Things I Love Thursdays: Autumn Doorways

TILT Autumn Doorways, a photo by DiPics on Flickr.

I begin decorating for Autumn in mid September. A pumpkin purchased at the grocery store is placed by the door. The summer items: a vintage water cooler, a red rubber crawdad (crawfish for some of you), and my red lanterns are stashed away for next year. A visit to the pumpkin patch brings a variety of pumpkins home, heirloom greens, whites and warty lumpy orange ones. An elongated, yellow-orange squash from the farmer on Hwy N, and a Turks turbin squash from the weekend farmers market find their way to our front porch collection too. Cornstalks are tied to the porches columns and grapevine garlands with colorful leaves dance along the eves and twirl around our door. Autumn, its smells, textures and glorious colors all represented in this annual homage.

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.
~Elizabeth Lawrence

My entry for Flickr Group: Things I Love Thursdays (TILT)

The photo's in this mosaic are from the following talented Flickr members:

www.flickr.com/photos/mbgrigby/3028814563/
www.flickr.com/photos/7597456@N07/443016905/in/faves-piwo...
www.flickr.com/photos/orb9220/6422111461/
www.flickr.com/photos/souloyster/6247962000/
www.flickr.com/photos/meggallucci/4104082669/
www.flickr.com/photos/omggirl/2979994392/
www.flickr.com/photos/missmaya/4401952001/
www.flickr.com/photos/30391341@N02/6811784108/
www.flickr.com/photos/starycat/2952471685/

Make this: Pinterest Inspired Craft

My Inspiration. You can purchase on from Etsy vendor Heidie With an E

Gabriel's Good Tidings, Rolled Felt Flower Tutorial

Fallen Leaf

How beautifully leaves grow old.  

How full of light and color are their last days.  

~John Burroughs

One of my favorite fall decorating items are the grapevine roll's I purchased this from Michael's several years ago. They come plain, all you need is some fall leaves to tuck into the vine.  

No glue, or wire required. Simply unroll and tuck into the edge of the door frame.

Autumn bowed to place a beautiful crown on the Queen of Morning,
and her velvet robes sway merrily in the chilly breeze.
~Terri Guillemets

I like how they frame my view.

Youth is like spring,
an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes.
  Autumn is the mellower season,
and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits. 
~Samuel Butler

My Ugly Concrete Pineapple find--now sporting  a chalk-ware look  blends with the fall theme.

The one red leaf, the last of its clan,
That dances as often as dance it can,
Hanging so light, and hanging so high,
On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky.
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.
  ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Party's

meet-me-monday-linky-party-17
From My Front Porch to Yours

oops, I did it again

oops, I did it again, a photo by DiPics on Flickr.

Last year a broken left ankle with a strain on the right. This year, drum roll, a torn achilles. Outpatient surgery last week-on my birthday--next year I need to do better. ;)

odd one out

odd one out, a photo by DiPics on Flickr.

Things I Love Thursdays: Pumpkin Humor

Things I Love Thursdays: Pumpkin Humor, a photo by DiPics on Flickr.

A bit of pumpkin humor captured from fellow Flickr members.

Enjoy!

Stranger 3/100 Rock

Stranger 3/100 Rock, a photo by DiPics on Flickr.

Sunday my family went to Rombach Farms pumpkin patch. While my son, daughter and I picked our pumpkins in short order, my husband was still undecided, and continued to look for that elusive perfect carving pumpkin. His pumpkin hunt brings to mind a certain Halloween classic, doesn't it?

While hubby was in search of the great pumpkin, I zeroed in on this fellow as he was restocking pumpkins off of a flatbed farm truck. I asked him if he was a Rombach, he replied, no, he wasn't one, but he had married the only girl. I then asked if I could take his picture for my 100 stranger Flickr group, and he wasn't so sure--I reassured him my intent was to take photo's of people I didn't know, not "strange" people. This brought a chorus of laughter from the other workers up on the farm truck. He allowed the photo's, and when I asked his name, he simply replied Rock. So, stranger number 3 is Rock of Rombach Farms.

www.rombachsfarm.com/



This picture is #3 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

Rock, stranger, no let's say, new friend number 3, restocking the inventory.

Rock taking some good natured ribbing from the photo shoot.

My crew, on the annual hunt.

Yes!

Bonnie and Clyde made their annual appearance.

Still on the hunt.

KEEP OFF means....??

Now these are some Great Pumpkins.

I can't tell you how long he looked, but I can tell you I took most of my photo's while he was in search of the  Great Pumpkin. Too much Charlie Brown as a kid, oh Linus....

My selection, it smelled just like watermelon when I carved into it.

A mountain of pumpkins, it looks like a large lumpy piece of candy corn, doesn't it?

Time to head home for some pumpkin carving.

Stranger 2/100 Sharon

I bought Shiitake mushrooms from Sharon of Valley View Farm today, she is my 2nd of 100 strangers. The 100 Stranger's is a group I belong to on Flickr, I joined the 100 strangers group to further my photo journalism interest.

The McCann's own 60 forested acres. During the economy downturn they were looking for ways they could make money with their land without cutting down the trees. They discovered Shiitake growing through a program at Missouri University's agriculture outreach. It's an interesting process:

Inoculation is placing the spawn into the logs so that the 

Shiitake fungus can grow through the wood. Holes are usually 

drilled into the log, filled with spawn, and then covered with 

wax or other material to seal in moisture and protect against 

contamination. Once the Shiitake fungus colonizes the log the first 'fruiting' takes place in roughly 18 mos. 

You can purchase some delectable Shitake's or their farm fresh eggs next weekend, Saturday, October 13 from 9-12 at the Farmers Market at The Meadows at Lake Saint Louis for the last market of the season.

Or, wait...

They will continue to take orders and meet you at The Meadows after the Farmer's Market closes for the season. Contact them at valleyviewfarmproduce@gmail.com. Friend them on FaceBook.

McCann Forest Farm/Valley View Farm Warrenton, MO

Contacts: Richard, Sharon & James McCann

Eggs, Shiitake Mushrooms, produce, craft lumber, laundry soap

This picture is #2 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

 Valley View Farm Shiitake Mushrooms