Scordatos: A Brief Holiday Message and Fall Round-Up

If you have reached the blog through the Christmas cards we sent out, consider putting your email in the email address box on that right hand side that way when I publish a new post, it will get sent directly to your email. Please enjoy the fall round-up below and know I will try to post something once a month. The next post will be pictures of our fall trip to Napa Valley. By the time this post publishes we will have winter prepped the T@B including removing the TV from the kitchen hatchback and covering it with the winter cover. I just couldn't resist posting this picture of it in the backdrop of the sunset. Andrew took the T@B to Michigan again in October, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

September demanded a lot of gardening still and we were picking tomatoes throughout the month. This picture was taken on a Sunday as I weeded the herb garden. A full Tutu post will be coming this winter.

Here is a shot of a butterfly making weeding a little more fun.

Speaking of gardening, a friend of mine went to visit a private garden open to the public and featured in the Urbana Citizen. This 65 foot tunnel with 10 varieties of gourds was a soothing and delightful experience. So grateful for folks in the community who open their hearts and homes to share what they are passionate about.

Another September harvest included a bumper crop of concord grapes. I have found to my dismay that the tannin in the grapes gives me a headache. I love concord grapes but cannot deny the head throbbing pain that follows. I fed some to the chickens and threw some in the freezer maybe for a future project.

Another harvest from the garden included hops. We've had a few hops growing for several years but this was the first year I made the time to pick some. Rather than brewing, I dried them and hope to use them for some future herbal projects. Hops can help one sleep, and I especially like the Aura Cacia aromatherapy oil called "Pillow Potion." It is lavender and hops and can really help you sleep.

I was cutting herbs into mid-October. I planted some sage this year and was inspired by a recent trip to plant more next year. Pictured here is Sage, Parsley, Chives, and a Goodwin Grey lavender.

Some of the sage dried for the year.

Additionally Calendula. This bloomed late and I lost a lot to the cold in October. I mainly use Calendula for a home made eczema salve I occasionally make for friends. I hear it smells awful, but works well.

The chickens are doing well. I'll try to include more about them in a future post. For now, check out what was left of the ill advised placed robin's nest that I featured earlier in the summer. I think one robin fledged successfully. I like this picture and how it reminds me of change. The moon is a good reminder of how things change.

I certainly hope the coop's resident Toad has found a place to hunker down for the winter. He was also featured earlier, and he scared me half to death on a hot day in September. This was his answer to keeping cool. My Dad asked if he could get out or if I would help him out. I'm not getting any closer to a toad than I have to. I figured, if he got in, he could get out and he did. Nowadays we have the electric waterer set up for the chickens.