I looked back quickly earlier this morning and realized that I missed posting a What’s Happening update in October. The Halloween hoopla kind of overtakes everything around here, even as the kids get older.
Anyway, it’s November and we have had absolutely beautiful weather. I hate dismantling the deck so I resisted and resisted. Michael is the primary dismantler and he prefers to do it without snow on the deck. I don’t mind a little snow if it means that we’ve enjoyed coffee or lunch (it’s too dark for dinner) one more time. But, the time has come and it’s been reduced to this:
A lovely pile of pots that need to be washed out as soon as possible.
It has to happen but it’s never pretty.
Down in the garden the chard is still beautiful. I took pictures of it covered with frost last week…
It’s amazing how some plants bounce back!
Same thing with the cilantro…
The sage can still be used for Thanksgiving.
And I don’t think the lemon balm ever really dies.
Herbs are just so darned hardy!
I took this little bunch of geranium plants in to soak for awhile. I think I’ll plant them in pots and winter them over in my office.
The asparagus fern will probably be on the table on Thanksgiving day.
As will the last clump of carrots that I harvested this morning.
This very grateful girl is wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
And so am I!
We are both blessed!
Enjoy everything!
Love, Michele








Macro’d cilantro…


I’m still kind of partial to the Cut and Come Again variety of zinnia.
This single shoot of bellflower popped up on the opposite side of the fence among the pepper plants.
Sedum is one of my favorite fall plants. This small variety has very delicate flowers.
This white daisy-like chrysanthemum is being crowded out by other plants in the bed, but there’s a bit that’s still with us. I need to thin the iris, echinacea and black-eyed susan that surround it. If anyone from the area would like starts of any of those plants leave me a message in the comments and we’ll work it out.














Before we left for the bike parade I chopped back some parsley yesterday.
I left some to keep it growing as long as I can.
washed it off well..
chopped off the leaves…
and then chopped them finely.
I put it into an ice cube tray..
then I added some water and froze it until today.
Now I have parsley ice cubes, all ready for winter cooking!
I stuck them in a freezer bag and stored them away.
Another easy way to freeze parsley is to just pop it into a bag like Michael’s mom does. I was feeling pretty ambitious yesterday when I made the ice cubes. I enjoy that moment in January when I come home from a busy day and just pop the little cube into the dish I’m making. It’s really your preference.
This…







A broccoli flower that actually looks like broccoli! Will there be more? Time will tell…
These need to be picked and cooked or frozen today. I wish I was a canner…
What do you think about this bit of browning on the bottom of the stalk? Anyone? Miss Betsey, you may have a thought here. I’m hoping it’s okay.
Tomatillos… hundreds of them… salsa verde here we come!