The color is still pretty rich, but the leaves are starting to fall, and the ground cover is deep.
It rained Friday night. Lots of rain. I didn’t care that I couldn’t sleep through the roar of the thunder because we received over 3″ of glorious rain.
The temperatures are dropping, and folks up north have already received snow. Killington Ski Resort in Vermont is opening this weekend. You can ski for a Halloween treat.
On Friday, we had a wonderful lunch with friends at Applecrest Farm Bistro in Hampton Falls. I had a turkey sandwich with bacon, cheddar cheese, apple, cranberry chutney and pumpkin purée. It was like enjoying the fall season on a plate, bite after bite.
My daughter’s ducks are doing well, and I know a couple of you wanted to see the duck house we built from the tree fort so here it is along with the best photo I could get of those little paddlers. They are fast and move as a group. Yesterday, we were also gifted with six of their beautiful eggs pictured here along with the last of the berries I picked from our garden. Yes, they are a beautiful light shade of sage green.
We’re headed north to see our good friends in Alexandria today. I’m guessing we won’t see any snow but will see the majority of leaves down already, but I’ll get back to you on that.
The MG conference was informative. Can you imagine that if we don’t reduce greenhouse gases, NH’s climate will be that of NC by 2070 or that by 2100 there won’t be enough maple trees left in New England to produce maple syrup? Depressing stats.
All three of the veggie beds have been cleared out, compost added, and a nice layer of pine needles courtesy of my neighbor settled on top and ready for the winter. I think I’ve moved the last of the plants but do need to plant the Jack in the Pulpit seeds I have. We also replaced brackets on four fence panels. When the neighbor’s lawn service wants to get close enough to the fence so he doesn’t have to trim, it results in work for us.
As we get closer to November, you can certainly feel winter coming. Now if my wood pellets would just get delivered, I’d be all set.
Are you ready for winter where you are or are you getting ready for spring? Have a great week whether you’re raking leaves or enjoying tulips. 🍁
NewEnglandGardenAndThread 
Wow Judy, those ducks are living large. Very nice house. When you mentioned that the eggs are green, my mind immediately wandered to “Would you like them in a house, would you like them with a mouse?” I can’t make it stop. “I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I Am.”
It sounds like you’re ready for winter. I hope it treats us all well, especially those who must still be on the roads for work. Those climate change stats are truly scary – no maple syrup? – what’s the point? Thanks for sharing your beautiful fall color with us. That line of trees is wonderful.
Our leaves are falling, but not enough are down to make it worth collecting them yet. The grass will get its last haircut soon, the garden will be winterized and the garage will get cleaned. We have firewood and two cats chomping at the bit for the first fire.
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Glad you got the needed rain ; I was wondering if it would turn to snow there! The ducks and their eggs are beautiful!!
That sandwich sounds amazing….
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You’ve been so busy putting the final touches on winterizing your gardens. I’m bowing my head in shame because I’ve been dragging my feet. Thankfully Husband has done a lot of the heavy lifting already and if nothing else gets done, no harm. It’s just mean much more work in the spring.
I didn’t know duck eggs had a greenish hue … or is that a peculiarity of the diet of these particular ducks?
I’m so sad when I hear the future predictions caused by greenhouse gases. I remember the 70s very well when Canadian environmentalist, David Suzuki, first began TV science shows and predicting where we were going to be right now if we didn’t take better care of our world. It terrified me now … and still does now. Young people don’t see how much the environment has changed – for the worst. We really are the proverbial frog in hot water.
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LOL! Like Dan Antion, the same thing ran through my head….Green Eggs and Ham!! Those waddlers are beautiful and certainly living the good life. Amazing duck house you and hubby built.
Leaves there still hold an abundance of color….not so much here now.
I’m as ready for winter as I can get, considering how I hate it. Plants are covered. Flannel sheets on bed!
Glad you got a good dose of rain.
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Flannel sheets sure sound warm and comfy. We saw snow flakes today. Our friend had a Farmer’s Almanac out and we were discussing what it said for this winter. They are projecting a large winter storm for mid November, January and March. We’d better get these leaves moved out of here so we can get the snow blower put on. 🙂
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Your weekend was just like ours–windy, cold, wet, and welcome because we need the rain so much. And Whiteface Mountain had quite a lot of snow! I wish the mild fall weather would stick around a little longer–I still have a lot of outside chores to do. Your sandwich sounds so good and those duck eggs are gorgeous!
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Those ducks are living like royals! Lovely photo of the duck eggs and berries. And yes those fall clors, cool rain, cold temps..life is bliss!! xo Johanna
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I thought of you yesterday while traveling a tree lined road along the river. Brown and yellow – no brilliance like you show us every year! It’s mostly oaks in this part of my neighborhood.
The duck house is wonderful! Your residents are very grateful. I just read somewhere that duck eggs are delicious – cannot remember where, though!
So, first it’s the bees affected and later maple syrup with continued climate shifting – just can’t believe there are those who deny it all…..
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I’m so happy to read that you got so much rain, Judy!! And snow already in some places? We’re definitely not anywhere near that yet and still I have too much to do outside. I’ve changed the blankets on the bed once already to fight off the fall chill, but I’m not to winter bedding yet. 🙂
The duck eggs are beautiful. I love eggs in various colors and was told it depends somewhat on what the chicken/duck is fed. I don’t know if that’s true, but brown eggs always seem nicer to me and the greenish-blue ones are so pretty.
