corn...........

........loving this time of year and everything it brings.......I try to get my husband to hold off on mowing the leaves as long as I can, I LOVE leaves laying on ground, and do not care if it covers the grass....it is natures beauty..........we had a much needed rain yesterday and it has cooled off, more leaves have fallen, as do the walnuts and our corn awaits it's harvest......the raccoons have enjoyed the corn and I enjoy the cobs they leave behind.......I have gathered some to put in wood bowls, lay in the trencher and hang from the corn drier......so I searched pinterest for more ideas.......some of the following pictures are from pinterest, and they are beautiful in the simplest way.......till next time...smiles, Linda

 above picture, is out my window & below is some corn cobs I have gathered.....

 all the pictures below are via pinterest,  ENJOY !!!!!

walnuts.........

...........yesterday was a productive day.....not that everyday needs to be productive, but I feel a bit better if I think I accomplished something......I got up just a little later than normal and enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee and the computer.......normally, I would be dressed and doing something !!!  but, when the sun got to shinning, I thought, enough wasting this day !!! I almost hurried and  got dressed, made the bed, straightened out upstairs and proceeded to the basement and straightened out my storage room......done a load of laundry.......fixed some lunch.......made a pumpkin cake, which was awesome....then took a walk to gather black walnuts.......I think gathering the walnuts was the best part.......the weather was beautiful and the leaves are quickly turning......when I got to my walnut tree, a squirrel was busy gathering him some walnuts too.....I almost felt guilty taking some of his food !!!!  but there are plenty more trees......I even have a walnut tree in our front yard and my husband gathers the walnuts for the squirrel and puts them in a pile for him at the base of the tree !!! the walnuts look so pretty in an old wood bowl.....I found some corn cobs that a raccoon enjoyed too.....so, all of us....animals and I, get to enjoy what mother nature gives us.........till next time....smiles, Linda

pumpkin cake, a bit healthier......

warning, NO pretty picture, or photo shoot etc, just a piece of cake, lol...so...can pumpkin cake be a little bit healthier, I think so...or least in my mind I feel like it is.......in the current issue of A Primitive Place magazine (Fall 2015) there is a pumpkin cake recipe that I tweaked a bit.......for the cake the recipe calls for :
~16oz. can of pumpkin
~2 cups sugar
~1 cup vegetable oil
~4 eggs
~2 cups flour
~2 tsp. baking soda
~2 tsp. cinnamon
~1/4 tsp. nutmeg

...mix together well and put into a greased and flour 9 x 13 pan.......instead of the 2 cups sugar, I used 1 cup Truvia Baking Blend, it has 75% fewer calories.....AND, instead of 1 cup of vegetable oil I used: 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup sugar free apple butter....
......the cake turned out wonderful, not a light and fluffy cake but more dense......now if I could figure out how to make a healthier cream cheese icing that would be awesome........

for my icing I used:
~1 stick of butter
~1 large package of cream cheese
~1 box powdered sugar
~1 tablespoon vanilla extract
~and some milk, just a tablespoon at a time, until creamy and spreadable

enjoy....and until the next time...smiles, Linda

a good day, for a good day..........

........perfect fall day...cool and crisp & leaves starting to turn......the house is quiet and a perfect day to work on a project.......so I prepared my drink of choice, coffee......shut the TV OFF !!!.......gathered  my current rug hooking project, and oh yes,  open the windows just a crack, so I could feel the cool breeze and hear the birds, chickens and cows........what a simple pleasure,  creating and working with your hands.......enjoy your day...till next time...smiles, Linda