Apple Overload
Our Fuji apples are all picked, and they have taken over the kitchen! I’ve made several batches of unsweetened applesauce, which I pair with a dollop of Greek yogurt for a treat. I have frozen much of it, but I still plan on making more. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only one eating it. 😦 I try to remember to eat at least one raw apple a day also-and I have made a dent in our supply.
Yesterday I made a special treat- a healthy, no-bake apple tart, using my friend, Carol’s recipe. It isn’t very low carb, but it is delicious! It has a walnut and date crust and cooked apples inside (with a bit of honey and spices). Yum!
Gated
Happy Fence Friday!
The Porch
I’ve always loved front porches. We had a good sized one in the house I grew up in, but we never sat on it. I finally have a front porch in our current house (just a slab, but it does the trick), where we sit and watch lightning storms and … sometimes … snowflakes!
This front porch caught my eye when we were picnicking at a Sonoma County winery with our friends, Georgia and Jerry in August. I loved the blue bench as background for the yellow flowers- and then there was just something about the watering can by the screen door! I played with these images a bit using Topaz Simplify and some textures.
Trailing
Super Moon Eclipse
Sunday night we brought our folding chairs out to the driveway and watched the super “blood” moon eclipse. Besides being in awe of the beauty of this amazing phenomenon, we felt a great sense of connection with all the people everywhere who were also watching.
The moon looked so huge as it crept up over the hill across from us. The eclipse had begun a few minutes before we were able to see it rise.
The moon started disappearing as it rose.
And then it was almost gone.
Last night the moon was beautiful too. Moonrise was well after sunset (it was dark!), and we thought at first that there was a fire on the horizon- seriously! You would think we would have realized it was the moon rising since we had been watching it the night before- but it was so orange and so bright against the night sky! We were only clueless for less than a minute, however, and then I was dashing into the house for my camera.
Golden Girl
It’s often hard to capture a portrait of a puppy who is in constant motion. In this case, I waited until she was tired and had her sit by the kitchen door. She fell asleep within 3 minutes of this photo being taken.
It’s Fall!
I got in the spirit of autumn this week after a couple days recuperating from my Yellowstone adventures. I put the fall wreath on the door, bought some mini pumpkins, and made applesauce from the zillions of Fuji apples on our trees. Fall is my favorite season, and I can’t wait for the leaves to change!
Elk Life
Tangled Antlers
It is the beginning of the rut at Yellowstone, and the bull elk are coming around to check out the females. The sounds of the bugling bulls wake us up at night, and we have to look around as we walk outside, because the bull elk are dangerous and unpredictable. Yesterday, two beautiful males with huge antlers appeared on the lawn and proceeded to circle each other and the tree between them, before engaging in some clashing of antlers. The fight didn’t last more than fifteen minutes or so, but the tourists gathered, getting ever closer until the rangers appeared to make them back up. I was in the relative safety of the front porch, but ready to run inside if they got closer.
Motherhood
Even elk mothers have to spend time taking care of their babies. Here is one of the mama elk grooming her baby out on the lawn. You might notice the little ears just visible behind the baby; another baby is lying close behind.
The Visitor
I’m used to being surrounded by elk at my daughter’s house here in Yellowstone, but yesterday we had a special visitor! It was pouring rain, but I managed to take this photo through the latticework on the back porch. Yes, he saw me, but I was very far away and using a zoom lens. I chose to edit this photo in black and white, because a bison just doesn’t look right on a bright green lawn!
Granite Mountain
Granite Mountain is the stark backdrop to the northwest area of Prescott and one of my favorite views. On Labor Day, my husband and I decided to take a short hike on the trail leading over to the mountain. As we walked along, we saw bikes and horses as well as hikers; it’s a popular area. After walking for a half hour (and continually stopping for me to take photos), we could see the mountain getting closer, but we were not yet near the base. It was time to turn around- we definitely plan to come back on another day.
Granite Mountain:
Gates near the beginning of the trail:
Weedy Triptych
Truckin’
One of the fun photo ops in Jerome is by the Gold King Mine where there are rows of old cars and trucks parked. I took these shots a couple months ago and had forgotten all about them. So here they are!
melinda anderson photography 