It truly was a magnificent Fall day today. One could not help themselves to the call of the outside given by the crystal clear blue of the sky and the crispness of the air. With the forecast of a possible freeze warning tonight, I made way to the vegetable garden to gather some of the last of the harvest still clinging to their life giving vines.

I picked enough tomatoes to hopefully can some salsa this week and some peppers to make pepper jelly. If my goal is achieved, I will certainly pass on the recipes if they are a hit! I love to give homemade gifts from the kitchen at Christmastime. There have been years that my cup has runneth over in that department and years where I never found the time to fill that measuring cup! This year…

I picked lots of herbs and just found a recipe for herb oils that you freeze in order to preserve the taste of the freshly grown herb over the winter. Rosemary, thyme, dill, sage, oregano and mint, my hands wore the scent of all for the remainder of the day. I will be sure to post a blog about what I do with this harvest in the very near future.

There was one large patch of color left in the vegetable garden and that was of the nasturtiums. They are growing wild so I had to pick some of their autumn hued flowers to bring some fall indoors.

In other areas of the yard, as I walked back to the house with my load, pops of color beckoned me to them. Upon viewing them, if not for the crispness in the air, it certainly looked like the summer months. The flowers seemed to be screaming with their final display of color as if to say, breathe me in one last time before I fade into the grey and colorless landscape of winter. They were putting on a show almost as if they know their days are limited.

Sure the mums are still in bloom and the asters, the proverbial signs of fall but these are the species of the warm summer months.

Even the lavender was showing a few bursts of a last hurrah.

The garden will soon be put to bed for the winter months. The garden and patio sets will be housed in the barn for the cold months. Sure enough though, they will all be brought back after their winter slumber to give us great pleasure…yet again.