Monday, September 25, 2017

Autumn Garden, Jam and Leopards

It's officially Autumn.. the garden is happy from the rain after 3 dry months.  The koi do not know that the winter is coming, lucky for them.  I hope it's not as bad as last year.


I can see gold and brown notes in the foliage, the maple is starting to turn.



My old Hydrangea bush is becoming more appreciated in my garden, not only is it beautiful when it blooms, but the flowers fade and stay on until the winter winds blow them to shreds.



A closeup looks like a watercolor.  Wouldn't these colors make a nice crocheted blanket?  Purple, lime green, blush pink.. 


The pagoda and art nouveau lady garden sculptures are girding for the winds and snow to come.


The Autumn sun slants across the back door.



My son Travis was offered a 5 gallon bucket of raspberry puree, seedless and we snapped it up.  Kristi's mom offered to make raspberry freezer jam out of it for us.. (wahoo!) and brought it out and put it in our freezer.  Oh my goodness.. what a happy turn of events!  I had to test it out, it would have been rude not to.. :-) and toasted an English muffin, spread it with creamy peanut butter and lovingly placed a spoonful of jam on it.  Munch munch.. nirvana!  I so much prefer it without seeds!  We have effusively thanked her mom for doing this for us.


My sister Denise, her husband Steve and my nephew Shane went on a 3 week African photo safari and Shane shared some of his photos yesterday on Facebook.  I asked permission to share a few of my favorites.  He will be placing these on his photo website soon and I will share a link so you can see more of these.  I'm so impressed with Shane as he's an engineer but also has a well-defined artistic eye with his photography and has learned to use the high end equipment that stymies me!  This is a leopard of which he captured an image.  These are from the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, Africa.



Isn't this bird shot amazing?  He looks a little unhappy, doesn't he?  LOL!



A giraffe ambling along.



I love the juxtaposition of the Leopard on the ancient dry tree.



 Our son and DIL have had quite a time in Maui, Hawaii - I will share some of their photos soon.  The arrive home late this evening.  We'll all be glad to see them.  

I'm off to swim soon.. I must say that immersing myself in water and stroking and kicking my way along lets me forget for a while that our country is on the brink of a nuclear war due to 2 men with too much power and a propensity towards chest beating may lead to the loss of millions of lives and possibly our planet.  ::huge sigh::

I hope you're keeping your head above water!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

16 comments:

  1. That jam looks super yummy! Such a nice gift. I loved the leopard in the tree photo. It's quite amazing. Enjoy your week. Pat xx

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  2. The colors on the close up of the Hydrangea flower are among my favorite colors, and they would make a lovely blanket I think. The photos from Africa are wonderful, and the grumpy looking bird made me laugh out loud :) I just saw a text on my phone that Rooster Rock and The Women's Forum have been reopened! Progress! xx

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  3. Oh my. That peanut butter and jam is making my mouth water! Beautiful exotic photos from your nephew too. He definately has a talent with photography. I share your worry for this country....it keeps me up at night. sigh

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  4. I must say that Kristi, and her mom, are gems!! Wow, that freezer jam is quite a score. I don't quite know what to say about the state of our country. I ready about it each day and feel deeper into sadness.....

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  5. Freezer jam, koi, lovely flowers and gorgeous animal shots! Such a lovely post Teresa. I'm all packed and ready for the airport tomorrow. I hope winter doesn't come on too quickly.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  6. Oh that jams sounds awesome and I love peanut butter so I know I would enjoy. Those photos are incredible so much lovely detail and that angry bird lol lol Our world is a mess and does not help any of us rest at all "sad sigh"

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  7. You had me at "Seedless Raspberry Jam"! What a nice thing to have gifted.
    It looks like the Gorge is slowly coming back to life. With a lot of hard work, replanting, and loads of cleaning up it will eventually thrive once again.

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  8. The jam looks delicious, I have just eaten some jam on warm bread, amazing! The photos were a delight, what a talented young man. I am looking forward to seeing more.

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  9. Raspberry jelly is one of my faves too. I use my vintage jelly sieve which allows some if the seeds through. I could use cheesecloth but that takes more work. How nice to get the puree all ready to go.

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  10. Lovely garden pictures and amazing Africa shots! The jam looks so delicious. Enjoy your swim and your week ahead. xox

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  11. Amazing exotics photos!!! I hope your koi fare better this year
    Now, I MUST go google frozen jam!

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  12. Yum...looks delicious jam. Great wildlife photos too xx

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  13. Yummy jam! Homemade jam is the best and I wish I had more time to make it! Wildlife shots from Kenya are amazing! The bird photo just makes me laugh! Something obviously made him mad! {Run over his family?} lol...Your hydrangeas are lovely. Mine didn't do too well this year. But they are alive though! Glad you had the rain you needed to quench the dryness and squelch some of those fires closer to you than I wished was there. Is there still smoke in the air there? We've got some here and you can see it. My lungs haven't been to happy lately. Take care, hugs and smiles!

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  14. What beautiful nature photos, definite talent there. Your garden is looking lovely with its autumn hints. Hopefully it won’t get too cold for your fish. My middle son has two indoor tanks. One cold water and one tropical. They are always so mesmerising to watch. Have a good week. B x

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  15. Beautiful photos. I love giraffes and that photo made me happy. How good does jam look?!
    Hugs,
    Sharon

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