Eli was born Oct 26th

Weighing 8 lbs 9 3/4 oz and 20 inches long.

Recieved Dynamite Crape Myrtle Replacement!

One week from Monday, the baby will be here...that is 10 more days! And yes I am counting them down!

You can tell it is fall in our yard, with all the red and yellow maple leaves covering our yard. If it wasn't so rainy, I am sure the kids would enjoy some time outside playing in piles of leaves with daddy. But the rain just doesn't seem to want to stop. However, last night, it had stopped long enough for DS and DH to plant the Dynamite Crape Myrtle that was sent to replace the one that we recieved in the spring...which turned out to be white...not red!  So the boys spent the evening in the dark planting the tree and enjoying some father son time together!

He is doing a good job isn't he!

Such a good digger...my little gardener in the making!

I thought I would take a picture of the finished job this morning, still needs some mulch around to keep it warm hopefully. I was surprised to recieve it without a leaf on it...our other one still has leaves and buds, and this one came from GA which is much warmer than KY! I will enjoy seeing it bud and bloom in the spring!

Notice my Impatients above...they are practically bushes on the left and small plants on the right. Too much shade on that side I guess. And I thought these were shade plants! I will grow these again next year though. They looked much fuller and nicer than the Begonias I planted here last year! I might plant some of my tall Red Salvia behind them. Maybe a little trim on the Maple will get some more sun to the other side of the porch! I did get lots of compliments on my flowers in the front this year though. I feel like a proud gardener!

We transplanted the white Crape Myrtle in the back by the shed. Hopefully it will fill out and grow nicely and hide the ugly shed! It sits next to the Weigela, which is also very lovely in the spring...it does need a trim however! He is a little wild and out of control right now. But, it can't be trimmed till after blooming!

This is also right in the path of our white water river (when it rains). We have tried to plant some grass seed here but it has rained pretty hard, so we will see if we get anything!

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In other gardening....DH spent Saturday cleaning up some things in the yard. One of them being my veg garden. It looks so bare and messy doesn't it! The heavy rains have really done a number on the pathways and surrounding areas. Maybe we will be able to come up with a better plan next year to avoid it getting washed away! At least the veggies were in raised beds and did not get washed away!

I have also taken some cuttings from some of my pepper plants, just to experiment and see what happens. Especially since my Habanero never got big enough to bloom or grow fruits. So I thought maybe I would try inside. We'll see what happens. In the white pot is or was my Gloxinia. It died off and now a tiny little plant is starting to grow again, so I am glad I have not lost it! And there is my Spicy basil cutting in the middle. I fertilized it today, so maybe it will start growing better. I also just moved it from the window to the grow light to see if that will help it along! I will report the progress of these cuttings if there is any.

Pumpkin Pickin!

We like to go out to the Farm occassionally for pickin and playing! Since we didn't have any pumpkins make it this year due to the dreaded SVB, we spent the afternoon at the Farm for pumpkin pickin. And the kids sure do enjoy it!

When we went for Strawberry pickin in June, DD had more strawberries in her mouth and all over her than in the basket!

This is a view of one of the pumpkins fields and this place was packed with people today because of a fall festival. The field we went to was not as busy as the others!

We rode on a trailer pulled by a tractor, like a hayride, out to the fields. Their were a lot of tractors with trailors today! DS kept saying "there are tractors everywhere mommy!"

The kids next to some of the pre-picked pumpkins and squash.

After the fields we went to the childrens barnyard to play for a bit...the kids LOVE the 40 foot barn slide!

This is a really fun place to go with the kids. Lots of fun and activities for them. And lots of good fresh fruits and vegetables to bring home (depending on the time of year).

I definitely suggest this place for a place to visit for the afternoon if you are ever in the area! Both of the Farm links at the top are different, not sure why they are not linked together, but it is all the same farm! (I guess one is more for the winery...but they should still link them together.)

We did pick out 3 nice pumpkins...DD picked out a smaller, warty looking pumpkin and DS picked out a couple that were too big for him to carry, but they are nice looking.

Fall is showing itself in my garden...

Not too much of a harvest today. I got a couple more cucumbers before ripping the dead vines off the trellis. They were a surpise, I didn't even notice them till the dead vines were on the ground. A few tomatoes, but the constant rain has done their number on them and I picked as many good ones as I had bad ones that had to be tossed. Some of these are still quite a bit green, but fell off when I was fumbling through the plants.

I brought in the other two tiny watermelon as well. I am not sure they will be as good as the first one, if ripe at all.

Cut a bunch of Oregano to dry and save. This is the first time I have cut off of the plant, and the first time I have grown Oregano.

