Happy Halloween

It is a warm Halloween.

A glorious day.

We are stirring up all sorts of treats.

If I have poppy seed to plant I do so on Halloween.

This year I am planting seed a dear friend sent.

I cleaned out a spot last May in the Poppy bed for these seed.

I lit my candle and said my thanksgivings.

It is Halloween.

I am looking forward to trick-or-treaters.

I am looking forward to the waxing crescent moon.

I am looking forward to Spring and seeing poppies.

Magical plants from my friend's garden.

We are connected.

Happy Halloween.

Lavender

I am working with lavender this week.

Some of the lavender in the garden is reblooming.

It often will do this in October.

I dried over a thousand stems this past summer.

I always have dried lavender in my house.

It is delightful to have fresh.

This week I will begin making lavender sachets.

I am working up pieces of silk.

I want to do some fancy stitches on the silk before I fill with my dried lavender.

I have a journal to keep track of my fancy work this winter.

Lavender sachets will be an on going project.

Tulips and Soup

I planted 14 tulips for my indoor garden.

They should be in bloom around December 1st.

I will pot up 14 every Monday until all 84 bulbs are in soil.

This should give me white tulips for
 December and January decorating.

I picked tomatoes and patty pan squash.

The vegetable garden has lots of squash on the vine.

We are to have scattered frost this week.
 I will cover the plants.

Now is the time to do the last of the herb harvests.

Time to make my herb vinegars and dry herbs
for winter teas.

I put a pot of bean soup on this morning.

It is our first soup of the season.

My herb this week is Sweet Annie.

It is drying in the entry way.

I love the way it smells.

We bought 20 heads of garlic to plant.

Our garlic patch will be large.

I am excited about growing garlic. It is my herb for 2012.

I want to learn how to make garlic braids.

I should have enough garlic to share.

When I was at the festival on Saturday
 I bought bees wax for cosmetics

and a handmade bees wax candle.

I shall wait for a special occassion to light it.

I like having a special candle
for a special remembrance.
It is my new blessing candle.

Garlic

This week I am studying garlic.

I always have a couple of garlic heads to add to stir fries.

In October I have ceramic garlic for decorating.

My daughter made these for me many years ago.

The Garlic keeper guards the stair well.

I want to grow garlic this year.

I read October is the time to plant the bulbs for summer solstice harvest.

This week I shall plant garlic!

On schedule

I had breakfast outside with the birds.

The Robins are enjoying the berries in the Dogwoods.

I was told if they eat the berries early it will be a mild winter.

It seems early.

Many Monarchs are migrating.

My cosmos are an excellent food source.

This week I am studying Oregano.

I grow some as a ground cover in the back patio bed.

I shall add some to my stir fry this evening.

In October I am choosing a card each morning from this set.

Today I chose Lady's Mantle.

A reminder to treasure the small ways.

I have done up the kitchen for October.

A friend asked for photographs.

I have five counter tops. Each has an October scape with a theme.
This one is about cats. I added white on white as a color theme for 2011. White cat teapot works.

The Autumn vegetable garden is producing squash

and kale.

I have picked a couple for supper.

The butterflies continue to come to the butterfly bushes.

Time to dead head again.

I have a new schedule for Autumn.
I meditate twice a day,
in the morning with the birds
in the afternoon with the butterflies.