Laura Ingalls Wilder Quote + A Fall Cake

You can't go wrong with this advice, can you? via

I love this idea of using fall leaves to decorate a powdered sugar covered cake with something yummy between the layers. via

Wonderful Painting: Halloween Perfection

Cat in the Moonlight, (Chat au Clair de Lune) c. 1900, Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen via

I love this painting. It's perfect for this time of year with a big yellow moon in the sky casting shadows every night. The artist had a great fascination with cats. See more of his works here and keep scrolling, the page of cats is positively endless!

Apples and Fall are Perfect Together

This is the big antique wooden charger in the middle of my kitchen farm table. It is 25-1/2 inches wide at its widest point and is out of round due to shrinkage. I love it. I bought an 8-pound bag of Cortland Apples yesterday at Wegmans, a large new grocery store just beyond Morristown. It's not a big box store but it does have family packs of certain items. Yesterday there were all varieties of apples in 8-pound bags for $5.99, what a bargain! I counted them when I got home and there were 18. I put half on the table and the other half in my crisper. They are everything I hoped they would be in an eating apple -- crisp, juicy and sweet but not too sweet. I love an apple that snaps when you bite into it and I would have been crushed had they been mushy. Now I am all set with fruit for two weeks. They don't have stickers on them either, and I like that. They remind me of the old-fashioned apples my mother and I used to pick at my oldest friend in New Jersey's house but she moved a couple of years ago and now I have to take my chances with apples and buy before I can taste them.

I put this photo on Instagram yesterday but liked it enough to put it on my blog too. I am looking forward to Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages tonight on PBS. After that, I'll watch something I have recorded because there's nothing else on that interests me. Enjoy your Friday night and have a great weekend. I turned on the furnace for the first time on Wednesday and last night it got below freezing. I am so glad I emptied all of my galvanized watering cans and put them in the garage yesterday before they froze and exploded. I learned that lesson the hard way. xo

Unhaunted House and A Baby Bear

It must have been a real challenge to move all those giant pumpkins and gourds, right? I hope the people grew them on their own property instead of buying them. Is it my imagination, or is this halloween/fall display blocking the front door? If so, maybe it IS haunted! via

I adore this photo of a brown bear cub with the cutest face and pose ever. I have almost finished digging up and repotting plants to winter over and I did find some "evidence" of a visit from a bear quite close to the house. I don't feed the birds or leave garbage in my can for long, so I'm not worried. Found on Pinterest. xo

Pumpkin Pie Crusts for Fall

If you could ever find these little leaf and pumpkin cookie cutters, you could make these beautiful pies. Actually, after I typed the previous sentence, I searched and found them here. Pumpkin pie is my favorite because it isn't too sweet and has some nutritional value too. Get ready, the season is coming, ready or not.

I am feeling very smug and pleased with myself because I got rid of a lot of junk this week at annual trash day in town. I put it out several days early as did my neighbors, so people driving by could stop and take what they wanted and it worked! I searched my neighbor's pile too and discovered a 10-ton log splitter they were getting rid of. I immediately called a friend who helps me with big tasks and he came right over and got it. I guarded it while he was in transit. Luckily, he was nearby in his truck. Some things are just meant to be, right?

Thanks for stopping by. I have been disappointed in my blog lately and most days I have to force myself to post. My readership is way down and when Google discontinued Feedburner I lost about 3,000 followers. Instagram is so much easier to post and respond to comments as you know. But I'm hanging in there for my loyal few. xo

Pumpkin Season is Here

It's here. I see pumpkins on doorsteps already but few colors in the leaves in my area. via

Halloween decorations are starting to appear too. I made this greeting from an image I photographed from my Royal Book of Crests and added the seasonal text. I saved it to my phone so I can text it to friends later in the month. I really wouldn't want a bat on my family crest or coat of arms, would you? But this little bat has a very friendly face and is rather cute when all the other bats on the antiquarian book page were pretty scary. Happy Halloween! xo

Cottage with Fall Decor

Scenes like this are just around the corner though the cottages might not be this charming. This time of day, when the inside lights go on, is my favorite. via

Charming Dog Photo

Love this dog peeking through the leaves. via

View from a Covered Bridge

Looking at this photo is almost like being there, isn't it? Simply gorgeous. via

City Dwellers Love Pumpkins Too

These three stoops are in Boston. They are all taking fall decor to the next level that easily transitions into Halloween. via It is raining like crazy at my cottage as I await watching 60 Minutes on CBS and The Durrells in Corfu and The Collection on PBS. Enjoy your Sunday evening too.

Orchard Floor paved w/ Fallen Apples

This photo is stunning. I want to know how the apples got so beautifully arranged. Is this an art installation or exhibit? I will post the answer later if I can find it. In the meantime, just enjoy the visual. Photo: Johnathan Ryan

I posted this photo on Instagram and got my answer. This is not staged. It is an orchard in Ireland after a Hurricane.

The storm brought a lot of rain which swelled nearby rivers and caused the field to flood. 

"The flood water gathered all the apples and as it settled down it left a carpet of apples." Jonathan added.

This is how Hurricane Ophelia left the Bulmers Orchard in Tipperary, Ireland in mid October 2017

The Bulmers Orchard after the hurricane (Image: Photo: Johnathan Ryan @Tipperaryphotos.com)

His stunning shot shows the ground covered in a carpet of apples which were blown off the trees. The apple trees which were covered in fruit are now nearly bare after the storm. Hopefully, this won't cause a cider shortage later in the year...read the article in the Irish Mirror.

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More photos here and another article on these apples and the storm from BBC News

Pumpkin Fields Forever

Looks like a good harvest, doesn't it?

I wonder if this is a pick your own pumpkin field?

Hope so. They are just begging to become jackolanterns.

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Beautiful leaf

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This photograph is so beautiful!

My leaves are just starting to turn colors.

We are having a very late fall.

Enjoy your Sunday.

So Many Acorns to Love

A long row of perfect acorns to love. via

Best Pumpkin Display Ever!

This photo from Better Homes and Gardens is the best pumpkin display ever, agreed? I would have loved being there to see them set it up.

Porch with Fireplace

This is the perfect time of year for a porch like this. Bring on the hot chocolate, marshmallows on a stick, and hot spiced cider. via

Acorn Season

Acorn Season is here.

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I have seen green ones but no brown ones yet. I pruned my wisteria today and have decided it's a weed! Every year I cut it back severely and figure it will be dead the next year but that hasn't happened yet. Happy Friday and I hope you will be safe from Irma and recovering from Harvey this weekend. xo

Great Bedroom

It's getting nearer and nearer the time to jump in my own big brass bed and watch some DVDs from the library. I honestly don't look forward to the end of daylight savings time after Halloween when it will be dark before dinner. I like doing busy indoor work in the mornings and outside work after the sun dries out the dew on the grass. I guess I should try to get as much done in the next two weeks as I possibly can, right? Sounds like a plan. See you tomorrow. Enjoy your Saturday night. xo via

Falling Leaves

Be safe if you are in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and any other coastal areas that might be affected by Hurricane Matthew. For the rest of you, enjoy the long Columbus Day weekend. xo

Beautiful Fall Color in My Woods

I took this photo in my woods looking into the late afternoon sun. We have lots of yellow and the red leaves are just starting. I love the backlighting. xo