Fall Is Here

Hello! A nasty head cold has left me rather listless this past week. Nevertheless, since fall was ushered in this week, I decided to take a few photos of the beginning of the season.

Above, a greeting card featuring a photo from Vickie McCall Carpenter. Knowing my love of squirrels, a friend visiting Asheville, North Carolina last fall brought the card back as a gift to me. White squirrels are found in the nearby town of Brevard, where a festival in their honor occurs every year. I hadn't heard of them before receiving this card, and now I'll happily display it every fall. 

My fall weathergram. Information on this seasonal project can be found here.

In spite of fall's arrival a few days ago, the weekend had summer-like temperatures. This was good for my vegetable garden, which is mostly still hanging in there:

The tomato variety seen above is called Stupice and does well in cooler weather. I never know what kind of summer weather we're going to have, so I like to hedge my bets by growing some Stupices in case we're short on heat waves. It was a relatively hot summer this year but this variety didn't seem to mind. And even though it's beginning to get cooler, my Stupice plants are still going strong. 

This is a smaller-sized tomato, 4 ounces or less. Still, I had enough of them to make pasta sauce the other day.

Above, a Leutschauer Paprika pepper. I've never been all that fond of the powdered paprika sold in stores; too often it seems to be more about adding color to a dish than adding any flavor. Not a problem with home-grown paprika peppers! Picked when red, then dried in my food dehydrator, I'll then have them on hand to grind fresh as needed. Chicken Paprikash never had it so good!

(Paprika seeds can be hard to find. I found my variety here.)

Lots of sedum in our yard:

I don't know what variety this is, as it had been planted by a previous owner. (It might very well be 'Autumn Joy'). I keep dividing that original planting; by now I have six clumps in various parts around the yard, including the above location next to the garage. It has done so well no matter where I've stuck it that most of the clumps could use some more dividing!

Not from my yard, but still an important part of fall:

Above, an Empire apple from the local farmer's market. I ate this one for lunch, and also have plans for apple crisp as well with some of the other Empires. 
 
That's actually one of my favorite things about this time of year - baking with seasonal fruits like apples and pumpkins. Summer is my favorite season, but fall does have its charms as well. And anyway, since fall is here, might as well enjoy it!