October 31st

Happy Halloween!

Thanks to Margaret Hamilton,

and The Wizard of Oz,

all witches seem to have green skin.

Ha!

I love Halloween.

It's probably because of the kiddies,

but it's also in the fall.

Southeast Louisiana doesn't get much

in the true sense of fall,

we do the best we can for Halloween.

The origins of Halloween

are many things mish-mashed

into the holiday we know of today.

Back in 1785, the Scottish poet

Robert Burns popularized the 

word Halloween. 

It's a Scottish pronunciation

of Hallow's Eve.

Cool!

The beliefs were that the veil

between the world of the

living and the world of the dead

became thin on this evening.

It made the restless souls, who

wanted to commune with

the living, able to return from the grave.

People in Celtic countries would make

food offerings to ward off any

nasty ghostly visitors.

Also bobbing for apples is 

an old divination practice.

What, you say??

According to folklore,

people would write their names

on an apple and toss it into a vat of water

and then dunk their heads into

the water to try to bite into an apple.

This was usually done by young,

unmarried women who wanted to 

see who they'd marry.

👿😈

The legend of the Headless Horseman

had its' origin in Ireland.

(The Irish are a superstitious lot.)

Seems a drunk guy, Jack, on his way home from

a tavern, encounters Satan up a tree.

Jack quickly carves a cross into the

tree bark so Satan can't get down.

Jack makes a bargain with Satan

that he'll get him down

if he never claims his soul.

Satan agreed, and down from the tree he came.

Now wily Jack, a perfect asshole his 

entire life, dies.

Because of his mean and homicidal nature,

he isn't allowed past the pearly gates.

So, Jack tries to contact his

old buddy Satan.

Satan said "A deal is a deal!"

and threw a burning piece of coal from Hell

at Jack.

(Seems to me Satan coulda come 

up with something better than 

a burning piece of coal, but ok)

Jack was doomed to walk the earth for eternity

so he put the burning hellish coal into

a carved out pumpkin to light

his way while he searched for

a final resting place.

Then,

in 1819 Washington Irving hears this tale

and decides to write 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

(Yes it's a real place.)

and embellishes the tale a bit.

(Wonder what nickname Washington

Irving's friends called him? Wash?

Bubba?)

Anyway....

Trick or Treat isn't quite that old.

Back in the Great Depression years,

some youths would do pranking on this day.

The pranks were usually harmless, but

they soon got out of control.

They'd tip over outhouses -

usually with an occupant in it,

break windows, chop down trees...

so the steadfast city councils

decided to offer treats as an incentive

to quell the rebellious behavior.

It worked!

Now, when kids yell

"Trick or Treat!"

they always expect candy.

(And there's always that house that

gives out full sized bars!!)

💀

*********************

I tried to get the chicken girls to dress

for Halloween.

Nope,

they weren't having it.

All I said was that I could make 

them Chicken Tacos.

Who knew they understood the implication...

😏

Lucy, shaking her head no!

Hazel walking away as I'm talking.

Nugget asking if I've lost my mind!

Ethel, ignoring me while

she snacks on watermelon.

Still no eggs.

I swear, those freeloaders

could care less that I hadda

buy eggs!

****************

Pineapple Sage.

Makes a great herbal tea!

Marigolds.

A weird little siamese tomato.

I drew the on the face.

Do you want to build a snowman?

********************

Our small decorations for 

Halloween.

After Thanksgiving,

the pumpkins will be

a treat for the girls.

A Homemade ceramic pumpkin

that I made in 1975.

He lights up too!

Some denim pumpkins -

also homemade.

👽

The last of the Halloween cupcakes.

Their eyes seem to follow you 

where ever you go!

Freaky!

😀

*****************

Hugs

💚

 

October 15th

I love marigolds.

They are a hardy plant that grows almost everywhere.

We plant them in the veggie beds to aid in 

attracting beneficial insects to help with pollenating.

The plant also attracts the insects that eat the

harmful ones to the veggies.

The blooms are edible and make a great golden 

hued tea, or a tasty ingredient to a garden salad.

I often add the bright orange dried petals

to my organic soap along with

the juice from our many aloe vera plants.

They have been cultivated for thousands

of years as aids in wound healing, also as anti-

inflammatory agents.

 During the Civil War, the marigold, otherwise 

known as the calendula,

was used as a wound antiseptic when

dried and ground into a paste by adding honey.

The petals also make a great dye

for Easter eggs.

Another plus is that they have a lengthy 

growing season.

They'll last from early spring on through

late autumn.

**********************

The garden is trying to make a comeback,

both outside and inside.

We've got several new plants taking root

under the grow light in the garage.

This is corn.

We really haven't been successful

with a decent corn crop in the past,

but here we go, trying again.

This is an heirloom tomato.

It's supposed to be blue.

Hopefully these babies will produce fruit!

These are the baby shoots of cauliflower.

We have been successful growing

these in the past.

Cherry tomatoes.

We thought the hurricane

killed this poor plant,

so the CEO cut it back to save it.

It must have loved that idea, because

here it is producing again.

Bay Laurel

This is my Tuscan Blue Rosemary.

It produces blue flowers.

The flowers are edible and taste

like a very mild rosemary.

Great on meat or fish.

Tokyo Bunching Onion.

You can see where we harvested

a few pieces for last night's dinner.

Mini Bronze Romaine.

This is usually hardier than regular lettuce,

and can withstand a cooler temperature.

Italian Flat-leaf parsley.

We harvested some of this one for

dinner last night too.

Magic Carpet Thyme.

It is looking sad because the

local squirrels love it!

We had to cover the pot with chicken

wire to keep them out.

Cilantro.

It's a cousin of Parsley.

Our original Elvis Parsley died in the summer.

So, Elvis left the building,

thank you very much.

Orange Mint.

This has a slightly citrus-like mint taste.

Purple Basil.

I love the taste of Basil, but this

one is by far the better tasting.

Variegated Leaf Basil.

Basil is super easy to propagate.

Just cut a piece and place it in water

till the roots sprout,

then plant in soil.

That's what I did here.

We have a veritable UN of veggie and herb varieties.

French, Greek and English Thyme,

Greek, Italian and Cuban (Desi) Oregano,

Japanese and Italian Eggplant,

Thai, Greek, and Italian Basil.

just to name a few.

Gotta love the different varieties!

****

🌻

The flower garden is looking so much

better too.

This is a rescue Chrysanthemum

from several years ago.

This guy blooms twice a year,

Spring and Autumn.

Up close view.

They are ready to open.

This pot has several types of ornamentals,

but I had thought it wouldn't make it

after the storm.

Goes to show....

Don't give up on them.

Love this dark purple/red scheme.

The coleus is doing fine....

as well as the Sweet Potato Plant...

And the Sedum.

*****************************

🐔

Hazel chillin' under the Eggplant.

Nugget and Ethel.

Lucy was in yard patrol mode, 

and refused to stay still

for me to take a picture,

but they all came running when I offered a

couple leftover pancakes from 

this morning's breakfast

I called out their names and they

ran to me.

Not from affection (I don't think)

but more like sullen teenagers

in a "What did you bring me?"

mood.

They still aren't laying.

This period is lasting longer every year.

They are getting older.

They won't budge on the issue either.

We've had a few come to Jesus talks,

and still no butt nuggets.

I told them that they would make a fine

soup, but they ignored me...

as usual.

😞

**********************

Today is 

She's the namesake of our girl Lucy!

That old show still makes me laugh

out loud.

She was a brilliant comedian.

And this....

💚

Love ya Sis!!