I’ve been working outside. I can’t really call it gardening. It’s more fall maintenance and winter preparation. Why is it spring chores are always more fun than fall chores? 🙂
Some leaves are changing while some are just falling because of the dryness.
I do find it interesting to look at this hydrangea and see one white bloom in amongst all the others that turn to pink this late in the season.
The vegetable gardens are clear and quite a few plants have already been moved. I cleaned the garage today and put away a few tools which opens up space for wood pellet storage.
Pellet stove and chimney were both cleaned a few weeks back – dirty jobs but they have to be done.
The gardens are mostly green but there is a little color left, and the grasses are coming into their own.
The hummingbirds and I enjoyed the Hyacinth Bean Vine that grew over my arbor all summer. My friend, Debra at Frugal Bungalow, shared the seeds with me last year. Aren’t they the greatest seeds you’ve ever seen – they look like little Oreo cookies. So, I’d like to pay it forward. If someone would like a few seeds for next year, just send me an email with an address to mail them to.
In between outside chores, I’ve been working on a king size quilt top – 42 12″ blocks, sashing with corner stones, and a border with two colors and mitered corners. Next, I need to assemble the backing and find someone to do the long arm quilting. I’ve learned my lesson that I can barely handle a twin size quilt with my standard Janome machine.
Now, it’s on to packing and our trip to Gettysburg. Have you been? Any suggestions? We decided that history lessons probably could be aided by some good craft beer which we’ve mapped out just in case we need food and drink. 🙂
NewEnglandGardenAndThread 
You are ringing all my bells with the craft beer and free seeds Judy. Unfortunately you, me or both of us might get arrested if you send those seeds across the Atlantic. It looks like a marvellous climber though, I must look it up. Autumn is not that advanced here. Although the weather is pretty grizzly it’s still quite warm. I hope you have a great holiday – we are on our hols too so I have been catching up with the gardening today. Lots of posts and pictures please!
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Gardening chores never really end, do they? Well, except in the dead of winter, I guess! But you make the work sound so satisfying and fulfilling. And when you have results to show like the above pictures, well it’s all worth it!
I’ve never been to Gettysburg. Supposedly it’s haunted. Nice time of the year for that!
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Haunted? Well, now we’re adding a little mystery to the history. I’ll let you know who and what I encounter. 🙂
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It is so true that getting ready in the spring is so much more fun than clipping back in the fall. For me, the truly terrible event is when we Bring In the patio furniture. The patio looks so lonesome with everything tucked away.
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Well, now you are down to the real nitty gritty and are so right. It almost looks like no one lives there anymore. I heard a comedian say that New Englanders leave their picnic tables out in the winter so they can measure how high the snow is. 🙂
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Lovely photos! Those seeds are fabulous. Funny how such a small thing can be so delightful. Thank you for sharing all your this and that. I look forward to hearing all about Gettysburg! I’ll surely share those posts with my husband, a history fanatic.
Enjoy your week!
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We’ve visited Manassas and it was moving so I can only imagine Gettysburg. 🙂
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Speaking of Oreo’s.. my husband came home with the new thin ones. They are pretty good but dangerous..lol! Love your photos Judy!
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ps Fascinating seeds and how kind of you to share…
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New thin ones – ooh. 🙂
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You have really been busy in the garden, Judy! A trip to Gettysburg sounds like the perfect reward for all of your hard work! I’ve never been there, so I hope you will share your adventures. The Hyacinth Bean vine is beautiful. I’d love to try growing one. A king size quilt is really an ambitious undertaking, Judy! It will certainly be a treasured family heirloom one day. Safe travels, Judy! ♡
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Normally I take a break from gardening and quilt. But, the first part of this winter season I may need a break from both to rest up. 🙂
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Perhaps a garden book or quilting book, hot cocoa, a cozy chair, and warm slippers! ♡
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Beautiful photos and such beautiful gardens Judy. You are a master. My daughter and I went to Gettysburg in 2012. We did the tour of the battlefield on horseback. If that appeals to you, it is well worth the cost. The guide was fantastic and you see the battlefield from a perspective you can’t otherwise get. I hadn’t been on a horse in over 40 years, but it was fine. They give a little lesson and the horses are sweet. Good luck with that quil, it sounds impressive.
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Thank you. 🙂 Oh my gosh, by horseback, now I’m impressed for sure. We had horses for several years, but it’s been a while for me as well. I think I’d need one of those steps in order to get this old gal mounted though. LOL But, I’m off to google. 🙂
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Look for “Artillery Ridge” – they were recommended to us and we were very happy.
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The vine is beautiful…but not likely to grow well in our heavy clay soil…and the seeds, I read, are poisonous. So the oreo pods are all yours…but so generous of you to offer!
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Beautiful hydrangea Judy. You’re right the one white flower is an oddity. You still have a lot of color it seems to me. I’m ignoring garden chores and will regret it later, but I can’t get interested again until late winter.
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We really enjoyed Gettysburg and did the self guided driving tour with the accompanying CD. If you like antiques, the neighboring town of New Oxford contained a trove of places to browse. Have a great trip.
