TO MARKET TO MARKET....

You know that tantalizing smell. The first crisp, cold morning of the season, when quietly the sweltering heat of summer fades into the background and autumn makes its debut. The air is sharp with the scent of drying leaves as they put on their pretty coats and begin to float to the ground. And the markets start whiffing the scent of autumn fruits and spices...you then know the magic of fall has arrived

Strites homestead

I love farmers markets, and it's where I get many of my provisions for dinners and nibbles, produce and some earthly delights when I don't feel like baking. And always a good thing to support local farmers and families. I have three go to in the area. Oak Grove Farms, West Shore Farmers Market and Stites Orchid. I left work early today and headed over to Stites Orchid to get some pumpkins for the porch, and the best apple cider in the area in my opinion. I go crazy on apple cider this time of year. I also picked up two apple dumplings, and some pears and veggies, in addition to a butternut squash, that I plan to make soup with, and a autumn vegetable stir fry I make with butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, and parsnips.  I got in the habit of going to Stites since I was a wee one as my late aunt and grandmother always frequented the place. I love my visits there, so when I moved back it was a major plus. My grandmother was friends with the family back then and its origins began with a rich farming history dating back to 1843. It all started with the planting of a few fruit trees and vegetables were planted. At the time they sold produce door to door and in the city. It was in 1950, they opened the market pavilion they now have and has grown to also feature a bakery of daily fresh baked delights, and a small selection of plants and flowers, and a pick your flower garden. Their property and orchid now encompass a robust 300 acres. They have a very loyal following in the community, many generations of a family still patronize the place, it's amazing to see out of towners there, come to just see and experience a farmer market. 

To me this far better than data centers eating up land.

MOOD BOARD

 The weekend whizzed by yet again. I had two more birthdays to tend too of friends. There sure is a lot of October birthdays. The weekend started out with another happy hour with the clan after work on Friday, and then I had a birthday breakfast at Poached with another friend Saturday at noon...after that, the weekend was a wash. I got a wee bit done in the garden, but it was pretty much a down pour of rains and nasty weather late Saturday and all day Sunday. Good vegetation days I say. Read that as naps, horror movie viewing and only wearing underwear the rest of the weekend. Hell, I didn't even shave. Time to head to work again and make the magic happen.

Perfects escapes! Have a good week all!

THE SUNDAY LIST

 

This week's list of things that caught my attention...

Drag Queen Rose' performed at Voss events "Night of the Living Drag" in a drop dead, no pun intended performance to the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Heads Will Roll and Madonna's Die Another Day. Talk about a drag performance. 

In Local News....

This is Fox Manor, a 1860's Victorian home in Lower Paxton in Harrisburg that will be featured in "The Eeriest of the East" on HGTV. The manor was a home first, then had been used as a nursing home, then sat vacant for seven years before the current owners bought it 14 years ago. The current couple and friends of theirs have said they hear running footsteps, doors slamming, extreme temp changes, water running out of cabinets, wet bathroom footsteps, and other oddities.  When I first moved out on my own with my first roommate, I lived in the apartments adjacent. Who knew? This area still doesn't have the feeling of eerie like New Hope had though.

And this administration continues upheaval...

 The last of a series of Grandmother Trees, all well over 200 years old, was torn down in Lochiel Arizonia to expand the bronzer- caked, bile belching, Bargain basement Mussolini's border wall. Mind you, like his other projects in the past, the older parts of the wall are already in bad condition and falling apart, but I digress. The first two older trees had been removed already, but the last one was torn down in minutes to expand the wall. Despite activists trying to protect the last one aged at 250-year-old tree for more than two months. DHS felled the tree in minutes as protestors screamed. Seems symbolically ironic, America just turned 250 and they tear down a tree aged 250. I call it foreshadowing.

And that's not it. The Roadless Rule is being fought for by activist that are heavily protesting a federal proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule across acres of the Tongasss National Forest, which would open pristine areas of Alaska to industrial logging once again. Our public lands are in grave danger. And these forests grown mighty and have some of the tallest and most massive pines in the world. Someone needs to stop him and this administration and soon. This country will not survive another two years. And if he does go out, trust me, he will do as much damage as he can to anything in his path. Look at just the last two years.

I love a good horror movie... and a fan of Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Looks like one of the best horror movies in ages. Just the trailer gave me chills.

And who remembers this?

When you heard it, you knew something good was coming on.

And who says you need a load of flowers to make an arrangement? I have been using blooms from the garden getting ready for its sleep soon.

 

A bloom each from hydrangea, yellow rose, zinnia, dahlia a Mexican sunflower and some mint from the herb garden. Volia!

FROM THE CANDY SHOP

 
This week in the Candy Shop is yet another non-South American! Shocked right? This boy was very popular from last Monday's Mood Board and this yummy candy's name is Fiachra O' Corragain. And I'm here to tell you, I'm not the settling type, but if I had to take this lad from Ireland's his last name, I'd have no problems! Fiachra is a multi-disciplinary creative. A composer, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, music producer, dancer, content creator and is also by day a dental anesthesiologist for dental procedures. Fisacha studied music at University College Cork and achieved a double first-class honors degree with final results that were in the top five highest marks in music ever by that university. And at the unprecedented age of 21, Fiachra commenced PhD studies in composition at said school. In 2016 he got his PhD. I also think he got a PhD in thirst traps! Fiachra captures self-portraits on his Instagram and has nude modeled and he isn't shy. Talented, musically inclined, a true artist, hot as hell and LOVES dogs! A brain and a body- what more could one ask for???

Am I the only one swooning?