Photography Challenge: Shadowed (Beauty Berries)

The garden was mostly in shadow the other morning, except for some warm sunlight on my Beauty Berries just after sunrise. From winter’s weather, the berries are a bit faded from how they looked a few months ago, but I am happy to still have even a little color in the garden.

BeautyBerriesInWinter

View my post on Shadowed Roses.

More on the Shadowed Photography Challenge.

First Snow of the Season

Here are a few photos that I took in our front garden earlier today during our first snowfall of the season. I was glad that the snow did not amount to much, but it was fun to get out and get a few pictures before the colors in the garden had entirely faded. But, brrrr …. it was cold.

RosesMagentaInSnow

MumsGoldenInSnow

MoudryGrassInSnow

AstersInSnow

SedumsInSnow

Have a great weekend! Stay warm!

Faces of Early Winter

Winter arrived in the Midwest last night and for the time, at least, looks like it is going to stick around. Here are our girls’ reactions.

“Got my favorite old sweater on … am good to go, Mom.”

PennyRedWhiteStripeSweater

“Could someone turn the sun up, please?”

WillowInSunRedSweater

“Let’s go inside. I bet Mom has snacks ready for us!”

PennyWillowSweatersNoseToNose

Have a great day! Stay cozy warm!

Goodnight, Garden

Here today, gone tomorrow. That is probably what nature has in store for the last flowers from this season’s garden. Though it was 70 degrees here earlier today, the temperature has dropped almost 30 degrees in the past few hours with an additional drop of 20 more degrees predicted tonight… all thanks to the Bomb Cyclone headed our way. Brrrr …. winter comes tonight and looks like it is here to stay for a while. Goodnight, sweet garden. We’ll see you in the Spring!

Garden111014

SingleHotPinkRose

RoseClustersMagentaAutumn

RoseMagentaInAutumn

PhloxNovember

MumsPurple2

PurpleEdgeWhiteMums

Roses&AstersNovember

Stay warm! Have a great week!

A Beautiful Day in the Autumn Garden

Here in Manhattan, Kansas, we’ve been having unseasonably warm weather this October with recent day time highs hovering around 80 degrees F. (It is actually supposed to get up to 85 here tomorrow.) So it seems as though nearly everyone is giddy over the sunshine and warm temperatures. I took advantage of the weather today to get some photos of the gardens. Enjoy!

Roses

PeachMiniAutumn

RoseInAutumn

Toad Lilies

ToadLilies

Chrysanthemums

OrangeMums copy

MumsInFountain 2

Hibiscus (This is probably the latest I’ve had one bloom. My other three are already dying back for the season.)

HibiscusHotPink

Quince

QuinceOnShrub

Asters Raydon’s Favorite

AstersRaydonsFavoriteWithBee

Beauty Berries & Asters

BeautyBerry&Asters

Japanese Maple Garnet 

JapaneseMapleStartingToTurn

Liatris (stalks)

LiatrisStalks

Viburnum Leaves

ViburnumLeaves

Wishing you a lovely autumn!

Pumpkin Dried Cherry Quick Bread

PumpkinBreadSlice

Pumpkin Dried Cherry Quick Bread

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour or white rice flour

1 T. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground mace

1/2 t. salt

1 c. packed pumpkin puree

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk

2 lg. eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. granulated white sugar

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

3/4 c. dried cherries+extra for garnish

confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking pan* with vegetable oil.
  2. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, mace and salt. Set aside.
  3. Stir together pumpkin, oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir in sugars until well moistened.
  4. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until no dry spots remain. Fold in dried cherries.
  5. Scoop batter into baking pan, smoothing the surface with the back of a large spoon. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean or with large crumbs that look cooked through.
  6. Cool for 10-20 minutes on a cooling rack.  Invert bread onto another rack, then re-invert onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving. Serve warm or cool. Garnish with dried cherries.

Enjoy!

*The pan that I use is a non-stick fluted cake pan that is a little bit over 8 cups in volume.

PumpkinBread&Roses

Roses&CarnationsOrange

Have a lovely day!

Pumpkins & Flowers

Happy autumn!

Phlox&AutmnFlowers

Chrysanthemums&AutumnFlowers

Pumpkins&Flowers

Have a lovely autumn day!

(From the garden today: Fragrant Phlox, Russian Sage, Chrysanthemums, Beauty Berries, Liriope, and Blue Mist Spirea)

Morning Clouds/Flint Hills Discovery Center

CloudsFromFHDCearlymorn

Often when I walk in the morning, I wish that I had my camera with me to take pictures of the sunrise. This morning, I actually remembered to bring my camera with me, so I went to the uppermost patio at the Flint Hills Discovery Center to take some photos. The Discover Center is just a few blocks away from The Morning Star and is a fun destination even when it is closed.  It has a walking path that winds up around the Northeastern side of the building, passing through a native plants area.

FHDCsignNight

It was pitch black when I arrived at the Discovery Center, but I was hopeful for vivid skies.

FDHCrooftopEarlyAM

The sunrise this morning was obscured by clouds, but the clouds had their own beauty.

FHDCview177

… And, of course, shortly afterward, it started to rain – just a little.

FHDCfromEast

I was happy to catch some interesting cloud photos this morning. Then I had to rush home to make yummy breakfast!

Have a great day!