Halloween at the Farmer's Market

This morning Beth and I went to the Farmer's Market. The day looked gray and gloomy, but the rain stayed away and the temperature outside was actually quite mild. Being the last day of October, we expected to see some characters and we weren't disappointed. There were quite a few little children dressed up for the day and one or two adults as well.

We started our day off by stopping for some goodies at Hideaway Bakery. As always their display of artisan loaves were beautiful.

Winter Squash continued to be in abundance at almost every stall.

Another vegetable in peak season were carrots. I loved this display showcasing Orange, Purple, Red and Yellow carrots. You sure wouldn't find that at a conventional grocery store.

This was a display of "Savoy" Cabbage. The delicate veins and ruffles on them were amazing.

New to me were these "Romanesco" Broccoli. They looked like a combination of sea shells and alien creatures. 

I am always excited when a new product arrives at the market. Especially one that is widely available and grown in Oregon but hasn't been available straight from the farmer. Today we discovered this cranberry grower, Scott Rudle. He was selling bags of organic, Oregon Tilth certified berries from Bandon. I was glad to see that he had a steady stream of shoppers supporting his venture.

More Views of Fall

I mentioned earlier how quickly the trees have been loosing their leaves this year. It seems like one day they are in their full glory and then the next day they are bare. Below are two pictures taken of one of our Japanese Maples. The pictures were taken exactly one week apart.

Fall 2009

Today I went on a walk to enjoy the remaining Fall show. Last year, this weekend was the peak of color. This year I would say most trees peaked two weeks ago and many have completely lost their leaves. There are a few exceptions though. One is the above native tree. It is about 2/3rds changed in color and looks beautiful right now. It is the one tree on our property that turns orange in the Fall.

The crab apple that I gave Mom for Mother's day lost all of its leaves this week. It had turned a beautiful shade of red but the show didn't last very long. The next thing I knew it was completely bare with the exception of its lovely red berries. It will be interesting to see if the birds snack on them.

No walk is complete without a buddy to go along with you. Cleo enjoys tromping around the property as much as I do. She particularly likes all the paths that I have mown the last 3 weeks.

Garden Clean Up

I spent a few hours this morning finishing cleaning up the vegetable garden. The tomato plants, beans, squash vines, sunflowers, and cosmos have all been stacked on the compost pile. I raked the soil smooth again and cleaned up any debris that was stuck in the netting. It's now all ready for a long winter's rest.

It's also hard to remember how stuffed it was this summer with healthy, productive plants.

Bulb Panting

This morning I planted some bulbs in the front walkway area. I purchased them a week ago at the Saturday Farmer's Market. Buggy Crazy had a really nice selection of different bulbs, tubers and corms for sale. Beth and I each picked up a few new ones. I planted one group of narcissus " Tete-a-Tete" and another group of a fragrant narcissus. Hopefully today's work will pay off with beauty and enjoyment in the Spring.

A Hard Frost

Last week, the night of October 5th/morning of October 6th, we had our first light frost. Last night, we had a heavy killing frost. The temperature read 28 degrees as I drove into town this morning. The dahlias that were lightly damaged a week ago were burned black this morning. Luckily, the weather was predicted. So late yesterday afternoon I snuck back down to the garden and picked the last bouquet of the year. Here's to Summer 2009! A banner year for Winter Squash, Tomatos, and Acorns. What will next year's challenges and triumphs be?

October at the Market

Beth and I made it down to the Farmer's Market this morning. It was such a perfect Fall day. The market could be summed up in two words - Squash and dahlias. How handy that they are two of my favorite things!

One new face at the market this week was sweet potatoes. I don't know what variety these were but they were covered in a beautiful purple skin.

The flower vendors were flooded with dahlias. They were the main star in every bouquet found.

But for me the day was all about Squash. Every booth had lovely piles. The most common were "Delicata", "Acorn", "Butternut" and "Buttercup". But I also found "Kabocha", "Spaghetti" and "Sweet Dumpling".

Then I spied these beauties tucked away on the ground. It doesn't get any better!

Acorns everywhere

Besides being a stellar year for Winter Squash and Tomatos, it also is an amazing year for Acorns. I started finding them littered on the ground weeks ago and their numbers have only increased since then. There are literally dozens and dozens under each Oak tree and many more still in the trees, waiting their turn to fall. I don't have any way to explain this year's abundance. All I know - it's a great year to be a squirrel!