Finally! Fall leaves!

It seems like it has taken longer this year, but finally the leaves are starting to turn.  I'll be sad when the trees are bare, but I'll enjoy the cool weather and beautiful colors for now.  :)

My fall 'garden'

Well, I had high hopes for my lettuces and spinach this fall.  Last year, I couldn't pick it fast enough, and had to give away bags of it to my neighbors every other day.  

This year, my chickens (at least, they are the most likely suspects) have completely mocked my gardening attempts.  My 4' fence, the 3' tall raised beds, and Mr. Scarecrow have done nothing to prevent my lettuce from being eaten.  I am extremely sad, especially when I saw my MIL's garden yesterday.  It is beautiful.  :(  Something will have to be done. 

Candied Pumpkin Seeds

My favorite Halloween treat:

Seeds from one med.-lrg. pumpkin

4 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil

1. Preheat oven to 250*. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread seeds in an even layer on the parchment paper. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Let cool.

2. In a medium bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. sugar, the salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar. Cook until sugar melts and pumpkin seeds begin to caramelize; about 45-60 seconds.

4. Transfer the seeds to the bowl with spices, and stir well to coat. Let cool. Store in an air-tight container, up to 1 week. (but ours are never around more then a day!)

Stay of Execution

Well, because of DH's hectic work schedule this week, we weren't able to get Pancake into the butcher.  So, she's escaped execution for now.  It will probably be a month before we can get her in, though, due to the Fair ending soon.  :(

Why is my air conditioner still on?  It's rediculous; I am ready to be done with the heat!  It is still warmer outside then in during most of the day, and so the air kicks on to cool it down.  I'm grateful to have it, but I can't believe that the week of Halloween we still have a/c blowing!

Something is eating my lettuce just as fast as it comes up.  I'm not sure what it is; I haven't seen anything in the garden that looked suspicious.  It's left the spinach alone, thank goodness, but I am sad to see my romaine and buttercrunch suffering.  A couple more weeks and I should be able to have enough spinach for a salad!

Taking out the jeans

I don't always have time to hang out a full load of wash.  Those times, I take out the bulky stuff (jeans, towels, sweaters, etc.) and hang them, sending everything else through the dryer.  This way, I don't have to hang the whole load, and the dryer runs so much more quickly!  Usually it will dry the 'lean' load in 20-30 minutes, vs. the 60+ minutes it takes when all the bulk is left in.  

More?

I was surprised to see more chicks the other day.  Apparently one of our Leghorns (notoriously non-broody) decided to hatch a nest.  One day, she was walking around with 4 chicks and the next day, there were 3 more for a total of 7 little leghorn chicks!  They are darling, but I am surprised to see them at all!  

Also, we realized that our duck has been laying eggs.  I noticed a particularly 'dirty' looking egg a week or so ago, and mentioned to DH how thick the shell was on those off white eggs.  After eating them for a week, and doing a bit of research, we came to the conclusion that those are the duck eggs.  How neat!  I want to save them up for baking; I read they are wonderful for that!

Fall Garden

11 days after planting the seeds, here's what I have coming up in the gardens:

Carrots, broccoli, spinach and romaine.