Rainbow Carrots

 We are having frosty weather so I decided to pull carrots from a pot outside. These are a variety called Rainbow Carrots which I bought from Halifax Seeds. I would imagine other companies carry this kind of assortment as well. The white carrot at the top is 8" long to the kink in the root so it is a good size, and the yellow one is a substantial size, too. I don't know why there is such variation in growth pattern as they were all in the same pot. In other locations, I found the red carrots grew better than even the orange carrots. Gardening- full of mysteries. I find the flavour of the red, orange and yellow carrots pretty similar, but the white carrots have a hint of parsnip taste. I like having the different colours as they brighten up any dish you add them to.

Late October Colours

I've been delaying doing a post as I am still uncomfortable working with the photos and getting them up on the blog with my new computer.  I have found a system for now but there may be a less round about way.  I'll keep watching Youtube videos for help. 

The leaves have all fallen off the trees and the days are dull. November, my least favourite month, is just around the corner.  With outings curtailed because of Covid, I knew I would need some projects to keep me going.

I signed up for a grammar course which is proving to be fun and helpful. You may see fewer grammar mistakes going forward.
 

I went through my left-over yarn and found three varieties that I thought would go well for an afghan. It will be off-white, old rose pink and cranberry. Maybe I'll post a photo when it's finished.

I also have been adding to the zazzle store I mentioned in the last post. Their interface is super easy to use and it's been fun to make latte mugs, and magnets, and coasters and spiral notebooks and wall pictures as well as a few other items. It gets to be a bit addictive because it is so easy to make a store. I see that every week they have some kind of sale. I'll keep putting up my store address in case anyone wants to look at it. It's not likely you would remember the name if it only appeared in one post. 

www.zazzle.ca/store/purpleasterdesigns .

I hope you are all finding ways to enjoy your time at home.

The pandemic won't last forever. Keep looking up.

New Ventures

 I have been in technological purgatory for the last few days and I am thrilled to pieces that I was able to upload this photo to Blogger. I am switching from my old, dying PC to a new Mac and there has been much hair pulling, a couple of calls to tech support, and LOTS of googling for solutions. Thank you, Youtubers.

This is a photo of Bella, my neighbours' dog.  She often accompanies me on my walks. She is very sweet but rarely wants any pats. She is a dog on a mission on our walks checking out all the driveways and making other dogs, who are responsibly penned up, go crazy when she pokes her nose at them through the fence.

Some maples are still colourful but we are passed the peak of the colour. 

I have started a new venture.  I have opened a store on zazzle.ca. I have been toying with the idea of an online shop for a while and finally settled on zazzle because they do all the backend stuff. I don't need to make any money from this which is a good thing as the profit margins are pretty slim, but it is something to help keep me busy over the darker months. I have some coffee mugs with garden and wildflower designs, some magnets with beach themes, and some blank cards with various photos. There are some other miscellaneous items as well. If you want to check out the shop, the address is www.zazzle.ca/store/purpleasterdesigns .    The name of the shop is PurpleAsterDesigns. The easiest way to get there is to go to the zazzle address. Zazzle has something on sale every week so sometimes coffee mugs or cards or whatever are 40% off. I'll post it if there is a relevant sale.

I hope you are all keeping well in every way. Take care.

Fall Scenes

I saw some nice colour on my walk today.  Always good to get a good shot of colour before the dark days of fall.

 Keep safe.

A Day Out

 

We had a lovely day out spending the afternoon visiting with family. We were about 2 1/2 hours drive west of home at a park on the St. Lawrence in the area known as the Thousand Islands.  The grandkids and their dad went for a one hour boat tour around some of the islands on the tour boat in the photo.

The sky and water were incredibly blue.  You can see the clouds reflected in the water. Click on photo for full screen.

The highlights of the clouds were so brilliant. Click on photo for full screen.

This little guy kept hanging around our picnic table hoping for a hand-out but we didn't have any food with us as this is yellow-jacket wasp season and none of us like being bothered by wasps.

A little miniature lighthouse to add to the nautical theme.

Lots of boats of various shapes and sizes at the marina.  We saw quite a few motor boats on the water but no sailboats. It was quite chilly down by the water but we even saw an intrepid man in t-shirt and shorts zooming around on his sea-doo.

The park had a nice playground for the children to amuse themselves in while the adults had a chat.

We may not see the grandkids until next spring if things continue the way they are with Covid so we were very thankful to get in a visit.

September Days

 

The nighttime temperatures are close to the freezing point and the trees and perennials are changing colour.

A colourful maple nestled in among the other trees.

Josephine Honore Japanese Anemone.

A funny angle of old Pepper who is now 23 years old. He earns his keep trimming the grass in the backyard. Silly old boy. I have owned him for 17 years now.

Jewelweed, Physostegia and Fungi

 

I was going to have the jewelweed photos at the top but I was having trouble rearranging the photos which for some reason went up in a backwards order.  Anyway, here are the fungi growing on some poplar logs.

We were without the internet for four days as our modem died. The thing I missed the most was the Weather Network and being able to check the radar map!  The news was same old, same old.

Some physostegia. They are a very pale pink which I find rather disappointing but the bees like them anyway.

They have taken over an area that used to have pale purple asters.  I guess that area is destined to be pale. I'm surprised the wild asters didn't put up more of a fight. There are a few plants left but a fraction compared with last year.

This area    also used to be full of asters and now it is primarily jewelweed and goldenrod. Never know what a year will bring.

The jewelweed (impatiens capensis) is quite pretty and the bees also like it.

Interesting shape - almost looks like it has a gill slit.

Lots of lovely spots and streaks. It is native to our area and pops up all over my gardens.. It is an annual and very easy to pull out. I don't really mind it. I have dealt with poison ivy, thistle, stinging nettles in my yard so pretty jewelweed is fine.