2008 September 21 | Chickens in the Road

Archive for September 21st, 2008

Sep
21

I’m on a decorating binge–the autumn extravaganza in which I celebrate my favorite colors (treasure gold, burnt orange, deep-dark green, wine red) in memory of the glory that was summer and anticipation of the splendor that is to come. Then there’s all that other fun stuff: pumpkins and scarecrows, ribbons and straw, gourds and berries. It’s all fodder for home decorating and the great thing about it is that it carries through Thanksgiving. I’m not a big Halloween decorator, so I skip that one completely unless Princess decides to have a Halloween party. She has declared there will be no big party this year, though she may invite over a few of her friends for a sleepover. In that, case, I’m sure there will still be my annual graveyard cake involved.

But for me? What I love?

It’s fall decorating. I stick little scarecrows in everything I can, mostly big pots outside. I use them inside in vases, too. This one is in an old Blenko vase in the garden window in the kitchen.

I love to use home-canned goods in decorating. I enjoy seeing the things I love on a regular basis, not just in the pantry. I love home-canning, and I love the images of ripe peaches on the tree and apples falling on my head and blackberry bushes attacking me that come with seeing the jars on display. I like to put dried goods like beans and pasta in quart-sized jars, too. It makes me think of icy can’t-leave-the-farm days when I’ll cook things I’ve stocked up on and huddle in blankets, watching the snow fall over the hills.

I canned some spiced honey recently, with cinnamon sticks and clove-spiked lemon slices, and it is so good. It will be even better on crisp, cold autumn mornings on toasted Grandmother Bread.

This is a copy of The Farmstead Egg Cookbook, also in my garden window. I put all sorts of seemingly odd things in there that just make me feel good while I’m doing dishes. I haven’t even tried any of the recipes in this cookbook. I just like the image of the eggs on the cover. I think of my chickens and the day when I’ll have a full egg basket.

And I just believe in this one.

This is the centerpiece I made for my coffeetable this weekend.

It includes little pumpkins and gourds, pine cones from the old farmhouse, black walnuts from our farm, and a bit of grapevine with dried grapes.

Then I played around with one of the grapevine wreaths I made the other day. The leaf garland cost $1.50 and the scarecrow was $.94. With the homemade and home-grown grapevine, this wreath for my front door cost me under $2.50.

I’ve got a few other things on hand to play with, so I’m not done. I’m also still planning to hunt up some berries and other things to dry for my other wreaths. I’ll post pictures as I put more wreaths together.

So what about you? Started decorating for fall yet? What are some of your favorite ways to celebrate autumn?