Anyone who has children probably has one of these lying around:
The ubiquitous plastic candy collecting vessel!!!
My daughter hasn't used hers for years (someone gave her a super cute witch basket) so I'm not even sure why I was still hanging onto it?
Finally this fall, I thought of a good use for it:
With a few additions: witch hat, ribbon bow, some rocks to weigh it down & flameless candle to make it glow, it stands in nicely for a carved pumpkin.
Especially helpful when (for some reason) we never found made time to carve one!
We've lucked out again with the weather this Halloween. So nice, even the honeybees were out earlier today:
They were working the lavender over furiously (and everything else that remains in bloom, which surprisingly is quite a lot.)
I was amazed to find a bloom on the toad lily:
Earlier this summer, the rabbits chewed every last stalk down to nubs ~ and I thought toad lilies were supposed to be something they didn't like?!!
They had never bothered them before so I wasn't sure what to expect.
I'm glad it didn't kill the plants but even happier they had enough reserves to produce more buds.
Both their and my good fortune the warm Fall gave them a chance to recoup & bloom before frosting. There's one day in our five day forecast where low temps are projected to be 30. I'm pretty sure they can survive that and carry on.
November blooms here we come!!!
Even tho the days have been nice, the nights are cool. Maybe that's what's elevating bird activity in the garden?
I'm seeing almost all my winter birds again including hawks:
No fair, the poor birds hardly stand a chance with him camouflaged so well!!!
Happy Halloween everyone. Hope it's a safe, fun one.
Hope you had a Happy Halloween, Kathleen! Wow, your weather has been much more mild than ours. Recently, we had cold, winter winds sweep down from Canada, and now the growing season is officially over here. Great Toad Lily and bird shots!
Posted by: Beth @ PlantPostings | November 01, 2014 at 08:10 AM
Love the jack-o-lantern decoration. Not only is it super cute, but also sentimental! Love your bird pics too - So happy to see a new blog....I always look forward to them.
Posted by: Dana | November 02, 2014 at 06:43 AM
We finally had a few light frosts, but even then, I still have quite a bit in bloom yet. Mostly perennials, but my window boxes are snuggled up against the house, so I think they'll last a little bit longer. Guess I'm holding on by the skin of my teeth, huh? LOL I know, I know. Winter is coming. Phooey.
Posted by: Robin | November 03, 2014 at 07:37 PM
I love what you did with the jack o'lantern.
Beautiful pictures of the flowers, bees and birds! I especially like the shot of the blue jay. A Cooper's hawk has been lurking around here too, hoping to catch one of the sparrows that are feeding in the front garden.
Posted by: sweetbay | November 06, 2014 at 12:10 PM