Monday's Question of the Day - August 25, 2014

[MoochNNoodles]

Sorry I'm a little late today.  I've been trying to post my question before I go to bed Sunday night (which is usually the wee hours of Monday morning).

September is almost here.  Usually I'm happy to be done with the heat of summer; but this year was so mild and last winter so cold...I'm really sad.  

  There are so many things to do, locally, during the fall that normally I can't wait for.  But I'm not done with the kiddie pool and suntans.

  (Yes I wear sunscreen with a good SPF and reapply; but I still tan through it and I tan nicely.  I consider it one of my favorite natural features. 

)  I'm trying to get excited about fall.  I really am.  I am just so going to miss the laid back lazy days of summer.  This fall marks the start of our home-school as well; so big changes are coming to my house.

What is your favorite fall activity?

The leaves around here don't usually start changing till October; but my DD is already looking forward to that.  My favorite things are apple and pumpkin picking.  We have started apple picking every September with our kiddos.  Then in October we go to one of two local farms to pick our pumpkins and do other fun fall fest type things.  Both have a "corn pit" that is really fun for the kids.  Big slides and hayrides too.  We haven't started taking the kids through corn mazes yet; but the one farm always has a kid one.  We don't celebrate Halloween; but I like to do some pumpkins and mums on our steps.  It's a nice transition to go from the bright blooms of summer to the rich, warm colors of fall...before the white and brown of winter. 

  I almost found my fall happy...I lost it. 

  Walmart had hanging pots of mums out already.  I may try something like that this year too.  It'll keep some color in the yard.  

 

[catsallaround]

Premade caramel apples and burning leaves while drinking beer.  

 

[alyssam]

Halloween! 

Honestly I don't really know. I just look forward to Halloween because then I can go to the store and buy all the discount candy on Nov 1. 

 And then I guess Black Friday, yay sales!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

i'll be going apple picking, and then making/canning apple butter and apple butter bbq sauce. also making/canning some more blueberry jam and apple peel jelly. those will be the more enjoyable of my fall activities. i'll also be raking leaves off my lawn through the fall, which i am looking forward to this year because i have a new rake (the previous one was plastic and the handle came unattached after every 2 swipes with the rake -- so annoying).

i may get to visit with my niece and nephew this fall, but i'm not counting on that happening.

i'm looking forward to using the wood stove again. i got that all cleaned out inside it, and cleaned the chimney pipes, so it's all set to start using again. this fall, sometime in late october, i'll be moving my bed downstairs into the living room (where the wood stove is) for the rest of the winter. my upstairs has very poor insulation in the walls (1880's house, and planning on adding spray foam insulation when the whole upstairs gets remodeled) and i'll be much more warm sleeping downstairs at night near the wood stove.

i have tons of mums growing in my garden beds. pink colored mums along the front of my house. yellow and crimson colored mums along one side of my back yard. and yellow and orange mums (alternating colors) along the other side of my back yard. i read that many gardeners don't like orange blooming plants, but i love the orange and yellow colored mums planted together because they're lovely fall colors on fall blooming plants. my mums are just getting ready to start blooming. my hardy hibiscus are in full bloom now, and they'll continue blooming until the first frost.

 

[angels mommy]

I like to decorate the porch with mums too, ...& if I'm up to it, it's fun to carve a pumpkin. I love to toast the seeds in the oven after wards! 

Last year, I found some purple lights with Halloween stuff in a store, so I bought a stand, & put them around the pumpkin in the porch. It was nice.

 

[pinkdagger]

I'm not hard to please. If the weather is mild and the air is crisp, taking a nice walk is as good as it gets. Since I'll be stuck between school and work most of the time, the very least I can do is enjoy the trips to and from. Some of our leaves are already changing!

 

[Winchester]

Going for apples. It's turned into a family thing now. My brother and SIL and my sister and BIL go with us. We get up early so we can stop for breakfast on the way down. We hit the apple bins for our apples of choice, then do some shopping, followed by a nice dinner out somewhere. We've pretty much turned it into an all-day trip now. It's a lot of fun. Probably right around the end of October this year.

 

[swampwitch]

Decorating for Halloween! We have some pretty cool things we've collected over the years that make the house look even older and creepier than it already is.