I’m still trying to figure out where September went. Or maybe I just blinked and it vanished. The trees are starting to wear their colors in our area. I was driving home from work and noticed the hills along the river have more yellow in the green now. There are a few brilliant pinks around, but more of the deeper magentas.
It’s my favorite part of autumn. The colors, fewer bugs, the garden is pretty much finished, and there’s something about the apples, pumpkins, and squash that are ready about now. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the cooler weather; a great excuse to find more “cozy”. You know, hot cider, flannel, fireplaces lit, curling up with a good book, but no snow. Not yet (except way up in northern MN, where they got a dusting earlier this week).
Image by Rahel Bürger-Rasquin from Pixabay
I haven’t grown pumpkins for a few years, but I might have to next year; I’m thinking it’s past time to make pumpkin bread. I’m not one for pumpkin pie, but I have a good recipe for pumpkin bread. And apple bread, but it’s the first part of the harvest, so I’m not tired of apples yet. I just bought my first tote bag (about a peck) of Honeycrisps. There’s a new variety out now, developed, like the Honeycrisp, by the University of MN: First Kiss. It’s the first year it’s available, so there aren’t many around yet, but I’m interested in trying it.
Yes, I’m already thinking about next year’s garden, and I know what I’m not going to plant: zucchini. Nope. No zucchini. I cooked up zucchini only once this year. I’m debating about cucumbers as well. But the chickens love cucumbers …
Saturday I’m off to another book festival, so Sunday is slated for writing. I still have a homework assignment I promised my writing teacher I would finish by Monday. And all those blog posts I’m behind on. So my word for the weekend is: FOCUS.
Short post this week, so I can practice FOCUSING. On the bright side, NaNoWriMo is coming up in a month. I always take the opportunity to reset the habit of writing every day. Which means, FOCUSING.
Have a great weekend, everyone, and keep writing!
On the prowl
Facets of a Muse 
October 5, 2019 at 6:54 am
Nice warm and fuzzy post.
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October 6, 2019 at 8:17 am
Thanks, Tanya! Glad you stopped by!
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October 5, 2019 at 7:09 am
I love this part of autumn, too, Julie. Where I live, there isn’t real autumn, and I have to say I miss that very much. You have some great ‘photos there of what it’s ‘s’posed to’ look like. Enjoy your book festival!
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October 5, 2019 at 7:27 am
Thanks, Margot! We’ve been having rain and clouds for way too long, in my opinion. Raining today again. I love to see the colors when the sun lights them up.
Have a great weekend!
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October 5, 2019 at 9:00 am
I feel the same way about September… Poof! it was done and over with. LOL!
However, this time of year is precious. I love the colors, cooler weather, watching squirrels freak out searching for nuts and hiding them everywhere. Do they have a built-in GPS that we don’t know about? LOL!
could never live in a place that didn’t have the colors of Autumn!
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October 6, 2019 at 8:20 am
I agree! I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t see the colors change before winter. Of course, if they didn’t change, chances are the winter would be more like summer. Sounds nice in theory, but there is something about the change of seasons that I love.
Thanks for stopping by!
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October 5, 2019 at 9:55 am
I have that same feeling about September. School returns–maybe that distracted me so the whole month slipped away. Gorgeous Fall pictures, Julie.
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October 6, 2019 at 8:22 am
Thanks, Jacqui! I went to Walmart to run some errands, and they already have a whole section set up for Christmas. WHAT?! It isn’t even Halloween yet. Sheesh.
Have a great weekend!
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October 5, 2019 at 11:52 am
I love Autumn, especially October. 🙂 Time to get outside and look around before it’s gone too! I’m looking forward to Nano and finally finishing my year-old first draft. See you there!
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October 6, 2019 at 8:27 am
Every time I drive home from work (on the freeway) I want to stop and take pictures just to remember the colors. It’s been rainy here the past week, but the sun is supposed to come out. The colors look so much better with the light hitting them.
See you at NaNo!
Have a great weekend, Diana!
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October 5, 2019 at 12:55 pm
Crazy to think a university is developing new varieties of apples! I hope they taste good. They’re certainly promising a lot with a name like First Kiss.
Leaves get pink and magenta where you live? I only remember ever seeing the standard red through yellow in my lifetime. What’s with MN and purple? 😉
What have zucchinis done to wrong you? Just too many of them?
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October 6, 2019 at 8:59 am
MN and purple? Really? You with the live-in Vikings fan? Hmmm…… I think there are some tree varieties we see more often these days that people plant because of the colors during the fall. I see a lot of maples with more magenta or darker reddish colors. And some that turn hot pink! Brilliant colors, depending on the year, of course. The reds are still there, mostly the oaks, which seem to be the last trees to change.
Heh. Zucchini. They’re great–if you actually eat them. I haven’t been inspired to cook any this year, much less eat any. I’ll skip next year, and maybe plant some the following year. Now that the kids are out of the house most of the year (not that my son ever ate a lot of vegetables), I’m trying to “right-size” the garden 😀
Have a great weekend, Betsy! And give the kitties some extra petting (you know, to practice for when you get yours 😀 😀 )
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October 6, 2019 at 3:53 pm
Of course I was joking. The giant Vikings blanket over the couch is a constant reminder in case every Sunday doesn’t do the trick. 😉
We fried some zucchini in the grease left in the bacon pan. So yummy.
