LAST GARDEN PHOTOS BEFORE THE SNOW FLIES

Indian Summer is happening in our corner of the world.  It's beautiful!  Crisp mornings, sunny and clear afternoons, and crisp nights.  We've had some light frosts so quite a few of the flowers have been nipped.  I had lunch with a fellow retired teacher friend today and thanks to her prompting (Thank you Marji!) I thought I'd take one more trip out to the garden to take some photos of what survived before I start to pull them up and put the garden to bed for the long, snowy, blustery winter ahead.   The weatherman just predicted a very snowy winter, so this year, every day will be a "snow day"!

 I made these guys a long time ago and they are one of my favorite door decorations.  They're just made of plywood, painted with acrylic paints, then sprayed with clear polyurethane for protection.  i tried to replicate the old Halloween cats found on vintage postcards.

They have wire whiskers that are pulled through some small holes drilled by the nose.

  I love white pumpkins but they're so much more expensive than the orange ones.  I got around that by painting an orange one and rubbing a little Old English Scratch Cover all over it to warm the color up a bit.  Who knows - that may just help preserve it a little longer too!  I think I need to put a little something on the front of the pumpkin, though.  Maybe paint something?  I do love the shadow on the right side!  Look carefully . . . do you see the witch with her hat blowing away?  I planned that!
(Just kidding!)

 The birds have left the nest inside . . . they probably thought it was haunted.  It sure LOOKS haunted! I guess that works for October but a fresh coat of paint is in order.

 This is one of my favorites because of its heart shaped leaves - Brunnera Macrophylia.  It blooms with brilliant blue baby's breath-like flowers in the early spring, and then develops much larger leaves as the summer moves on.  It needs no care whatsoever and always looks beautiful.  You can also get this plant with variegated leaves.

One of the last roses of summer . . . 

Those zinnias are so hardy - they're some of that last ones to give up!

 This pink hydrangea tripled in size this summer!

This is a good old-fashioned Cleome - it game to the garden all on its own - a volunteer from last year's crop.

 And last of all, especially at this time of year, we can't forget to look up at the trees!  This is one of the trees in our front yard - so gorgeous and majestic!

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Thrifty Decor Chick's 

FALL OUTDOOR SPACES PARTY

MONCHES FARM FALL TREATS

Yesterday I posted about our Sunday drive out to Monches Farm for their Fall Festival.  I included photos of the garden area at Monches, along with some more from the drive out.  Today, I have a look at some of the beautiful things from inside the shop.  

Look closely at the backdrop of this photo.  It's made up of three wide planks secured in the back with a couple crosspieces and has a handpainted, crackled, and muted still life.  If turned sideways it would be a perfect headboard.

 Some simple but very pretty grain sack pillows.

 A crowned crow . . .

. . . and a Halloween Santos Cage Doll!

 

This girl is a little creepy, but fun.

 Mercury glass skull in a cloche

 Halloween bunting! 

 Here are some more beautiful grain sack pillows.

 This curtain panel is so delicate and lightweight.

This cloche has a lot of French ephemera adhered to it - I might have to figure out how to do this.

It's a brand new week and it is full of possibilities!
I see at least four of these items as future projects.  If you aren't the type to want to make your own, Monches Farm is such a great place to go for seasonal decorations.  I'll be heading back there again with a group of friends for the Holiday Open House on December 3-4.  But, back to today . . .
  

The weather is going to be perfect as you can see by our forecast:  

Mostly SunnyHi 68°RealFeel® 68°

So, I'm off to start my day having coffee with a dear friend.  Then back home to work on a few projects and spend some time with Norma.  It doesn't get any better than this!

GOING TO MONCHES FARM IN THE FALL

It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day in our corner of the world!  Perfectly blue sky, trees starting to turn, and the whole afternoon ahead of us to take a drive in the country and visit Monches Farm in the fall.  This weekend they celebrated their Fall Festival so there were artists set up outside the shop, a bagpiper in the gardens, and gourds and pumpkins everywhere.  Today's photos were taken on the drive to Monches and outside pictures of the "farm". 

This guy was tired - he had played for two days straight!

Below . . . so many different kinds of gourds and pumpkins!

I've wanted to try making these bird baths for quite a while.  This should be a project for a craft day get-together with some friends next summer1

Gorgeous!

 

And, last but not least, look at these great cows!   We just had to stop and take a few photos - they'll be a great reference for painting.   Just look at these faces!

When we drove up, they were all lying down.  I walked up to the fence, and one by one, they all came up to greet me - very curious, but extremely cautious.  This guy above was kind of their leader - he got the closest of all.  I think they were just afraid of getting zapped by the electric fence because they all stood about one foot away from the fence.  However, one brave guy did try to be friendly and stepped forward just a tad too far.  He jumped back pretty quickly after getting a little jolt!  

Why do they always look so surprised?  Maybe it's the fence . . . ?

I love these two guys!

See?  He's staring at that barbed wire, electrified fence!

Tomorrow I'll be posting some photos from inside the shop.

300 FOLLOWERS AND A WINNER!

Hello!  I just got home after being gone all day, checked my blog, and

VOILA!

I have hit the 300 follower mark, and that means it's time to draw a name for my burlap pillow giveaway.  So, I went to random.org and put in my numbers.  The winner is . . .

Di from North Carolina!

Congratulations Di!  As soon as we communicate and I can get your mailing address, your pillow (along with your lavender sachet) will be on its way to you!  Enjoy!  Also, thank you, thank you, to everyone who started following during the giveaway!  I hope you will continue to visit.
Now, on to 400 followers! 
When I hit that milestone I'll be giving away one of my original paintings.

That will be a while, so more on that later!