A week in pictures: Fall, paw paws, cooking & books

We've turned the corner into Fall.  The rains have come along with the cold.  Hats, scarves and wool blankets are handy.  Here's a bit of what's going on.

The baby and I in the hammock before the cold snap.

It was a really nice evening.

The oldest has emptied the potting soil out of the flower crocks on the porch.  He's been making tracks in the dirt for his toy cars.  Sure - I guess it's a "mess" but it also buys me time, a very valuable commodity around here.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through this.  Had read this before when I was younger, maybe 12? A fun read about the Appalachian Trail

Have been blissfully reading some back issues I got at the book sale.  I *love* this magazine.

I made this pasta dish from that issue.  It's simply Italian sausage, sweet onions, thyme (lots) and cream (half & half).  We didn't have penne pasta so this is what I used. It was light and a nice change to try something new. The thyme was nice.

And then the cold came.  This little guy is talking, talking, talking, in a 3-month old way.  It's  just beautiful.  And usually at 4 a.m. Oh well.  I'll sleep when the kids are old. This season of my life won't last forever and I intend to enjoy it.

They're so pretty.  We need to do some sort of Fall craft project soon.  I'm thinking that we may make "stained glass" by arranging leaves between waxed or contact paper.  Maybe a mobile? 

  

Wow, these beauties.  What a wonderful surprise.  My father came over yesterday with these in a little storage container.  "Where did you get these?!" I asked.  Paw Paws.  I was thrilled.  This fruit is native to our area of the country but I've never seen one let alone eaten one.  It's been kind of like chasing a unicorn.  These are domesticated ones.  He was at a relative's house, saw them and though I might like to try them.  It was not unlike the time we were gifted a pile of quince.

The flavor is like a wonderful blend of pineapple, quince and banana.  The texture is like a custard.  And they are full of seeds.  Lucky for me.

Look! They're huge.  I know you need two types to cross pollinate.  The plot he got these from did have two varieties.  So I'm going to save all of the seeds, plant them and cross my fingers.   

This summer was so busy that when we had extra tomatoes they just got tossed into the freezer whole.  I pulled them out today to deal with them and plan on making sauce tomorrow. Freezing tomatoes whole is so handy; it couldn't be easier and the skin comes right off when they thaw.

A bunch of dahlias picked this week.  It's nice to see some beauty in the cold wet weather, see below:

Because this is what happens when it rains all night and I don't lock the geese up.  They're very, very happy.  I am not, as the area of the poultry yard nearest the gate and water barrel  has turned into a mud/goose poo area as slick as ice.  Ew, ew, ew. God help anyone nearby if I fall in it.

I met the ladies in our little book club for dinner tonight.  We're going to do some fun seasonal reading;  Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the short story by Daphne Du Mar that was turned into The Birds.