Fall scenes for a Fall Queen

Some of the remaining gourds I harvested from the garden...

Carved pumpkins and made a spooky bat and witch for festivities...

I made some bat wings for my little man...

And, snapped a shot of my grandmas beautifully displayed fall scene. There is oranges and reds far as the eye can see from the mountains to the yards...

Frost protection for Fall garden & Pumpkin decor

On this Hallows eve, I worked a bit in the garden. It is supposed to drop to 25 degrees F this weekend. So, I arranged water piping over the broccoli, cauliflower, kale plants. Then laid garden canvas over each. 

At my other garden, I did the same--covering thr kale, turnip, basil, cilantro, strawberries, radishes, and flowers. 

There are many ways to cover and protect plants from the cold and frost. What methods do you use? I have tried plastic jugs, jars, and plastic sheeting, and that's usually too harsh for plants because they scorch from the excessive heat. Cloth is usually the best! 

As these nights get colder, I've noticed bugs warming themselves in the carved pumpkins I've lit. Slugs, especially, have taken advantage of the little fires in the pumpkins. 

Did you carve pumpkins? Is that a tradition for you? For me, carving pumpkins are symbolic, and artistic. It is a favorite past time of mine. Pumpkins are a symbol of warmth, stability, plentiful, wholesome. To use these as nature's own little lanterns, makes me feel like I'm warding off the bad, the negative energy. This doesn't mean that that's what pumpkins are doing; but, that's the feeling I get.

Pumpkin carving, painting & Fall food dinners

For the last two nights, Ashley and I have been decorating and carving pumpkins. We got 10 pumpkins for 10 dollars. We saved 3 of those for painting a Frankenstein's monster, witch legs and a black rose with thorns. 

The rest were different carvings of a little man face and puzzle pieces on the back side, cat and a pumpkin face on the back, "Boo" and "Yas", house with a moon and cat, cauldron, and vampire face.

In the above picture, we have our house plants nestled together over top a vent for cool or warmth and displayed my Halloween painting I made years ago. These were the little pumpkins I used for carving and painting.

The colors this year seem brighter, more vibrant, than in the last several years. The quantity of leaves I see in piles skirting trees are more plentiful this year than previous years it seems. Of course, that's my own opinion. 

To further enjoy, and celebrate the Fall you could say, I have been sipping vegan hot chocolate and baking vegan peanut butter cookies, eating lots of seasonal crops like radishes, tomato, kale, and herbs from the garden, and lots of squash and potatoes. And baking pumpkin seeds!

Vegan stuffed peppers with rice

Vegan stuffed squash with vegan cheez

Produce box

Kale harvested to fry over rice

On Sundays, I've been visiting family to check in on them and my gardens, and on these nights, I've been having little fires to roast vegan hot dogs, watching scary movies, and sitting outside.

What are you doing to enjoy Fall this year? What is keeping you motivated to stay hopeful, positive, and active in your life or community?

Fall Pumpkin patch farm & Arboreteum wildlife park, & greenhouse

Below are pictures of the Bi water farm pumpkin patch we went to in Lexington, Kentucky. It was a very festive and fun place for children, but I quite enjoyed the scenery.  We picked pumpkins and carved them the next day.

 Before we went to the pumpkin patch, we actually stopped by the Arboreteum at the University of Kentucky. It has gardens of flowers, veggies, ponds and other wildlife.

The following weekend, I went to the Amish greenhouse and bought a pumkin and some mums. The tricolored mums are enchanting. I have truly appreciated the fall season more, for many reasons. But, always I hate to see the summer season pass so soon, but I might as well embrace the fallen leaves and crunchy paths, and all the fall colors. 

Much of my weekends have consisted of working or traveling. But I have managed to sneak time in for my gardens. Mostly, I am cleaning the gardens and overwintering the fig trees. I am still harvesting potatoes, pears, figs, and some peppers and tomatoes still, so I'll show you all of that in the upcoming blog post. I have been making batches of pear sauce and pear butter!

Butternut & Freaky Fall gourds, potato harvest + pickling & jelly making