The leaf colors you showed are gorgeous. Some of our trees are brilliant, some are still green, still others have lost some or most of their leaves, so nothing so unilaterally bright. Nice that I can enjoy yours.
janet
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A couple of weeks back we had to add another blanket to the bed, and the heat is running right now. No pellet stove yet, but when it gets down to the low 60’s in the house, heat is needed. And, craziest of all – we saw snow flakes up north today. No accumulation, but it was snow.
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I’ve added a blanket and turned the heat on, albeit rather low, this weekend when it got down into the upper 30’s at night. 🙂 I do love snuggling down in bed when it’s cold. We used to use flannel sheets, but they’re too warm for both of us.
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Lovely end of season color.
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No snow,and leaves are falling like it’s snowing!!
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Thank you for sharing the duck house! It’s a charming abode 🙂
Gorgeous there, and oh, that food sounded gorgeous, too.
Autumn seems to be progressing slower than usual, but I don’t mind! 🙂
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Snow already – wow. I remember years ago we went with our friends to Killington to play golf (in the Fall) we arrived with gorgeous weather and beautiful leaves. We awoke the next morning to high winds and no leaves, with light snow falling – talk about a change!! Loved your photographs – the ducks are having quite a conference.
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Hi Judy, it’s so funny when I read you use pine needles and here in the Sierras we rake and dispose of them. When I went to Georgia and saw the pine straw used as mulch I couldn’t believe it. Around California we typically use bark.
Still in the 60s here but we are getting rain. Yay! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
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It really is ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ You should see me raking all those pine needles up, loading up a bucket, and hauling it to another part of the garden. They are great ground cover because they allow everything to breathe versus the leaves that make a heavy mat. Good to hear from you, and holiday wishes to you as well. 🙂
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That lead shot of the trees is just gorgeous. Sounds like you’ve been very productive.
We’re about halfway through our getting-ready-for-winter routine.
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The colour in those trees is just beautiful, Judy. It sounds as if you’re ready for winter, with all your garden preparations complete. Our spring has been unusually mild this year, with crisp mornings and very chilly nights. It’s supposed to warm up by the end of this week though. Fingers crossed.
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Lovely duck eggs, maybe a reward from them for making their new home (Duck Palace!). I love the autumn lunch at Applecrest Farm, wish I’d been there!
Very depressing to think of climate change happening, our grandchildren will be affected greatly, I hope we can somehow reverse some of it.
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I am as ready for winter as I ever am, which is NOT. It got pretty cold here today. Had to dig out the barn jacket. I have to wear it quickly. The season for lightweight outerwear is very brief.
More than half the trees went bare since last week. Sigh.
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The leaves are really coming down. Our yard is deep in them. We went north yesterday and what did we see – light snow flakes. I couldn’t believe it. 🙂
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Once again, I had such a good time reading everything in your post! The photo up top is like a drum major leading a brass band, and the whole of it make my toes tap. The comments are such fun — there’s no way I’d have thought of “Green Eggs and Ham”! Your post is like that sandwich: it’s fall all at once, beautiful and delectable. Here in Indiana we are having glorious color with nights sliding into the 30s and 40s. Hoorar for flannel! And thank you for the great start to my day!
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You’re right Judy, we have to be ready for winter, especially in my Northern place. I was surprised to see thin ice on my pond, but … winter comes, Earth is moving. Interestingly, I’ve never eaten duck eggs, are they similar to chicken ones? The first photo is very pretty!
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You have thin ice, and I saw snow flakes yesterday. 🙂 I haven’t eaten the duck eggs yet, but my daughter says the yolk is brighter yellow.
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My veggie beds and bees are ready for winter, but I’m still planting bulbs. In fact, I overdid it and feel like I’m about 100 years old this morning. It’s spitting snow right now, but we still have some leaf color. I love the duckies. The eggs are great for baking, I understand.
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I have my head in the sand and haven’t done a thing…even procrastinated planting bulbs. I guess ‘Winter is Coming’ all right.
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Planting bulbs is one thing I don’t have to do because the chipmunks and squirrels just dig them up. When I saw those snow flakes up north yesterday, I couldn’t believe it. 🙂
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Very scary!
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I love that first picture. What does one do with duck eggs?
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Catching up slowly 🙂 Love that shot of the maples. I feel like the peak color went by so quickly. Time is racing on. (And right now, it looks like winter out there, which thankfully, won’t last I hope!)
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I liked the tray of fresh eggs, berries and the ducks in a nice place, receiving leftover squash soup made me smile, Judy! 🙂
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Pretty green eggs. The rain sounds glorious.
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Lovely, happy and sad post, mostly happy (as its a joy to read) looking at those busy ducks, we nearly bought some runner ducks until we were told you have to usher them into their house at dusk! Ok in the summer but not in the cold winter. Here in Wales the Autumn colours are wonderful too, but like you, the leaves are falling fast. So glad to hear you’ve had some decent rainfall. Hope your wood pellets arrive in time! I’m hoping to start planting out my tulips when my boys have returned to school and routine returns. ☺️🍂🍁
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Pretty funny what you said about the ducks because my daughter is finding that she has to play roundup at night to get hers inside safe and sound. 🙂
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I do miss the leaves! Those are just beautiful. Hard to believe that it is almost winter again for you. Lets hope it is a gentle one! It was supposed to hit 90 here today but they dropped it to mid 80s and I am OK with that. My poor plumerias are getting very confused with the temperature fluctuations. We have really made Mother Nature angry and we better fix it soon.
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Ah, 80. I was somewhat happy it stayed in the mid 40’s here today. 🙂
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Beautiful. Are they all maples Judy?
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The red ones are and the gold ones might be oaks. Love your new header photo. 🙂
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