Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Happy October! Rabbit, Rabbit!

Happy October, everyone!

 Can you believe it?

 (I don't even want to think about how many days are left

 or are not ~ until Christmas!)

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My October 1944 Etude Magazine...

Love the illustration!

(I wish I could identify the illustrator; the first name is definitely "Hy"...

but I just can't decipher the last name...

A good reason to sign all artwork legibly, for future generations!)

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Did you remember??

For good luck?

My girls and I always say "Rabbit, rabbit" on the first day of

the month...(if you forget, you can say it backwards before you

go to bed...

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My friend Gillian in England told me her father always said

"White Rabbits"... so today is White Rabbits Day for her.

I love things like this and the cultural variations, don't you?

You can read more about the custom in an article from

Yankee Magazine, here.

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Yesterday we went to Diebold's Orchard in Benton, Missouri, for some autumn goodies...

I love the color combinations (and blends...some look like watercolor)

on these gourds!

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The little stripey pumpkin is my favorite, though!

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Potential Jack O'Lanterns piled high...

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Diebold's also has greenhouses, and I always have to check them out...

This pretty coleus was labeled "Lemon Boy"...

I Googled it but couldn't find a variety by that name,

so maybe they just thought it looked like a Lemon Boy...

sounds good to me!

(Such a pushover for a name, always...that's me!)

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I don't know what this is, and forgot to ask...

It didn't even feel real...

(It honestly felt like plastic!)

Very unusual and pretty, though!

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A "Snow Bunny" Kalanchoe...

Love it!

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They also had some dwarf Sunflowers;

very cute!

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The most impressive thing in the greenhouse, however...

hands down...

was this humongous Agave!

Pictures don't do it justice, but it had to be 15 feet tall...and as wide!

The sign said it was 20-25 years old.

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It had lovely patterns...and thorns...on the leaves, too.

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These little fellows were also at Diebold's...

The donkey seemed more interested in his friend's mane

than he did in the hay!

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When we got home I went out to collect some flower seeds

(because after a trip to a greenhouse like that, I'm already getting

into "next year" gardening-mode) ~

This big Carpenter Bee was enjoying my Giant Marigolds...

I ran to get my camera, of course.

I haven't gotten stung trying to photograph anything (yet),

however, a red wasp "got" me a couple of weeks ago,

for no reason at all...just minding my business,

getting something out of the truck... :(

I hadn't been stung since I was small, and it hurt/burned like a lit

match stuck to my skin!

I will be giving red wasps an even wider berth from now on...

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Do you know what the above three photos have in common?

Besides being garden-y and all...

An Instagram friend said this and it just tickled me, because it's true!

She said, "It's the time of year when the flowers start fraternizing..."

And they do!! So funny...up until now when this kind of nonsense begins,

I quickly de-tangle, trim, cut back, set everyone straight...

but now...I just let them all go...they can visit, co-habitate,

fraternize, whatever they want.

And they are.

Not much growing-season left!

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One last thing!

A cute little toad was hopping around the plants on the front porch the other night...
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("Front-Porch Toad" has vacated...and it's probably a good thing, as if he'd decided

to hibernate in a flower-pot, he would have gotten too cold this winter...)

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Well, I brought this little fellow in the house for Mr. B to hold,

 so I could take a picture to send to Jon (The Toad Whisperer) at school...

but, in "transferring" him, he got away and went under the couch (we thought),

which led to a flurry of kitty-activity and pulling out the couch,

 revealing an embarrassing amount of cat hair and

Dust Bunnies (Rabbit, rabbit!!) ~

I was worried we wouldn't find him before the kitties did,

and that could have been bad for both parties...

As I was coming back from the garage with a flashlight, though,

I spotted him hopping underneath the dining room table...

(Whew.)

We got our photo and the toad will have an adventure to tell his

tadpoles...

Have a great rest-of-the-week, all!

Love,


Photobucket

12 comments:

  1. It's a beautiful time of year and I've enjoyed your photos and sweet thoughts. How cute to see that little toad. I showed one on my blog a few days ago and I was surprised at how many people said they were scared of them. They are so cute! I guess you're not skeeered! heehee!

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  2. Gorgeous photos as always! Love the gourds and pumpkins! And Mr. Toad and the mini donkeys are too cute!

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  3. Dear Anne - these photos of pumpkins, flowers and all the lovely things of the season just made my day. I had to laugh about the flowers fraternizing - mine always do (way too much to my liking). I just let them anymore - too hard to get them under control (LOL)! I hope you are having a delightful fall day. Cooler here today but sunny - feeling like autumn! Hugs

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  4. Do you toads have tadpoles? I thought that was just frogs. I really don't know. I love that stripy pumpkin too. Have a great day.

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  5. That Agave they have is one huge plant! I lived in Arizona for a lot of years and though it's not a native plant, many people have them in their yards to keep burglars away...those are spiky leaves! Oh, did you know that the babies of the plant are produced underneath and can be harvested by digging them out and replanting...if you can get past those spiky leaves! See in the first photo, under the "Agave" sign, there's a smaller plant showing up? A baby!

    Love all the rest of the beautiful pictures...that bee is wonderful, however, it has the "black spot"...Davey Jones is looking for him!! (You know all about Jack Sparrow and Pirates of the Caribbean, right?!)

    And thanks for saying that you let your plants fraternize, especially that running Cyprus, which, when we first moved here I thought was a weed...it sure grows fast and is very tenacious! Now I watch the shadows it makes and enjoy the star-red flowers. It sure needs no care!!

    Thanks for a wonderful colorful post to boost my spirits!

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  6. Hi there :)
    Gee, I forgot to say "rabbit - rabbit" until the end of the day on the first. I need to write it on the calendar, I guess, so that I don't forget!

    Beautiful pictures!! What a nice nursery as well. Amazing flowers, and beautiful pumpkins and gourds.
    Every Spring, we plant with such great hopes for an amazing harvest, and it's nice to see that their gardens had an amazing harvest, and that you were able to enjoy it :)

    SO happy that it's October!!!
    May this month be filled with happiness, and blessings for you and your family.

    Smiles :)
    Kerin

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  7. I love all the gorgeous fraternizing colors goings on in your garden Anne! I would love to grow such a brilliant coleus as you have in these pictures!!!
    Yikes, so sorry you got stung. I am so glad Mr. Toads wild adventure ended on a happy note!
    My cypress vines are growing in there crazy fashion and they make me smile as I think of you and your wonderful garden and activities. I'm contemplating Miss Vanessa's Halloween party! Wow, it will be here before you know it! Thanks for your visit. <3

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  8. Oops, I wanted to say how I adore that Etude magazine you have pictured above! You have such fantastic and interesting collectibles! The pumpkins and gourds are such a vibrant and beautiful mix along with your marigolds. ;)

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  9. What a beautiful, beautiful post! It is awful to get stung when out and about. My grandson got stung by his eye with a wasp and it was awful. Love the toad!

    Just so you know you are still a No Reply when you leave a comment. You will have to go into your settings and fix it. It doesn't happen automatically once you leave Google+....but once you fix it -it will stay fixed (Google+) kept changing it back.

    Have a wonderful Monday. xo Diana

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  10. I am sorry you got stung! Gorgeous post ;o) Happy October ;o) Rabbit, rabbit? I have never heard of that? Big Hugs ;o)

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  11. Don't even talk about Christmas yet! Beautiful photos of the Fall!

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  12. Oh my gosh...I am drooling over your wonderful photo's....and gee...I never thought about the flowers fratenizing LOL Maybe that is why you got stung. :)

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