I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!
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October 5, 2019 at 12:55 pm
I’m a big fan of this time of year, Julie too. Although I feel like it was just the New Year, summer werk and now October. Wow. You made me hungry talking about pumpkin and apple breads. i may have to do some baking soon. Have a great time at book festival and a wonderful week.
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October 6, 2019 at 9:12 am
I’ve been thinking about pumpkin bread lately, even though the kids aren’t home to eat it. It’s baking season, as my daughter said.
The book festival went very well. It’s so fun to meet readers and other authors!
Have a great week, Denise!
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October 5, 2019 at 4:17 pm
Following a week of record breaking highs, today finally has a taste of autumn in the air. I love it, but not looking forward to the colder temperatures that will follow.
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October 6, 2019 at 9:15 am
Me neither. Just heard on the news that we might get snow showers next week. Ugh!
Have a great weekend, Jill!
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October 5, 2019 at 7:06 pm
You’re not one for pumpkin pie? Oh, Julie, the horrors! Pumpkin pie is one of my all-time favorites, right behind cherry, strawberry and apple.
I just shifted my closets around today (summer clothes for fall clothes), arranged my pumpkins and fall flowers out front, and packed up all of my summer porc decorations (sob!). As much as I love summer, I am ready for sweaters, long skirts, and boots. And NaNoWriMo! There are some good things that fall brings 🙂
Wishing you and Zoey a happy week!
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October 6, 2019 at 9:20 am
Mmm, apple pie! I’m not a pie person, but if I have a choice, it’ll be apple. And I’ve started the whole season clothes swap, too. There is something sooo comfortable about sweaters, sweats, and slippers. It’s just natural to curl up with a cup of tea or cocoa and a good book 😀
Love your NaNo profile pic of Raven! 😀
Have a great week, Mae!
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October 7, 2019 at 12:46 pm
I love autumn! The colors. Football and hockey. Sweaters. Pumpkin and apples. (How can you not like pumpkin pie?!) Wishing you a wonderful fall. (Not the clumsy, painful kind, but the season.) 🙂
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October 8, 2019 at 7:36 am
LOL! Autumn is my favorite season, despite it being the warning knell for winter. Love love love the colors! And there is always that particular autumn smell that means hot cider, apples, pumpkins, flannel, fallen leaves crunching underfoot. Sigh. Yep, and they are predicting snow at the end of the week. A dusting, but still.
Have a great colorful-leaf filled week, Staci!
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October 8, 2019 at 8:34 am
Apple bread? Will have to look up a recipe. Just bought 8 pounds to clean and wrap in tissue. They’ll last in the lowest frig drawer until spring.
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October 8, 2019 at 9:06 am
They’ll last that long in the frig? Wow. We usually don’t get that much, but if we do, we store them in the basement, which seems to work okay.
Man, apple bread is great! I’ve got a good recipe if you want it. Let me know 😀
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October 9, 2019 at 6:44 am
Yes, please. Send it to: mlrover@juno.com
Thanks!!! Looking forward to trying it. And washed, throughly dried and placed between layers of tissue, they last for months and months in the lowest drawer.Better than the old way of burying them in boxes of sand in the root cellar. My sister used to wrap them in newspaper and store them in the cellar. Tissue paper works better for me.
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October 9, 2019 at 7:27 am
I sent it along 😀 I always heard about the storing them in boxes of sand in the root cellar, but I like your method better. If I only had room in the spare fridge 😀
Enjoy the bread recipe!
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October 9, 2019 at 9:17 am
Julie,
It’s hard to not blink and find that days turn to weeks and then it’s a new month. Focus is the key to balancing any day. I sorta found my that magical spot but these past few days being under the weather my focus has been zero. I’m not sure what I’ve done or anything. Hopefully, I haven’t slighted anyone as I attempted to catch up. It’s hard especially when my brain is still kind of fuzzy. Best of luck to you keeping your focus on track and thanks for dropping by my place. 😉
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October 11, 2019 at 7:54 am
Yes, keeping up is tough even with a clear mind, at least for me. Add fuzzy from feeling ill, and I pretty much kiss that keeping-up energy goodbye. Still working on focus, but this weekend’s predicted first kiss of winter will encourage me to hunker down and write.
Thanks for stopping by, Cathy!
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October 9, 2019 at 3:46 pm
Julie, I’m with you on wondering where September went this year! 😀 I hope you had a great weekend with lots of focus and enjoyed the book festival. They’re always a treat and I’ve learnt to arrive with an empty bag for all the treasures I buy along the way! Happy Writing and Baking! The pumpkin bread sounds delicious. 🎃
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October 11, 2019 at 8:04 am
The weekend went well despite the rain. Of course, a rainy day means fewer people doing yardwork and more people doing indoor things, like going to book festivals! The day went well, and I got to meet some interesting people.
Happy Writing, Annika!
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October 24, 2019 at 5:58 am
Time flies – especially when you’re having fun. It is hard to believe we are already in At the end of October. The trees here are still green but starting to turn. Autumn is at my doorstep too now. With cooler temperatures it is heavenly to be outside.
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October 24, 2019 at 6:43 am
I love the cooler temps, too, but I’d like to enjoy them longer before the 30s and 40s settle in. Much better than the winter temps around here! We are past peak with the colors, but there are still a lot of leaves hanging on.
Have a great rest of your week!
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