Fall/Autumn

With the cool nights and mornings, I can definitely feel Fall coming on.  I think Fall is one of my most favorite times of the year.  The entire atmosphere of Fall puts me in a giddy mood (whatever giddy is?).  It’s like, well, it’s like the happy ahh moments of leaves, colors, feelings, deer eating apples on yard, harvesting the garden, canning, Halloween, carnivals, Thanksgiving, etc………………….. 
My only wish is that it would last much longer.  Only through my pictures can I enjoy my moments of aaahhhhness for extended periods of time!

Custer County Fair

A week or so before the Custer County Fair (our local fair), I received a 63-page fair book in the mail.  This book was absolutely amazing.  It had all the information needed to place exhibits in the fair plus a lot of colored photos from last years fair, along with winners, and oodles of other information.  I think this is the best fair book the county has ever printed.  I’m not sure who did the artwork on the front cover, but I’m thinking it was a 4-H student.

I used to put craft exhibits in the fair quite frequently in the past (way past), but I hadn’t done so in years.  I decided I would put in a few photos last year and had done well.  This year, the regulations were a bit different and I didn’t know if I would get the supplies needed or even get around to entering anything.
 
I had been talking to others about supporting our valley and entering projects but hadn’t actually prepared anything myself to support the fair.  As it turned out, and at the last moment (11 a.m.), the day to enter exhibits, I decided to print out a few pictures and crochet a pair of baby booties.  It took me the rest of the day to get my items ready and I made it up to the fair to enter my exhibits 1/2 hour before closing.  It was a fast-paced day, and as it turned out, I won ribbons on my exhibits.






It was a fun, last minute thing to do and I felt good helping support our little home-town fair. 
I had forgotten about prize money until I went to pick up my entries on the last day of the fair.  Along with getting back my entries, they handed me an envelope containing $10.  You actually get $2 for each blue ribbon received.  BONUS….this will help me buy ink to print off photos for next year. 

Great Horned Owls

Sunday evening, my husband told me to come and look out the dining room window.  What a surprise!  I’ve heard the sounds many times of Great Horned Owls around our home (they sit in our pine trees and hoot for what seems like forever) and I’ve seen one flying here and there, but I’ve never actually seen one sitting.  And now, not only do I get to see one, but there were two…..sitting on my hanging basket (old clothes line pole) pole. 
The great horned owl gets its name from the tufts of feathers on its head that look like ears.  The owl's ears are actually further down on the side of its head, and are just openings in the skull hidden beneath feathers.  With its large eyes, it can see in almost complete darkness.  If there isn’t any light, its excellent hearing helps it to hunt by sound.
It was getting dark (8:30 p.m.) when I took the pictures so I didn’t know if I could get good photos but with the settings I used on my camera and Picasa, I was able to get them good enough to show. 
One of the owls looks to have a bad eye on the right-hand side of his face and the other owl has a big, white mustache.  So fun to see!

Pie Cherry Crunch

The first part of August, a couple of friends and I went pie cherry picking.  I filled a small bucket with enough cherries to keep me busy for a little while.

After getting all those little cherries a bath, it was time to use my cherry pitter machine.

       

This sure makes fast work of pitting cherries.  It allows me to pit 4 cherries at one time just by placing 4 cherries on the base, pushing down on the lid and letting the pits fall in the bottom chamber.  If you do not have a cherry pitter, you can easily remove pits by using a PAPER CLIP, or the round end of a bobby pin.

I ended up pitting 28 cups…….

I froze six bags of cherries and left enough out to make a Pie Cherry Crunch.  I had gotten this recipe from a good friend and the recipe called for 4 cups of 1/2” pieces of diced rhubarb.  I had the cherries so I just swapped out equal amounts of cherries for the rhubarb called for in the recipe and the results were amazing.  My husband actually likes the cherry crunch better than the rhubarb, but I like them both.  They are both equally great…….mmmmmm, mmmmm!  Hmmm, a thought just came to me….I wonder what it would taste like to mix equal amounts of cherries and rhubarb in the recipe.   

Sterling Silver Neck Chain

When I went to have my knee surgery, I had forgotten I had my sterling silver neck chain around my neck.  It’s just a part of me…I wear it 24-7, very rarely taking it off.  It’s great for hanging my glasses on when I don’t feel like wearing them.  The nurse spotted it and told me I would need to take it off before going into surgery. 
It has been 4 weeks since I had my surgery and my necklace has been nowhere to be found.  Since coming home from the hospital, I’ve looked in my hospital bag (hoping it was hiding in a corner or somewhere) several times, as well as my purse, as well as in my………………………I think you are getting it.  I HAVE LOOKED EVERYWHERE.  I was even going to call the hospital to see if they had a lost and found area but I just decided to let it go…it was lost.
Today while doing laundry I went to clean out the lint basket and I saw something shining in the lint.  I thought it was a small safety pin because I have a shirt that I need to pin to keep it closed.  When I picked it up, I couldn’t believe my eyes……………..There it was, my silver neck chain.  Happy Dance!  And of course, I remember now that I dropped it in my shirt pocket for safe keeping.
It doesn’t appear so in the photo, but it actually is silver.  Now, if I can only get out that humungous knot…………………..!

Bad Hair/Hare Day For Bunny

As I was pulling into my driveway, this little bunny was sitting along the drive, maybe two feet from my car.  I sat and talked to him/her for a little while then decided I would take a picture.  I told him/her that it didn’t look like a very good picture day and that maybe he/she should go comb his/her hair.  This little bunny sure looks scraggly but we both decided to just go ahead and take a picture.

I think he/she was just getting ready to hop away right after our conversation and a few photos.

Yep…………….bye, bye, bunny!