To Autumn

Mother Nature must have heard our pleas for cooler temperatures and obliged.
The calendar had no sooner changed from summer to autumn and we were blessed with cool mist-filled mornings, and even cooler, crisp-laden nights, the likes of which had not been seen since early spring.
The trees are beginning their changing of color, yellows, oranges and reds.
Pumpkins are now decorating porches and gardens.
The songbirds busily returning to their winter homes.
Autumn has arrived.

 

  

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."

~ John Keats

Ferry 'Cross The Mersey

My roots run deep with the grand old maritime city of Liverpool.

It being my paternal grandmother's birth place and despite moving away as a young adult, the allure and vibrancy of the city always drew her home.

Each Monday we would board the bus, and take the trip into the city to take care of the banking business for her bakery, and inevitably would always take the time to enjoy a ferry ride on the River Mersey.

 

Last October when I was home, my brother shared those nostalgic memories with us, by spending the afternoon at the Royal Albert Docks, a once vibrant, seafaring port importing and exporting goods and passengers to the 'new world' and beyond. The old warehouses have now been converted for modern day use, housing shops, cafes,  office space and the city's tribute to their famous sons.....The Beatles Museum.

 

Liverpool remains a bustling metropolitan city, with breathtakingly beautiful architecture, that so effortlessly blends the old with the new.

 

 

 

 

Picture created from jelly beans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer's Last Smile

The last of the Summer flowers are giving us one final show.

The temperatures fell into the fifties last night.

Sweater-grabbing crisp air, the likes of which has not been seen since early Spring.

Sweet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farm Fresh Eggs

One of the perks of my daughter's little farm, are the daily fresh eggs.

She shares them with family and friends alike.

If you've never tasted a farm fresh egg, you are missing out, those store bought eggs are just not all they are cracked-up to be.

*giggle*

 

 

 

 

 

Farm-fresh eggs have one-third less cholesterol, a quarter less saturated fats and twice as many omega three fatty acids, than store-bought eggs.

They also have more vitamin A and E and seven times more beta carotene.

And more important, the chickens are raised humanely.

 

Egg-gathering always seems to draw a crowd.

Let's Eat Pie

Almost as popular as traditional Pecan Pie, this delicious Japanese Fruit Pie graces many dinner tables here in the South.
The combination of pecans, raisins, and coconut suspended in a chess-pie type of filling is wonderfully rich and toothsome.

 

Japanese Fruit Pie
 

Ingredients

1 deep dish 9 inch unbaked pie shell

1 stick of melted butter ( 1/2 cup )

1 1/2 cups of white sugar

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1tsp. vanilla extract

3 large eggs ( slightly beaten )

1/2 cup each of raisins, shredded coconut, (I like a little more) chopped pecan pieces.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium mixing bowl combine eggs, butter, sugar, vinegar and vanilla extract.

Beat until smooth. Stir in pecans, coconut, and raisins.

Pour mixture into pastry shell.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Cool before serving.

Serve topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped fresh cream.
 

Autumn's Calling

We could benefit from a gentle rainfall, nary a drop in the past three weeks, and the trees are beginning to show signs of stress.
Subtle signs of changing seasons are all around, summer flowers  hang limp on the vine, songbirds now silent or departed.

On Patrol

The weather has turned cooler.
Lower humidity and gentle breezes, the perfect weather for outdoor adventures. .

Oliver was on patrol today, keeping those pesky squirrels at bay.

He takes his work very seriously.