My husband and I like to have plants around in the winter time to enjoy, and to give us hope that spring is on the way.
This parlor palm is a plant that I brought home from work when I retired at the end of November. It was gifted to me by a former coworker when he retired. I am particularly proud of this tree because it was spindly and only had a few branches when I got it. This was through no fault of my desk mate. Our office had no windows and he would keep the poor thing going by putting it on a filing cabinet in the hallway every weekend.
I was moved to my own office eventually and it had a window. The window was shaded by a large pine tree but the palm liked it better than having no window. The palm grew a few more branches even if they did have brown tips.
When I retired, I brought the palm home and it now has a large window with good light. The palm has grown a number of new branches in the past couple of months and is as healthy as I’ve ever seen it.
It sits on one of our mantels along with a lantana and a mandevilla that I dug up before frost and am wintering over to put back in the raised garden beds again next year. The wreath is made with bittersweet berries that my husband harvested from our property for just this purpose. The orangey red of the berries is cheerful in the darker months.
I even dressed the parlor palm up for Christmas so it fit in with the festivities.
It is important to create bright spots in our world that make us feel good and remind us of good times. It is a healthy thing to do. This palm fits the bill because I think of growth, greenery, and new life, as well as my thoughtful coworker when I see it.
How can you make a bright spot in your world?
Today was a beautiful fall day. We took the opportunity to do winter preparations. I dug up all my gladiolus bulbs and spread them out to dry before bagging them up. There were also a few dahlia bulbs as well.
After that I helped my husband put storm windows on the house. The storm windows are newly built and should help keep things warmer this winter.
This evening I saw the weather forecast for the next couple of days. It’s a good thing we got those tasks done. Six to ten inches of snow is predicted in our area. I’m glad I didn’t wait for another day to get things done. When summer comes again and we enjoy all the beautiful blooms, I will be doubly glad.
Now that the weather is cooler, soup season is here! I love homemade soup. We rarely have canned soup because homemade is so much better in all ways. It is more nutritious, has less salt, is more filling, and tastes better. And you can put whatever you want in it. My daughter says, that I “get” soup.
This morning I took my soup sack out of the freezer, dumped the contents in a pan of water and let it simmer for more than an hour. After it cooled, I scooped out all the chunks from the soup sack and let the broth cool. Everything I scooped out got thrown away. All the flavor was cooked out. I let the liquid cool and used my fat separator to remove the fat. You can also refrigerate the broth until the fat solidifies and scoop it out that way. Then I split the skimmed broth in half. Half went into the freezer and the other half went in today’s (and probably tomorrow’s) lunch.
I cooked some sweet white onion in olive oil until it was soft. Then I added the broth which I spiced with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders, dried garden basil, and oregano. While this simmered lightly, I went out to the garden and cut some Swiss Chard. It is still growing even though we had frost last night. It is a hardy vegetable. I sliced the stems, chopped the leaves, and added both to the pot. From the pantry I added a can of garbanzo beans and some bronze cut penne pasta, along with two links of sliced Italian chicken sausage. All of this simmered together for two hours. Part of the secret to delicious soup is this long, slow simmer. It allows the flavors to to meld and become one.
Personally, I don’t eat the meat because of the whole “dead animal” issue, but my husband does and I only want to make one soup. This however makes me very popular with the dogs if I find any meat in my portion.
List of ingredients:
I did not bother listing amounts because, it’s soup, it doesn’t really matter. Make it to your preference. If it’s too thick, add water. If it’s too watery, boil it down. That’s the beauty of soup. There is no wrong, make it your’s!
Nature is a work of art.
On display in our garden from dawn until dusk.
Showing until frost.
Even though it is officially fall and only one more day until October, the garden is still putting on a grand performance.
The roses look better than they have all summer. Many of them are new this year so they may just be getting established.
Rosebud unfurling.
Rose in peak bloom.
Cleomes’ majesty.
Even Zekie seems to relax and enjoy the garden beauty.
The peaceful days of autumn are some of my favorite. Weeds have slowed and there is less garden work to be done. It is a fine time to read a book on the patio and enjoy the breeze and cricket song.
Dahlia season has arrived!
Actually, I got them in late so they are running behind schedule.
Perhaps I should plant some early and late next year so we have a longer time to enjoy them.
Not a bad idea. Enjoy!
Dahlia Season
Fall may be coming fast on the heels of summer now, but the roses are still hanging in there.
As fall approaches, it is a lovely time to hang out on the patio. Cassius approves. The cooler weather allows more time for focusing on lounging, less time required to keep chasing shade. We move the furniture around when it is hot so as not to sit in the hot sun.
The flowers are not at their peak anymore, but they are still beautiful. The gladiolus are putting on their final show of the season. In a month or so it will be time to dig them up, dry the bulbs for a few days, then put them into paper sacks to await next year’s planting. There are still flowers to look forward to this year. The dahlias will open any day now. And of course it is chrysanthemum time.
And so, the view is good. Next year this new flower bed will be totally different. It went in mid-summer so I grabbed some impatiens to fill out the few plantings we had for it. We will plan over the winter and put in some perennials in the spring.
In the afternoon, there is still time for a snooze after a busy day of frisbeeing.
When daughters grow up and become adults, they become your friend and life cheerleader.
I missed my daughter.
She came to visit yesterday.
She went home.
Now I miss her again.
I hope you have such a daughter.
BTW, the beautiful flower arrangement above is courtesy of my daughter. The flowers are from her garden and she wanted to share them with us.
Sanctuary Acres 