DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS

A weird morning as I woke an hour before the alarm and looked around thinking something must be wrong with the clock ???   Then I remembered today is the first day off daylight savings time.
As I took advantage of the extra hour and dozed I felt guilty knowing the animals were still on their regular time and I'm sure wondering why they were waiting an extra hour to be fed and let out of their night time houses.
It will be nicer when we all get used to the new schedule to have daylight and hour earlier but it will not be nicer in the evening when darkness comes an hour earlier !!!
This is why I don't understand the reasoning behind these time changes, I tend to agree with this old Indian.

Church was good today from 1st Peter about the Bible verses science and was very educational for me.
We had #1 son's family and Aa's family here for lunch of roast beef, mashed potatoes,green beans, creamed corn , spiced baby carrots and biscuits. After a nice visit everyone went  their separate ways for the afternoon.
Hubbie watched a race on TV until it was time for him to go to his monthly Deacon's meeting.
I sat on the porch awhile and watched the smokey haze from the fire down at Lake Lure's Rumbling Bald mountain create a blue film over the surrounding mountains.

The dry leaves are bound to kindle fires in these very dry conditions and there are several fires now burning around western North Carolina.  This one at Lake Lure started yesterday and is growing in size despite all efforts to contain it.

The largest of the fires is the now over 600 acre fire in the Nantahala Gorge area .

There are warnings about reduced visibility miles from these fires with the wind that is blowing .
The sunset was beautiful even in the haze this evening as it set and hour earlier than yesterday !

Hubbie came in from his meeting just as I was finishing chores and we had some left overs for supper then decided to check out my new storage bench that he picked up for me Friday. As we layed out all the parts we discovered this main end piece that has the legs on it was broken. This piece was packed in the middle of the box so there is no way it got broken in shipment. This piece looked like this when it was packed up !!!!!  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!!!!! 

I called the numbered furnished for part replacement and they are sending a replacement part in about a week !!!  Glad this isn't something I have an immediate need for.
I went back to my log for the evening and hubbie went back to his race since it has been under a rain delay in Texas.
Daughter sent me this poem tonight that her pastor read in church this morning. I like it !!!

I am thankful today for the freedom to worship as I please and for a wonderful church family to share the love of Jesus Christ with.
God Bless and Good Night.

DRAW DOWN SATURDAY

I'm glad I didn't believe the 37 degree temps forecast for this morning and moved all my plants inside last night. Our thermometer said 34 degrees and there was frost everywhere this morning !!!  Our first frost of the season !!

I did chores and headed out to market wondering what the cooler  temps would do to business?? Sometimes cooler weather actually puts folks in a buying mood, we'll see what happens today !!
Hubbie helped me get set up and then waited on the lady with the 5 cake order to come so he could help her get to her car with all her cakes. Thankfully she came early and he left right after as he has a busy leaf blowing day ahead of him. We don't like the leaves against the house with the fire danger that we have now. He needs to get these raked off before this colder night time weather causes the rest of them to fall off the trees.

Market was very slow again today making me very thankful for the orders I had.
After market I made a stop at Aldi for a couple things to bake with next Wednesday as it will be an easy baking day !!!
I came home to help hubbie with the last couple tarps full of leaves he was dragging into the woods.

I made sure we got all the leaves and acorns from my stone pathway up the hill to the hen houses as I almost slid down this morning.

We did chores early once again today so we could get out to the high school to the annual "draw down" fund raiser they always have. This is the main fundraiser for the athletic dept. at the school.
They sell 299 tickets for $100 each and also have loads of donated items from local businesses to auction off. They then auction off the final 300th ticket when there are only 10 tickets left. This ticket always brings a good price, tonight it brought $850.
Each ticket holder gets 2 Outback steak meals and coupons for Outback foods. G-daughter and g-son and I after our steak supper !

G-daughter wasn't feeling well after her flu shot yesterday so her and her mom left after we ate but #1 son stayed with their 2 tickets.
Daughter was the ticket drawer once again this year.

