Every time I put together an “at mid-month” post, my first thought is always . . . holy $h*t, how can it possibly be the middle of the month again!?! I really need to stop with that, y’know? Yep. Time passes more quickly the older I get. I just need to accept it and move on.
So. Now it’s the middle of October.
And, for me, October tends to be the month I finally let go of summer . . . and start buttoning up and settling in for the bleak months to come.
I start clearing out my garden, putting away all my “tchotchkes” and tidying what needs to be tidied . . . subbing out my summer containers for mums-and-pumpkins, and setting out a little Halloween fun.
I don’t have any big skeletons (although I do love to see what other people do with those skeletons!), and you won’t find any blow-up skeleton T-rexes in my yard (there is one down the street, though). But I do love my little collection of festive pumpkins and little ghosts.
I’m slowly getting my back garden and patio in order for fall/winter, too. There’s a lot to do back there — but it doesn’t feel as frenetic as it does in the spring. (Some years, it even snows before I get everything buttoned up.) Later this week, I’ll even start planting some spring bulbs.
I’ve been “fall-i-fying” the inside of my house, too. When my kids were young (and, of course, still living at home), I used to do a lot of inside-decorating for fall and Halloween. Now? Not so much. But I do like putting out more twinkle lights. And candles. And a few little pumpkins here and there. Fall . . . just calls out for a bit more “cozy,” y’know?
Although it feels like fall here temperature-wise these days, the leaves are just beginning to turn. It’s going to be a beautiful rest-of-October, I’m sure!
Here at mid-month . . . and I’m buttoning up, settling in, and enjoying everything October offers!
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How about YOU? What are you doing . . . at mid-month?
Your garden and house look like fall! Here at mid-month, I’m doing the task I dread most in the fall – butchering a deer. It’s time and labor-intensive and after spending 16 hours on it over the weekend, my back and hips are feeling it. Today is also a day to catch up on laundry and then I am knitting and hoping the dinner fairy delivers a good meal.
Yes! Fall DOES call out for more cozy! In that department… I was so VERY tired of the stiff and sterile pillows that came with our living room furniture (they screamed ‘waiting room’), I finally replaced them. (And what a difference. Why do these things take me so long to do?)
It looks beautiful and inviting at your house, inside + out. Did you put out your Halloween cross stitch this year?
I love the smell of fall. Maybe my favorite part.
We had rain the other day, which hastened the falling of leaves — everything was covered with them! There are still plenty more to fall, and it sure is pretty. I drove to the store late in the day on Saturday and it was a perfect storm of autumn — light, clouds, colors — just so beautiful.
I am sitting at my computer looking out a window that yesterday had mostly green trees and overnight turned to fall.
I picked the rest of the tomatoes that were left on my vines; some are starting to ripen and I’m going to attempt to pickle the rest! I’ve also got about seven butternut squashes that I’ll have to use or else cook and freeze for later use, and I’ll start clearing out the plants as they start to look sad and toss them in the composter. I’m not someone who decorates for any holiday, but I am enjoying the changing colors and the pumpkins/gourds and mums that many seem to be putting out.
I’m with you–I can’t believe we’re halfway through October! I started thinking about the Christmas tree and if we need to move it to a new place because of Scout (probably). I still have flowers on the tomato plants but they do seem like they’re slowing down, although the zucchini still has a ways to go before it settles down!
I love your fall garden and how cozy your home looks!
Overnight the neighborhood deer have eaten all of my fall pansies, an entire mum and large sections of the remaining mums and I am very annoyed! I usually spray my plants to repel the deer, but it has been raining for the past few days, so either it washed off or the deer are immune to it. The leaves are changing, not at peak here yet, but still looking nice. I hope we have a nice, long time of autumn weather!
My outdoor containers are mostly done at this point although the dahlias and zinnias are still going strong. I didn’t get any mums this year – I waited so long that I decided it wasn’t worth it – but Dale did bring home 2 pumpkins from the field where he went pheasant hunting the other day. I’d have preferred a pheasant! LOL
How can we be half way though October? This week promises some beautiful warm fall days so I hope to pull the last of the weeds from the tomato patch and scrub out pots and saucers that held summer plants. I like to scrub them out on a sunny day so they can dry in the sun before I store them in the shed. Your front door and porch are so pretty and welcoming. I used to do lots of holiday decorating when my kids were little – now days I barely get anything out but I do have one little needlepoint witch that I hang in the dining area and a couple of ceramic figures that are Halloween themed. They are on the mantle.
Your front porch is so colorful and joyful. October is fun to decorate for and is a nice intro into Thanksgiving and Christmas (not that I do much). I have a little haunted house with purple lights and a pumpkin similar to yours that I stuck a few orange lights into and lights the space nicely. I try not to say “time flies” even when it clearly does. It makes me feel old! LOL