Happy Halloween!

I didn't do any decorating this year for Halloween as generally no one comes to our place. The Gargoyle was a new photo I did yesterday when the storms moved in. 

The rest below are from years past.

When I decorated the woods out back with creepy ghosts and Twana Stick figures...

Happy Halloween if you celebrate it. 

Fun stuff

 The Gritty Girls

This is just going to be ...

the Fun Stuff. 

Why not? 

Mirth is out picking mushrooms. I think she is looking for those psychedelic ones!

We TOLD Harriet NOT to play with the food!

Hobby enjoys wandering the woods looking for cool fungi. She found Scrambled Egg Slime Mold aka Dog Vomit Slime Mold. Real name: Fuligo Septica 

Hobby and Susan stop to cool off in the creek after hiking.

Garden Gargoyles discussing the Welcome Friends sign. Obviously they are not impressed.

It is obvious that some of the gals need a bit more education on how to carry a load on a skid steer...

No one was injured.

This weather has been bad for mowing and some outdoor activities. But if one likes fungi and slime molds, this is absolutely great weather.

More on that soon.

Sneak peek:

Around the house

I am happy that I decided to purchase fresh veggies at the local Farmer's Market and some of the local folks who raise produce this year.

Old Garden:

I have a bit more time on my hands which means I can spend more time making my flower gardens look a bit more tidy. 

As this new heat wave bears down on us, I am finding things to do on the porch outside. It stays fairly nice in the shade and generally there is a nice breeze that flows through. 

This old table was given to me a few years ago. It is in a sad state of disrepair so I cut pieces of wood and did what I could to stabilize it enough as I figure out what I am going to do with it. It sat under the pine trees for a couple of years with pots of begonias on it.

The table should be tossed. But I figure if I can brace it up enough and cut down the legs [or not], I could use it as a coffee/craft table on the porch. [What I wouldn't do for a nice gate leg table!]

The project table is on the porch along with paints. I spray painted a coffee can and a Gatorade bottle for Porch Vases. Maybe it is tacky too, but I like flowers on the porch as well as in the house. I don't like broken glass!

I've always loved the idea of a Fairy Garden. I am constantly moving little things around so that I can be amused at what I have put together.

I love this little Zen Dragon. 

I move him/her around quite often. 

Morning light on a 'Fairy Garden' made 
out of an old pie dish.
It sits on a rickety old chair I
gussied up.

My pallet garden is doing as expected. The tomatoes are doing great and I've used old fence posts and twine to stabilize the plants. I know, tacky, but it was on hand and easier than trying to use a cage. 

The plants that are coming up in the slats are doing fair too. They are coming along a bit slower than those flowers on the east side of the house. The west side has good sun but good afternoon shade too from the locust trees. I think with the heat wave, those plants will do better than the ones exposed to the sun and wind all day.

Other surprises in my garden.
There are the gargoyles who resided in the Forest Garden last year. Right now they are in the growing flower garden. They look happy there! 
Last year the raccoon kept knocking over the gargoyles! This poor fella had his wings chipped.

This fellow sits on another stump and is the Welcome Gargoyle. [Yeah, I like dragons and gargoyles and I am weird.]

This is the porch in the morning. Many of my plants are in old Maple Syrup buckets that Rich's Grandfather used. It is handy to grab the buckets and move them around. 

More Fairy/Dragon/Gardens. I keep changing things up as it suits me. 

Things are going to be hot and muggly. I hope all my friends and their animals do well for the next few days.

I let my mules out to the forest where they can get down into the creek area. I walked there this morning and it was definitely about 10 degrees cooler than in the meadow!

Stay cool!

Stuck indoors

If anyone at all was following the Midwest weather, then they know about the string of subzero weather we had.

It was kind of nasty but not the worst string of cold we've had. It is no secret that I like winter and enjoy snow sports.

Getting stuck inside for days on end except for chores makes me stir crazy. 

While hubby took his morning nap, I checked on my outdoor critters then decided to do a bit of Fun Fotography. 

My camera assistant helped of course.

Charlie carefully rearranged my herd of unicorns.

So happy that he got them rounded up!

I got out the woodsy guys and placed them on the floor. The light could have been better, but I'm still working on that. 

The hard part was bouncing the dim light from the windows onto the characters I was using and keeping the black foam board in back black.

When the boss woke up, he immediately tuned into ESPN, YouTube, and Showtime for boxing and sports at volume  ~~ VERY LOUD. I guess all the excitement of wearing hearing aides have worn off as they sit on the table gathering dust again.

There is nothing in the world that drives me more crazy than screaming fans and commentators that yell.

My cell phone was charged up so I grabbed my cheapo ear buds and plugged them in. Pandora, take me away!

Thunder from Imagine Dragons was the first thing I heard. 
Music seems to inspire and make me move and -- sometimes do a bit of a dance. It cheers me up and gets me motivated.

I danced in my own head and swayed to the music. One good tune after another. Charlie looked at me and closed his eyes. 

Thank goodness for music and ear buds!

This is what things look like for taking some fun still life stuff. No fancy studio. Just some black felt or white boards on top of the old trunk next to the back door.

Let there be Lego People and Monsters!

Tea time anyone?

Feed the monsters and they will be happy!