The Frost is on the Pumpkin!

Just over a week ago we had our second hard frost which finished off most of the flowers in the gardens.

October 29th: Second hard frost

My hubby's pumpkin/squash/gourd patch yielded a wonderful harvest and gave us lots of colorful decorations for Halloween and the Harvest Supper at church.

You can see that most of the leaves have fallen, due to some very windy, wet weather over that weekend (Oct. 27th).

Hubby got creative and did the fall decorating in the front yard.

He found an old wheelbarrow that had been his mom's, and filled it with pumpkins, squash and gourds. I was really impressed with the result. He has hidden talents that I'm only just discovering! (I wonder if I can interest him in cooking........ ;)

I wonder where he's off to now.... ?

I planted those nasturtiums late, and thanks to our warm fall they gave us some lovely late color. For those who asked, the white pumpkins are called Lumina. We used them for decoration only, but I assume they're edible. The catalogue doesn't say they're good for pies, which leads me to believe they may not be the most flavorful. But I'm just guessing.

Early in August we extended the fence garden a little (one of several we made a bit bigger this summer), and I planted a few flowers that I'd started from seed. Not really expecting much in the way of blooms because of the late start, I was pleasantly surprised when they gave us a lovely show, which lasted until just about a week ago.

Calendulars are hardier than some plants. They managed to survive a couple of frosts, and were a lovely bright spot in the yard with their cheery faces of bright yellow..........

..........and orange.

There are a few zinnias and some 4 O'Clocks mixed in, as well as those delicate little pink flowers....

......which are Baby Snapdragons (Toadflax). They were a nice surprise in a seed mix I started.

The calendulars made a sunny bouquet for church.

This was the view looking up the hill from our farm just 2 and a half weeks ago.

And I caught Pete sitting on a post the same day.

Looking south

There were still a few lovely colors left after the storm on the 27th. This was taken driving home from school on Oct. 29th.

It was a bright sunny afternoon after that very frosty morning.

The geese have flown south.

I miss hearing their honking down on the river, and seeing their v-formation as they fly overhead.

The outdoor wood furnace is keeping us warm and cozy inside.

We saw our first snow today!! It was just a few light showers and didn't stick, but seeing those snowflakes and feeling the chill certainly made it feel like Old Man Winter had arrived! That's just a little more of Hubby's pumpkin and squash harvest.

But there's more!

We've been freezing some squash and have had plenty to share.

And the gourds make pretty decorations.

The white marigolds from Anita in Germany bloomed beautifully, and so did Marion's 4 O'Clocks from Wales, again thanks to our 'extended summer' temperatures.

Aren't they pretty?

I was afraid the frost would kill them too early, but we were lucky to enjoy plenty of lovely blooms!

However, this is how they looked on that frosty morning of Oct. 29th. The Alyssum is still going strong (that "Sweet Alice" is tough stuff!), and the red Diascia is still putting out a few blooms.

I've been working on emptying all the containers while Jasmine has been chasing leaves. Next year I vow to restrain myself and plant fewer containers!

As I picked up this fuchsia to bring it inside I saw this Monarch butterfly sitting on a stem. It apparently wasn't in good enough shape to migrate, so I just left it on the plant to be sheltered from the cold wind on the enclosed porch.

Some of the flowers in the containers are still looking good. This Marguerite, with the Persian Shield is certainly too pretty to throw away so I'll save it on the side porch for a while. It'll be sheltered until the temperatures get really cold.

We discovered that Jasmine likes to eat the stems of summer squash! She doesn't like the green zucchini so much, but she ate the whole stem of the one she's munching on here. What a crazy cat :)
I hope to have a little more time to visit my blog friends soon. Working at school is keeping me a little too busy, and tired at the end of the day. I find myself nodding off at the computer so I can't seem to fit in more than a few visits before I have to trot off to bed.

I hope you're all enjoying November. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!