.
Your trees are looking pretty Beckie. I noticed yesterday ours are just starting to turn.
Glad your hubbie is doing good.
Looks like everyone did a great job carving their pumpkins. Would love to see a picture of the pumpkins lit up at night.
Hi Beckie, Aren't the fall colors awesome this year? And there are the grands! Love their pumpkins--this takes me right back to carving pumpkins with my niece and nephew when they were small... awww, warm fuzzies! Say hi to the grands for me!
I think you all did a great job on those pumpkins. Things here not looking good for the farmers either. They just can't seem to catch a break.
I'm so glad your husband is improving. Sticking to a diet and exercise is hard but he's doing a great job.
Marnie
Oh Beckie! What lovely Fall color--it makes me soooooo homesick for the midwest! I am so relieved your Hubby is doing better. All your Fall Blooms are beautiful, but none so beautiful or precious as those gorgeous Grands!
I am so ready for some sunshine, too, Beckie! But as much as I complain about the rain, I know that my problems getting garden work finished are nothing to compared to the farmers'. All our fields are still waiting to be harvested.
I'm not surprised to see one of your Stellas blooming, but a coneflower? You must be right that it was planted by the birds. The girls did a great job on carving the jack o'lanterns; they were especially impressive after dark! Congratulations to Hubby for being so perseverant--getting his energy back has to be a great incentive for sticking with the diet and exercise as well.
Beckie, I'm happy y'all are enjoying such a beautiful fall color show and equally happy that you're sharing it with us! Since we don't get anything like that down here in my part of Texas, it's all the lovelier to me.
Here's to your DH for his stellar efforts towards better health! May he continue to reap the benefits of his efforts!
Beckie, Fantastic news about your hubby! I know you are feeling relieved! What fun to carve pumpkins with the girls...we need kids around my house!
The trees are beautiful up there! You can't beat maples for showing off! Often we have a stray bloom or two on The Susans or coneflower~~not this year. Too much rain.
Have a great week~~
gail
The fall color is gorgeous. It matches the sunny smiles of the grandkids.
Robin, thanks. I thought too, the colors were prettier this year, but maybe I was just so happy to see them.
Sue, thanks and thanks for visiting. The late bloomers are a real treat. MMM is a great way to show some of the happenings in and out of the garden.:)
Cheryl, I have a picture of the pumpkins at night, but it just didn't show very well at all. I must have moved when taking it and you can't tell what the designs are. :(
Hubby is doing remarkably well. He has much more will power than me. And the best part is that he is enjoying the girls more now that he has more energy!
I am amazed at the flowers that are still blooming. A real treat this late in the season. So glad you are enjoying a late fall too. Take care!
Lisa, fall and Halloween bring out the kid in all of us. Glad you got to carve some pumpkins too. I'll be looking for them when we see you. :)
Susie, I think of you often when I see rain down your way. I hope you aren't having flooding. Yeah for the fall colors!
Monica, the girls ask about you all the time. Yiu really made an impression on them. :)I am glad your fall colors are good this year- with the crazy weather I wasn't sure.
Marnie, from what I hear the whole state is in trouble getting the crops harvested. I really feel for the farmers.
Hubby is so determined and seeing good results has made him even more so.
MG, I would miss the seasons, especially fall if I lived down south. And of course I couldn't leave my girls. :) You ought to come visit sometime so you can see the glorious colors.
Rose, the girls were so tickled to get to show off their pumpkins last week. And their art work added to the evening.
The stella and coneflower were such unexpected treats. And with the nice weekend, I finally got the last of my plants in the ground. You were right about the nice days yet.
Hubby is doing well and enjoying his new energy-so am I!
Cindy, so glad you enjoyed the little bit of fall color. It was my pleasure to share.
Have you been getting all the rain that Dallas has? And what about flooding? I sure hope not! At least the drought is over, now you just need to turn off the water for a while. :)
Hubby's effort at improved health has given us both more energy. Although I will admit to cheating once in a while. A girl has got to have a certain amount of chocolate!
Gail, you need to tell your son to get busy in the grand kids area. :) Or maybe borrow some at least during Halloween.
Hubby is doing so well and I am very proud of him.
At least with all the rain the flowers are getting a good start for next year. And I am sure you will have lovely drifts of Susans and such next spring.
Tina, the colors are gorgeous this year and you are right about about the sunny smiles of the grands. They enjoyed a lovely weekend of playing in the leaves.
I'm glad your hubby is doing so well. Sometimes it takes a little "wake-up call" to make changes in diet and exercise.
It looks like spring in your garden!! I'm jealous! LOL. The flowers look so bright and happy.
