Today you will learn something...

 I have walked 10,000 steps every day for 37 days.  I only meant to do 10,000 steps every day of October.  Now that I am in the habit, it seems pretty easy.  What a fall.  When the weather is perfect, walking is a breeze.  

We had a nice day filled with rain and then a skiff of snow that night.   The rain made the pine trees bubble.  Yes, pine trees bubble.  Of course I didn't have my camera.  My husband didn't believe me, but then he looked it up.  The reason bubbles form is because the trees have accumulated dust and pollen.  Then when it rains, this rainwater dissolves the accumulated dust, minerals, and organic compounds, turning them into a natural, soap-like solution called stemflow.  

This is a picture from the internet.  Now you can say you learned something. That is as educational as I'm going to get today.

We are starting to see a lot of larger bucks around.  I'm not really sure if I will do much hunting as our freezer is full of elk.  If I do get one, I think I will grind most of it into burger.  

Our maple is still holding on to its leaves.  They look so pretty in the sun.  

Have you ever seen a pine tree blow bubbles?  Are there many deer where you are?  

Trick or Treat?

 Well, the deer celebrate Halloween as they came trick or treating at our house. 

They tricked us and treated themselves to the great pumpkin on our porch.

And that is the sad ending for the great pumpkin. 

I finally sat down and made this apron from a pair of jeans.  I've wanted to do this forever.  I love the bright yellow against the denim.  I am actually going to use it in the garden.  

This isn't a very good picture, but I bottled my rhubarb and dandelion wine. I've got some sour cherry, sweet cherry, and hard apple cider in queue.

They had raspberries on sale at the grocery store.  I took advantage and made raspberry chocolate chip biscotti. It is delicious.  I love biscotti, but it is impossible to find in South Dakota.  We are more of a scone state.  

Another spooky Halloween photo.  The weather has been very nice here.  Do you like biscotti?  Did you celebrate Halloween?  We don't get trick-or-treaters (not counting the deer).  Do you?  If so how many?  

Always busy...

 I have been super busy this weekend.  I took my basket of apples, quartered them, and then ran them through the blender.  After that, they went into the apple press. I won't lie; I haven't been looking forward to this project. It is a lot of work.  The end result will hopefully be a batch of hard cider.  

Last weekend, while my husband and I were sitting on the deck enjoying the fall day we heard a freight train going through the leaves.  We look down and there he was.  Trudging across the yard on his way somewhere.  He didn't stop at the water tank for a drink.  I love ruffed grouse.  They are independent little buggers. 

The bluejays always move in during the fall season.  I put out peanuts for them.  This isn't my best picture, but I loved the blue against the red leaves.  

It really feels like fall here.  It has been cool and foggy.  We had our first serious freeze this weekend.  Dollor is loving the cooler weather and is always up for a walk. 

Do you like my spooky photo?  I had fun taking pictures of the moon when I was walking Dollor last night.  This one is my favorite. 

Did you have a nice fall where you are?  Have you ever made apple cider?  Used a cider press?  

Why I love autumn..

 I'm in love with autumn...

It brings the cranes from the north, swooping, swirling, and singing. Flecks of white and black against a bright blue fall sky. A reminder that winter is near. 

Cloudy days with a sweater weather nip in the air.  The first frost of fall leaves your breath visible, hanging in the air.

The leaves in colorful juxtapositions across the green grass.  Rustling as they restlessly wander with the winds.   

Foggy days walking down golden paths. The scent is damp and earthy. 

Water droplets form on fallen leaves.  Infatuated with each leaf; an individual work of art. 

I am forever grateful for the beauty that surrounds me.  Every day brings something new and awe inspiring.  What is your favorite season?  

Harvest...

 We did it.  We harvested a beautiful bull elk.  For anyone who thinks hunting is just tromping out into the woods and shooting something, you are so wrong.  It is waking up at 4:30 am.

 listening in the dark, deep in the woods.

Trying to figure out which way they are going and then tip toe through branch strewn woods.

Cow elk are hypersensitive.  They will see you coming long before you see them. 

A herd of elk can disappear into a thicket of small pine trees in an instant.  All you can see is their feet and hear the occasional call.  A 900 lb animal doesn't make a noise; meanwhile, I sound like a freight train moving at half the pace they are.

It wasn't easy and it shouldn't be. Elk hunting is humbling.  Now comes the real work, butchering.  That will take a couple of days.  I think that is the other part of hunting people don't understand.  The work that ensues after the shot.  The quartering, hauling out of the woods, preparing, and then butchering.  That elk roast tastes even better, knowing all the work you yourself put forth before it was eaten. 

Have you ever seen or heard an elk in the wild?  Have you ever tasted elk meat? Have you ever butchered your own meat? 

Into the forest I must go...

Into the woods I must go to lose myself and find my soul...

 My husband has an elk tag and I am loving it.  I took 2 weeks off from work.  I really needed some time in the woods.  It has been great.  Some days we are hearing bulls and seeing elk, and some days nothing.  

I don't mind the nothing, it brings me peace to sit and watch the leaves flutter, the birds puttering around, and sitting next to the man I love.   

Early mornings looking up at the stars.  The smell of fall and earth.  Also, the smells of rutting bulls, not as pleasant. 

I've taken tons of pictures and some video of bugling bulls.  I could have had several elk pictures, but I was too busy calling. 

The best part of elk hunting is wandering through the woods with my husband.  We know the area very well and it is fun reliving memories of prior hunts. 

We've put on quite a few miles of walking, quite a bit of sitting, and an occasional nap in the woods.  It is amazing how easy it is to snooze out in the fresh air.  One of us is always keeping watch and there to nudge the other if they start snoring. 

How do you de-stress?  Have you ever heard an elk bugle?  

A gardeners work is never done...

Today I re-did the front flower bed.  It needed thinning out and I wanted to add some plants that I was unable to have prior to fencing it out.  I love asters and that was the first thing the deer eat, along with my phlox. 

Above I slowly took everything out.  Below is all of my phlox, it went crazy and took over the whole bed. 

I added some more topsoil and some compost.  As you can see in the photos below.  You can also see that my iris also was a little out of control.  I forgot I had three types of iris and reconfigured everything for two types of iris.  Now I'm trying to figure out how to put the third iris back in and which plants are from the third iris. 

I added a huge assortment of tuilps.  I lined the bottom of the trench with bonemeal.  I'm really excited to see how they do.  It is a Christmas present to myself, only I have to wait 7m months to see what it looks like.

In the front, I put a bunch of grape hyacinths and mini daffodils. I tried to be careful, but towards the end I was just shoving them in there. 

 

Also on the gardening front, my husband's pumpkin weighed in at 93.8 lbs.  He is disappointed as he wanted to hit 100, but last year he has 75 lbs. so I would say that is a great improvement.  My little white pumpkin came in at a whopping 6.5 lbs. Needless to say, he is not worried about me beating him out.  

How often do you re-do your garden beds?  Have you ever grown a great pumpkin?