My children and I have been taking photographic nature walks at least once a week.  I thought I would share a few of the photographs with you.

I don’t know about the rest of the United States, but down here in Texas we are enjoying an absolutely beautiful autumn.  We have had our windows open for weeks now, and are really enjoying the cool days and cooler nights.

This weekend is supposed to be gorgeous.  I hope that you will find some time regardless of where you live to enjoy the great outdoors.  Go on a walk, observe wildlife, play catch, work in your garden and/or fish.  Whatever you do, fill your lungs with fresh clean air and refresh your soul.  It always makes a difference to me.  I always feel better after spending time outside.

My children on a nature bike ride. You can cover more ground on a bicycle.

There is always something so serene about looking at the reflections in still water.

A Glorious Morning with Morning Glories.

My Magnolia tree going to seed. It was a beautiful sight.

Have a great weekend!

Andrew with his chosen pumpkin.

It is that time of year again.  The night air is getting much cooler.  The leaves on the trees are beginning to fade into different shades of yellow-green.  And, pumpkins are everywhere.  Churches are selling them in big lots.  Stores have them out as decorations.

I sadly did not get any pumpkins from my garden this year.  I planted what looked like pumpkin seeds.  They were labeled as such too, but they did not grow pumpkins.  In the Great Pumpkin Mystery, I discuss my shock and bewilderment when winter squash grows instead.  To be exact, green striped cushaw squash grew.  Therefore this weekend, I took my family to a church’s pumpkin patch to select our pumpkin.

It was a large lot with pallets and pallets of all different kinds of pumpkins.  There were green ones and white ones with orange veins.  The latter were actually very pretty.  Of course, they had all different shapes and sizes and even some gourds for sale.  It was tough to make a decision, but they selected a very nice pumpkin.

We have not decided whether or not we are going to carve the pumpkin.  If you have younger children, you can always draw scary faces on one.  A marker works great.  One time we used nails to attach other vegetables to the pumpkin.  We used radishes for the eyes, a thin crookneck squash for the mouth, etc.  It was so ugly; it was cute.

Regardless if you carve a pumpkin or not, you can still roast the pumpkin seeds.  There are many different ways to do this.  I dissolve sea salt and a little cayenne pepper in warm water and then soak the seeds in it overnight.  Drain the water.  Spread the seeds out on a baking dish.  Put your oven on its lowest setting and let the warm air roast your pumpkin seeds.  Check after a few hours, turning occasionally.  The seeds are ready to eat and/or store when they are dry and crispy.  Depending on the temperature, it could take up to eight hours to completely dry the seeds.

My favorite way to use pumpkin is to make pumpkin puree.   Now that the seeds and goop are out, I cut the pumpkin up into big wedges.  Taking my good knife I remove the peel easily.  I then chop the pumpkin flesh into large chunks.  I put these in a big pot with water and boil.  When the pumpkin is tender, I drain the water.  In my food processor, I puree the pumpkin.  I freeze it in quart-sized freezer bags in 2 cup portions.  If you look at most recipes that use pumpkin, they almost always call for 2 cups.

The puree is not as firm as the canned and the color is more true orange than brown.  It makes very good pies and cakes.  I can make enough puree from one large pumpkin that I have enough for a year.  If you cook a lot with pumpkin throughout the year, then I would make puree from two pumpkins.

Now I know why Scotland is so green.  The constant drizzle has really spruced things up around here.  Pastures are green, trees have perked up, even my vegetable garden is experiencing rebirth.  My tomato plants from this summer are now full of green tomatoes.  I just wonder if they will have time to ripen before a frost comes.  If nothing else, we will just have fried green tomatoes.  Squash plants are coming up again.  My cucumber vine once limp with neglect and tired of producing has come back and is making more cucumbers.  It is amazing what a little rain will do!

September 23rd, my birthday, is the first official day of autumn.  Spring and Autumn are my absolute favorite times of the year.  I am now putting in my fall garden around the cucumber, new squash, and tomato plants of last season.  In Texas, fall is a time when families can go camping comfortably, you mow your yard for the last time of the year, and you really enjoy being outdoors.  Hunting season will begin shortly, and our house will enjoy the fruits of that labor as well.  Since we try to eat as seasonally as possible, my family and I are looking forward to cabbage and squash.  We love to eat pumpkin as well.  The sharpness of the radish is delicious in a fresh green salad.

Thanksgiving is also a part of this season.  Already I am trying to ignore that Christmas follows shortly thereafter.  I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving; although, I feel it is being overlooked more and more as Christmas almost completely overshadows it.  But what a wonderful holiday.  A truly American holiday celebrating our gratitude and thanks to God for providing for us the past year and asking for His blessings in the next.  It has all the beauty of the season.  The autumnal colors brighten up your home with reds, browns, and oranges.

I am looking forward to fall!  I am enjoying the little cool spell that we are enjoying today.  What a great time to be outside!  A perfect time to have one’s hands in the damp soil working the earth and planting seeds.  I hope that everyone will take some time this fall to get outside and enjoy this wonderful time of year.  It is almost officially here!

I want to leave you with a poem about September.

September

A road like brown ribbon,
A sky that is blue,
A forest of green
With that sky peeping through.

Asters, deep purple,
A grasshopper’s call,
Today it is summer,
Tomorrow is fall.

~by Edwina Fallis