Kindred Spirits

And the costume winner is... Kelly's horse!

Bond.

James Bond.

A couple of tricks... a few too many treats... and Halloween's fun festivities are over for another year.

Wish 10/31 could always land on a Saturday. That had everyone in the mood for a devilish good time.

So, that's it? The party's over? Not just yet...


If you have an ounce of energy left after this very fun weekend, here's a yummy way to make use of those pumpkins...

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. Separately, combine pumpkin purée, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup water, and spices. Stir all ingredients together. Last but not least, stir in those yummy walnuts. Bake in a bread pan at 350 for about an hour.
* This recipe makes a tasty mini-muffin, too.

Have a Hideous Halloween

* Edward Gorey was a brilliantly talented American artist-illustrator who might appreciate me using the term: RIP (1925-2000).

Buyer Beware

They all look the same, lounging in the field. But, they were bred for different purposes, so buyer beware...

Jack O’Lanterns were hybridized to ward off evil spirits and provide a riotous good time when you steal them from the neighbor's porch and smash 'em in the street.

Heirloom Variety Pie Pumpkins are prized for their firm texture and sweet flavor. (Jacks are bland and watery.) The best pie varieties are Small Sugar, Winter Luxury and Rouge Vif d'Etampes.

If you're going to all the trouble* of making a pumpkin pie from scratch, you're obviously a romantic. So, purchase a Rouge Vif d'Etampes. It was the prototype for Cinderella's carriage and is sometimes sold as the Cinderella Pumpkin.

But, that means the time to make your pie just went from 4 hours to 4 months because you might have to grow this pumpkin yourself. I’ve never seen a supermarket sell anything but Small Sugars, though these are quite tasty, too.

Pie Pumpkins are good for more than just pie. Click here for a fabulous Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe with gingersnap cookie and pecan crust!

* Canned pumpkin purée is one of the few items where canned product quality is about equal to fresh - though I've found NO documented cases where a can of pumpkin purée warded off evil spirits with any success.

* Rouge Vif d'Etampes means Deep, Red Pumpkin - which is a little misleading, since it's red/orange. Oh, how the French love to toy with anyone who can't speak the language...
* Buy seeds from Burpee - they invented this pumpkin, back in 1883.

Hell's Half Acre

Yes, it's snowing.
Yes, that's early.
Yes, I'm none too thrilled.

Was trying to be kind to a California Gardener this a.m. asking about high altitude gardening. Perhaps I should have just sent him this photo.

Some days I'm not sure what I enjoy more ~ gardening? Or, complaining about my garden.

Question: What's your growing zone?
A: Zones? What zones?
We don't need no freakin' zones!
(Not indoors anyway.)

Such troubles are bound to happen when you evolve into a gardener vs. being one of those rare individuals who had a lifelong plan and followed a logical path to achieve it.

You know the type... they search high and low for perfection before making a commitment. They scan the horizon, authoritatively place hands on hips, and finally proclaim: Now this spot... Right here... this would be ideal for a garden.

As opposed to me. Who spotted a house with lots of sun and a pretty view, saw that my horses could live right down the road and happily announced: Works for me!

Q: Soil conditions?
A:
√ Slow to drain
√ Slow to warm
√ Like concrete in the summertime!
(If that's music to your ears, you're stuck with clay soil, too.)

Which leaves me to wonder... If I lived in a hospitable area where I had nothing to complain about... Whatever would I do to pass the time?

PS: I wanted to to paint you a happier picture, Steve, so, this last photo is for you. During the five, blissful months that we do have summer, it is a glorious summer, indeed.

Pink Tuesday

Doubtful I could endure winter without the happy blooms of Alstroemeria.

Or, pink Cyclamen gracing my indoor garden.

Yeah, yeah. I know it's still October but the weather never lies.
In the midst of a winter snowstorm here, today.

Windowsill African Violets don't seem to mind...

Look closely.
Ms. African Violet's kid sister is hiding somewhere in this photo.

iCameras and My Discomfort Zone

If I'd had my wits about me, we would have hiked in lower elevations to enjoy the last of the lovely weather.

Enough with the music already. Isn't it about time Apple invented the iCamera? As in a tiny contact lens I wear in my eye? All I gotta do is blink... to capture the world around me. [Simply plug the digital camera cable into your ear to retrieve the data.]

Now that's a convenient piece of technology I could get my head around.

What we discovered while hiking Guardsman Pass was enough to make a grown gardener cry.

Doubtful even a fancy gadget like the iCamera would have lit my fire on last week's Friday Afternoon (hiking) Club when I took 2 - as opposed to my usual 200 - photos.

That's because we encountered snow.

Snow.

This, of course, had Bad Dog delighted. And, I'll admit I was thrilled to finally have a witness to his insanity. He likes to lay on his back and slide, head first, down snowy hills. (Just like this cute pup!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summer, it seems, went by in a blink. The shoes are off the horses. The blooms are off the rose.

With this being possibly, probably the last of the gorgeous late Autumn days I'm worried...

With winter a comin'
and, the weather a drizzlin'
Whatever shall I do?

I need a hobby. A goal. A plan! A purpose! Or, at the very least, a ticket to New Zealand.

The Hobgoblin of Little Budgets

Seems a tad ridiculous that I'd be planning (planting?) for the holidays when I haven't even figured out my scary Halloween costume...

But I couldn't resist when I spotted Amaryllis bulbs on sale for 5 bucks.

I s'pose I could just give everyone on my Christmas list a bulb. They come in cute little boxes. Except that giving just the bulb is a clear indicator I'm a 5 buck cheapskate.

So, I planted these bulbs today, in high hopes I'd be dazzling folks with bright, red flowers when I gift them to friends two months from now. In full bloom they should look like they're worth way more than 5 dollars.

Maybe even 10.

* Ralph Waldo Emerson's: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" was a jab at uncreative people.

I realize my Amaryllis bulbs aren't all that creative. But, they're affordable. And, they're gorgeous. Therefore I think they'll do the trick.

PS: If I were growing them for myself, I'd simply sprout them in water. Amaryllis bulbs forced in a vase vs. soil tend to bloom in half the time. (About 4 weeks vs. 8.)