This is only my second pepper off of  my bell plants. Hope it is better than the first. The kiddos did not like it at all, and it just didn't look right. And something has been digging around my carrots so I pulled this one out. It is a bit small, but maybe it will taste alright. First time growing carrots too!

In the picture above and below I have some more seeds to save. The ones above are a red Nasturtium, the ones below are 'Bonfire Salvia'. They were quite a bit taller than I expected (see Seriously need to read the heights on my plant seeds), but I do like them! I might try to plant them behind my red and white Impatients in the spring.

I am happy to say that my one little pumpkin did appear to ripen the rest of the way on the counter...at least, all the green is gone and it looks like a nice little pumpkin.

I am not sure there will be much more to write about my garden this year, as most of it is dwindling away. There are still plenty of tomatoes out their. A cabbage, some beans, peppers, and carrots finishing up. But the cold weather seems to be on its way, and fall clean up is right behind it.

I have been working on a new plan for the spring so maybe I will be able to share it when I feel it is complete...though somehow I never feel like something like that is every really complete. Who knows how many times it will change before it is actually planted and if it will all come together the way I plan. It never really does, does it?!

My new little one will be here 4 weeks from today...I am counting down the days!

Bats belong in the Garden NOT the house!

I have no pictures for this post...the moment was just too quick. But I could not help but share the story!

We had a visitor last night. Or maybe for the past couple of weeks and didn't  know it!

I kept finding lint debris that kept falling from the ceiling fan/vent in the bathroom so I asked dh to take it down and help me vacuum it out. He gladly helped, yet the debris kept coming. So I asked him to take it down again a couple of days later. As he had his hand up in their the bat began to squeel and hiss and showed me his lovely teeth! I yelled "BAT!" and we ran out of the bathroom and closed the door...with vent cover! Dh asked if I was sure it was a bat, and after seeing those teeth from something hanging upside down, I had no doubt! It is a bat! After several minutes Dh went back in with the cover and put it back on quickly as the bat was still up in the vent, thank God.

Needless to say, we had no idea how to get rid of a bat. They bite, and can have rabies! So dh called someone to come get it out this morning. I totally expected a fully protective suit, etc. Nope, shorts, t shirt, gloves and a PRINGLES CAN to catch it! Are you kidding me, we paid good money for this!!!? Yep, and I am still glad cause it is gone! The thought of this thing in the house with me pregnant and two little ones was just scary! Needless to say I did not get a good night of sleep knowing that thing was in the house!

Now, I would not have been so upset had this bat been in my GARDEN! Eating all those squash bugs and whatever else he can get rid of! But, no, he decided to try to get in my house! Uhg!

Well, hopefully we can all get a better night sleep tonight!

One Fat Eater!

My first (and very late) signs of something big eating in my garden.

Here is the culprit!

And he is FAT! Pics just don't do it justice...

A lovely little surprise...it is only about an inch and a half or two wide. This is my first Cauli ever...and it only took it since April to show itself!!!!!

Again, pictures do not do this tomato justice...you aren't gonna find this bad boy at your local grocer! I would have to say this is probably the biggest tomato I have ever grown, so I am proud of it! It is a Pruden's Purple.

It is 5 inches wide and 3 inches tall.

Todays harvest...Tomatoes, spicy basil, Serano Peppers, Royal Burgandy Bush beans.

My One and Only pumpkin!

I went out to the garden today to find my little pumpkin on the ground, the vines are just dead. There is some green on it still...don't know if a few days will ripen it without it being on the vine or not. But I just wanted to rescue it from the squash bugs since their is an army of them out there now!

He is about 4 1/2 inches wide and about 5 inches tall.

I have never used a fresh pumpkin for a pie but I hope this will be enough. I am gonna have to start researching what to do and how to save it if I can, till Thanksgiving! For instance, should I just leave it as is, or cook, puree and freeze it? I bet Granny knows!

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 In other gardening, the veg garden appears to be on its last leg. There is still a couple of Accorn squash toughing out the squash bugs. The tomatoes are still producing well. Serrano peppers are turning red. There are still beans producing, but for some reason they just don't taste as good as the first round, the plants don't look as good either.

I pushed the dirt away to find some pretty purple carrots are growing in the tall box! Only a few though. I wish I had read granny's advice about gluing the seeds to a paper towel before I planted them! I will try that next time!

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On the advice or request of my family I decided not to plant anything for the fall! So my garden is going to be winding down quite a bit from here on out. Which is ok, cause my mind has been focused on preparing for baby lately...and not much on the garden. Except, next summer, I hope to use FRESH VEGGIES from the garden to make his baby food! Won't that be great! And SO healthy! I am glad that there will be even more uses for my garden harvests!