Pumpkins too. Nice to see the whole family making jack-o-lanterns.
But the best of the best is the pic of your grands. At first they were sitting in a field of flowers, but then I realized they were leaves. Pretty all the same. Have a great week!
Wendy, I so agree that the photo of the grands is the best. :) They had a delightful couple of days here playing in the leaves. They used the leaf blower to pile them up and then jumped and rolled in them and blew them back into piles again.
I remember playin in the leaves, but we had to rake them-a lot harder to do!
Another heart-warming post filled with wonderful photos and seasonal thoughts, Beckie. Delighted hubby is doing well (of course, you're the inspiration)! Harvesting is also late here in MI ... it's been a strange weather pattern all around!
Hi Dear Joey, I think of you often and send hugs your way. :)
The midwest weather may result in higher prices at the grocery store if farmers can't get their crops in. Or at the least that will be the excuse given.
Glad you enjoyed the post and the photos. As these girls get older I will be doing less of sharing their photos. The 2 older ones have asked me not to show them. Hubby is my inspiration-I tend to back slide!
Wonderful fall color in your area Beckie. I need to get out & get some photos of the leaves changing in my neck of the woods. Looks like the grands & grandpa had a good time carving those pumpkins. Glad to hear he's feeling a bit better. :)
Hi Beckie, so glad your hubby is doing well. The grands are adorable, and so are their pumpkins!
It's been such a weird season - amazing to see those fresh spring and summer blooms in your garden!
The leaves are falling fast and furious here with all the rain, and like you, I've been a little surprised to see such fantastic fall color this year. It would be nice to see some sun shining on the brilliant fall colors though - it's raining here again.
I enjoyed this post. Especially the pictures of your kids and dad. The pumpkins look great!
Dear Beckie, I am so glad to hear your husband is better, that is great news! How delightful to have the girls (ours are all boys!) sitting around the table carving with him, a true picture for the album! Did you roast some of the seeds? That is my favorite treat. :-)
Frances
Racquel, the colors were rally great this year, but aren't lasting long enough. The rains are causing a lot of the trees to loose their leaves quickly. Happy Halloween!
Linda, our leaves are falling now too with the rains-and we are under a flash flood watch for tomorrow night and Friday! Have a great Halloween.
AZ Lady, glad you enjoyed the photos. Is it finally coolong down out there? Hope you have a great Halloween.:)
Frances, we should get your boys and my girls together! :) Hubby is doing so much better. I hope he can keep up his enthusiasim. No roasted seeds. But we saved some to plant in Uncle's cornfield next year. Have a great Halloween!
I am enjoying catching up with you this morning.
My husband and I will carve the Jack-o-lantern this evening. Your Grandkids are so cute. Looks as if they had fun with their pumpkins.
Have a Happy Holloween.
Boo~
Sherry
Hello dear Beckie, Finally--I've come to visit you! I am glad to hear your husband has been feeling better. Knowing what's wrong and how to manage it makes all the difference. Diabetes isn't something anyone in my family has ever had, but I have very low blood sugar and have had a couple of weird 'spells' where I've become 'confused' and almost not in 'reality'. The dr. told me that hypoglycemia, at its worst, can actually result in coma! I had no idea...so I have to eat less sugar and more protein, and MORE OFTEN. As if I don't already eat constantly as it is! (Just all the wrong things, though!). I still am not very good about 'eating right'...my sugar habits are hard to break! Anyway, I enjoyed your mish-mash monday post...You have a lot of pretty flowers and color! I love the photos of your granddaughters (& hubby) carving pumpkins! I hope the kids had a happy halloween earlier this evening. Time to turn back the clocks before we head off to bed...an extra hour will be great;-)
Oh my word the biggest pumpkins I've seen carved!!
The colors of a golden Autumn a feast for the eyes!
I'm so glad your husband is doing better. When our loved ones have trouble, we have it too.
The picture of the pumpkin carvers is really nice. What a great memory.
Glad your husband is feeling better Beckie. I know you're proud of him sticking to his new regiment even on the road. That takes discipline.
The fall colors are so pretty. We had what you thought you were going to get ~ just brown. There certainly aren't any flowers in bloom here. I hope it's dried out and warmer there by now. Your granddaughters jack o'lanterns turned out great.
Thank you for your kind message for my daughter too. She is well on her way to recovery now and I'm feeling thankful for that.
I love that you save your pumpkin seeds to plant next year. What a great idea.
I love it when the garden surprises us with late bloomers.
I have a few blooms I was surprised to see, too. I hope the farmers are able to harvest their crops.
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