Fall Flowers and Fruit

Reynald and I had lunch on the west porch yesterday.   We've had beautiful fall weather, though some rain would be nice.  (Always hoping for rain!)  Some plants in the yard are getting tired and some are just coming in to their own.  The angle of the sun makes the colors particularly vivid, especially in the late afternoon.

Our view from the porch.  I thought it was so pretty!

This mum has just exploded in bloom!  

The fall asters are spectacular right now.

One of my favorite summer and fall flowers......gazania daisy.

Our friend Larry called in the morning and said that he had a few apples for us.  Every fall he goes to orchards near to where he lives and gleans fruit and vegetables.  The apple gleaning was a little short this year, which was just fine with me!  He usually brings us a whole pick up box, instead of the more reasonable amount that we picked up this year!  He also brought this big box of onions, which I love!  I have a few from my own garden, but not enough to make it until next years crop comes on.

Gleaned apples from our friend Larry.  There's a nice variety so they will make really good sauce.

Usually, Larry fills the entire box of this pickup with apples!  

Onions from Larry!

There has been some media attention of late, of food waste in America, from our plates, our refrigerators, our restaurants, our farms.  The apples and onions that Larry gleaned would have all been wasted, had he and some friends not salvaged them.  It's something to think about.  How much do we waste in a day?

I have tried twice before, to seed this bare area in front of the shop, to grass.   It was torn up when the shop was built a few years ago, for the septic tank and drain field.  Mother Nature has not been a good collaborator with me, to encourage grass seed growth.  This time I am going to cheat and add my own water.  Hoping the third time is a charm!

I love sheep fesuce grass.  It's low growing, fairly drought tolerant, and pretty!

I used this push spreader to distribute the seed.

Then hopped on "Kenny" to harrow the seed in.  I harrowed the area prior to seeding as well.  I really, really love harrowing!  

This is the area that I seeded and harrowed.  Hoping for a good seed germination this time.