#1 son did the best with one of his tickets as his was the 286th ticket drawn. Coincidentally the same exact number one of his tickets got up to last year.
The last 2 ticket holders decided to split the $6000 prize money.
We got home at 10:00 with our coupons and water bottles !!! but it is always fun and we get to visit with alot of neighbors we hardly ever see.
I did manage to catch my blog post up tonight, yeah  !!! Remember these two important things starting tonight  !!

Thankful tonight for the very supportive community I live in and for all my blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night.

THE BEAUTY AND BOUNTY OF THIS LATE FALL SEASON

Out to enjoy what the weather gurus are calling our last summer like morning today. After chores, breakfast and devotions I took advantage of the warm sunshine and walked for awhile taking in all the beauty of the season around the farm. These are the areas that usually have the most color around here but this year things are kind of drab .

Even the drabness of Fall creates beauty under the gorgeous blue sky.

Here is a late pano of our November garden which is strange as we usually have already put our garden to bed by this time each year.

It is a blessing to still have fresh tomatoes from our garden with even more blooms.

We still even have squash blooms.

We are still getting some delicious blackberries even though they are along side the driveway and get very dusty.

And these Roses have literally bloomed all summer and fall and still have pretty blooms.

I imagine hubbie will need a ladder to harvest some of his guord crop this year. This looks like a guord tree!!!

I am surprised at how some things have continued to produce and even bloom in the drought we are experiencing. Although I think the birds are going to be looking harder for food this winter as the berries are drying up quickly on the plants that usually feed them.
I have never seen these Beauty Berries dry up like this.

Even the favorite Kousa Dogwood berries are dry and black instead of their juicy red color.

These wild Clematis look like brown puffs instead of the pretty white they usually are.

The drought map just keeps getting worse for our area as we are now in the extreme conditions !!
.

I sure will miss these little morning brighteners when the weather finally gets cold.

Back inside I baked 6 caramel, 2 chocolate, 1 coconut and 2 pound cakes before having lunch.
After lunch I did some housecleaning and brought out my Thanksgiving decorations.
I was resting on the front porch when hubbie got in from work with a hot cup of  tea and a jacket on  for the first time as the breeze that is blowing in the cold front that is predicted to give us our first frost of the season is really cooling things off fast this evening. The sky is certainly clear enough for a cold front to move in and this sliver of a moon really stands out against the darkening blue Fall sky.

Hubbie and I moved all my plants inside this evening just in case the 37 degree  temp forecast for tonight is missed !!!
Friday is my usual watering day but I didn't water them this morning so they would be lighter to carry and I watered them after we got them inside the basement.
There is fewer this year than in the past because of the dry weather most of my herbs are already dead.

 This fern is about 5 years old and has doubled its size this summer.

 I hate moving this prickly Crown of Thorns cactus but I love it's meaning and the fact that each time I look at it I am reminded of Jesus giving His life for our sins.

My Christmas Cactus is full of buds ready to burst into bloom as soon as it feels the warm inside temperature. On the wood stove in the living room is a good "out of reach" place for it this year.

After chores I iced my cakes and then tried to catch up on my blog but still fell short 1 day.  That tells what kind of busy week I've had !!!
Thankful tonight for the blessings of beauty in nature that our wonderful creator gives us each season.
God Bless and Good Night

SLOW MARKET AND SALSA MAKING

Up to get chores done and get to market on time on another remarkably warm,77, November day.
Market was very slow today as I expected. I did some Christmas shopping with a couple other vendors to pass the time and get a jump of my gifts this year.
After market I ran regular errands and picked up a few baking supplies for tomorrow at Aldi and Walmart.
I got home and got unloaded and did the chores a little early so I could head over to daughter's when she got home from her basketball practice and help her make salsa tonight.
I got to her house about 6:15 and we dived right into the tomatoes we picked from the field across the creek last week. She had a basket full of peppers she had picked from her little raised bed garden and she had bought a bag of onions and the spices yesterday.
It took longer than I expected and I was glad hubbie who had considered coming along decided not to as we worked long past his bedtime.
We finally got the last canner full off the stove at 9:45, whew !!!  But we were rewarded with 20 pints of delicious salsa for her and Josh to enjoy . Their house smelled wonderful !!!