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Thank you for this info. I’ve been pouring over tour options so your feedback helps. Love antiques. 🙂
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I enjoyed following you around the garden doing your Autumn chores and I love those hyacinth bean seeds, quite beautiful. Have a good trip to Gettysburg , not somewhere we have visited so your posts will be of particular interest. 🙂
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I think you are right ,Judy…our energy for spring gardening is back by a feeling of rejuvenation and promise, fall gardening is all about cutting down and clearing out. Although I have to admit, after facing a season’s worth of growth, i’m pretty excited to be ‘clearing out’! have a wonderful trip to Gettysburg. I have not been, my dad went before years before he passed away, he said it was very emotional. Next year you should be coming to Maine in the fall for Fiber college!
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Now, friend, that is interesting because a fellow MG talked to me about going to Maine for a class on fiber. More details please. 🙂
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Hi Judy, I think it would be right up your ally……It’s held at Searsport Shores campground every September. A beautiful ocean side campground, gardens everywhere, plenty of room and open space, studios to work in, very inspiring. the Gee’s Bend quilters were resident teachers there last season. Quite amazing!. I just finished teaching a class there on Paper mache rabbits. If you look up Fiber College in Searsport, Maine , you will find their site. they also have cabins to rent…I think even Dennis would enjoy it, if you get him to come I will join him for lobster and beer!
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Okay, I’m off to do a little googling. And, Dennis is always up for lobster and beer. 🙂
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Keep me posted!
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Wow, Judy….I guess I should have reread that rambling, grammatically erred comment, maybe only one eyelid fully open at the moment! My oh my!
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I’m thinking of giving Hyacinth bean a try next year. I’m done with Morning Glories. I planted two in June and they didn’t flower until last weekend – and even then it was just a couple of measly blooms.
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I didn’t have any luck with my Morning Glories either this year. Send me your address through email (contact page) and I’ll send you some seeds. 🙂
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I think knowing where to get the best beer is the key to any successful trip! Hope you have fun!
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I struggled terribly doing a baby quilt (merely stitch in the ditch) on the machine! I can’t imagine machine quilting anything bigger. I’ve heard tales of these machines people have that quilt the entire thing in a matter of hours. 42 blocks — wow — I hope you’ll share the finished product!
I would absolutely love to have some seeds for the hyacinth bean vine! I’ll email you!
I went to Gettysburg more than 20 years ago, along with a pile of other places, and now it’s all sort of a blur. I wish I’d been camera-happy then! No recommendations, but do have a fabulous time! 🙂
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I’ve been to a few quilt shows and I’ve always thought there ought to be ribbons for the individuals who create the tops and other ribbons for the long arm quilters because some of those patterns are real masterpieces. Here’s hoping I can find one. Seeds are going out in the mail this week. Yes, going to historic sites when you are younger is different than when you are more mature. 🙂
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I like your pay it forward idea since my seeds had been gifted to ME by a dear blogger friend as well! 🙂
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🙂 I had to smile when we visited New Oxford. I stopped to take a few photos of a lovely church and there growing along the fence where these very familiar vines with lovely flowers and seed pods. 🙂
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I really like to see your gardening photos, Judy. I have friends who I visit that have gardens plus I live next door to a university do I get to see gardens and nature. The details like you mention make me smile. Those seeds do look like oreos. Such dark seeds!
I am in awe of your quilting and this will make a great finished king sized quilt. Hope you will post a photo. . . Enjoy your fall and autumn but don’t take too hard. (Up in Cleveland, when I was a teen we raked leaves onto blankets, dragged them into piles, and then burned piles. Sometimes we had to throw the leaves or jump in them first. 🙂
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I will post a photo of the quilt. 🙂 Funny you mention the blanket because I’ve used a tarp many a time in the same manner. When you live in an area with so many trees you clean yours up and then the neighbors’ leaves blow in and you clean them up. It’s a rough six weeks or so of moving a LOT of leaves. LOL
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My note meant, don’t rake too hard and I missed sending you off with “safe travel mercies,” Judy. Enjoy Gettysburg and I would drink craft hard cider since I love the flavor better than the craft beers, except summer shanties with lemon or lime. 🙂
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I’ve been known to drink a glass of hard cider a few times myself. Love the pear flavors. 🙂
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Have a great time in Gettysburg! Over a period of 4 years we made many trips there for parent week ends and to almost every home game when my son was playing lacrosse for Gettysburg College. We loved it! The Battlefields are sobering and the history resonates from every field. We always stayed at the Battlefield B & B. This was several years ago, so I don’t know if the same people own it. But it is an authentic Civil War era home with a barn and horses on the edge of the battlefields. It is a few miles from Town, which I loved. Gettysburg is not the most picturesque town at any rate. The campus is quite lovely though. The proprietor of the Battlefield B & B would give history lessons after breakfast. We learned some very intriguing things about the Cicil War. The breakfast were homemade and delicious. And there were cookies and tea left for the guests every day. LOVED it!
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