I think blog post are a bit boring without multiple pics so I will make this one short but I will put one pic on here to remind us of the beautiful mountains at this time of year. This is a fellow Curb Market vendors farm up on Sugarloaf Mountain.

Thankful tonight for fresh produce and the ability to preserve it and the special time with my daughter and her hubbie.
God Bless and Good Night.

BLESSED WEDNESDAY

Up and out early to begin this busy day.
While I ran some errands this morning I remembered Opra's chia tea latte that I love from Starbucks !
Their coffee is a bit strong for my taste but this hot chia tea, perfect !!!

I had to laugh at this!  How would you even pronounce this ????

When I looked for something for lunch after I got back home I discovered the 2 bunches of radishes I had bought at the flea market and roasted them for a delicious lunch. I tossed the radishes in olive oil with thyme and parmesan cheese and baked them for about 20 minutes at 450 . They turned out very good.

I baked cakes after lunch, 6 caramel and 4 pound cakes. I am expecting a major slow down in market this week, Especially with the dang Colonial gas line shut down again for the second time in 2 months creating gas shortages throughout the southeast. This time unfortunately a worker lost his life as a track hoe digging near the line hit it and caused a huge explosion and fire injuring several other workers also. There are already lines forming at gas stations once again.
I got finished with my baking about the same same time hubbie came home from work. We watched the news then did evening chores.
Another beautiful Fall sunset ended this gloriously blessed day.

I did weekly paperwork and paid bills then iced my caramel cakes while watching Survivor on TV. I need an early bedtime tonight as I am very tired.
Especially grateful tonight for the blessings of this day and humbly grateful for Jesus as He continues to shower only the blessings that can come from Heaven down on the family.
God Bless and Good Night.

NOVEMBER COMES IN LIKE A LATE SUMMER MONTH

Getting back into bed with g-daughter this morning to wait the 8am alarm was pretty futile as she was not interested in any more sleep today !!
She had breakfast and then I got her ready for day care. She walked into the church and then marched right into her room like a big girl. It makes me glad to see her like this little time away from home this much.
I came back home to do the chores and have my breakfast.
By the time I get back it is 9:00 and when I get chores done and have breakfast and devotions I don't have very much time left to get anything started. I changed the bed covers this morning then it was time to head back to town to pick her up.
She was very tired as usual and was asleep as soon as we hit the street.
She slept for an hour after we got home. I had a light lunch as I don't feel great today. I think my two days of Halloween candy fun is taking its tole on my sensitive stomach !!!
I changed out the rugs in both bathrooms while she slept . When she woke up she was not hungry but did eat a  few green beans before she pitched a fit to get out of her high chair.
We played for awhile until I noticed one of my pullets in the back yard. I put g-daughter in the stroller and went up and got her back in her lot. I have no idea how she got out as she is in the covered lot and couldn't have flown over the fence.
G-daughter was unimpressed with my chicken herding skills !!!!

I pushed her around the drive a couple times to see if she needed more sleep but she didn't so we came inside to play in the sunroom.
A g-daughter sized pumpkin !!!!

She got so sleepy by the time her mom came after her that she was staggering around but she refused to even lay in my lap for a nap !!! She is one stubborn little girl.
After she went home I cleaned the bathrooms and all the glass in the house before taking a nice break.

This is another beautiful upper 70's day and this was a nice way to rest for a few minutes watching as a light breeze blew more colorful leaves loose from the trees and they slowly fluttered down to join the ba-zillion already on the ground this year.

This month's "view from here" picture displays the drought condition we are in as the browning pastures on both sides of the road signal an early hay feeding year for the cattle.

There is still no rain of any significance coming in the fore-seeable future.
A normal November looks like the chart below. I wonder what we will get ???

I did chores and then rested for a while before going downstairs and putting in my stationary bike riding for the night to try and improve my leg muscle strength.
I am still not feeling up to par tonight and am looking forward to an early bedtime.
Found this drone photo of downtown Hendersonville at 7pm tonight. I wanted to post this and then post one next Monday night when daylight savings time ends to show the difference.

Thankful for the blessings of this day and praying that God watch over my family as we start a new month. Thankful for my wonderful family and our new additions this year on this first day of the "Thanksgiving " month.
God Bless and Good Night.