Choice Morsels

With it almost being December, fall is a quickly fading memory in places where gardens have gone to sleep and snow has already fallen. So, today's Garden Pic is a cheerful reminder of those golden days of autumn! It's a photo I took of Marigolds in my front bed about the end of October, when they were at their best and a Brown-Belted Bumble Bee was busily enjoying them! Brown Belted Bumble Bee on Marigold My Marigolds are yet alive, but not near as pretty anymore. I still have Red Salvia vividly blooming in pots, a couple pink Gerber Daisies throwing up fresh buds and my one bell pepper plant in the strawberry bed next to the front door is more loaded with baby peppers then it has ever had all year! I still see Honey Bees visiting during the warmth of the day & butterflies. ***** Since tomorrow is Turkey Day and I'll be busy, next post will be on Friday! Have a fantastic Thanksgiving and eat lots of pumpkin pie!

The Mama Kat blog writing prompt for today is: "List 5 things we don't know about you, 5 things you know,  5 things you don't know & 5 things you believe." 5 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me: 1)  That I'm a huge fan of Once Upon A Time. 2)  That I'm a sponge for any sort of trivia, which I have a bad habit of randomly sharing. 3)  That my eyes turned from blue to green as I grew up: the inner iris is green, while the outer iris ring is gray-blue. 4)  That I have small feet. I wear a 6.5 size shoe. Hubby calls my feet, "Barbie feet." 5)  That anything chocolate is my favorite. 5 Things I Know: 1)  How to crochet & embroider.. 2)  How to sew clothing, though I haven't done so in a long time. 3)  How to draw and paint in a variety of mediums. 4)  Lots of methods for studying the Bible. 5)  How to make a pie crust from scratch. 5 Things I Don't Know: 1)  How to knit. 2)  How to d...

Today's Garden Pic photo is my most recent fall garden addition: this pretty Coral Bell!  Their Latin name is "Heuchera." My own Coral Bell This will be my second try at growing one. I ordered a lime green one and tried growing it in a container garden, but Coral Bells don't like being overly watered.   However, container gardens need frequent watering, so it died. (Remember that & don't plant them where your lawn watering system will keep them constantly wet!) This new one is in the ground in my back garden in a deeply shady spot. Coral Bells are shade lovers, highly prized for their colorful leaves and generally planted in groupings for a show of color.   As you can see from this Pinterest photo I found, they come in many colors: Lots of leaf colors! Coral Bells do bloom!   In spring they put up stalks loaded with little bell shaped flowers in a range of light to dark pinks & reds! Thus their name. Coral Bells in Bl...

I have two Garden Pics for you today! That's to make up for not posting a Garden Pic next week! Hubby and I are having a week off! Yay!  It will be good to have a break in the routine! :) Today's Garden Pics are some Basil & some pretty Chinese Stonecrop!  First up: An Interesting Looking Basil: I guess you could call it "Red Rubin, Jr." I grew Red Rubin Basil last year, which is a purple breed of Basil, and this variegated specimen was the what grew from the seed I saved.  I'm not sure what happened. But it is so very pretty in the container near my front door.  Next: A Pretty Shot of Some Chinese Stonecrop Sedum: This is such a pretty and extremely durable succulent. Plus any bit of it that touches soil will grow a new one! Easy to put every where and anywhere! This particular stonecrop fills a old metal canister that says "coffee" on it, like from flour-sugar-and-so-on canister set. It sit's out front und...

Today's Good Eating recipe is one great for using up those bananas that got ripe too fast: Frosted Banana Bars! I don't know about you, but I have stages for bananas:  Stage 1: slightly green to just barely ripe and no spotting on peel: eat plain. Stage 2: more ripe, but not squishy with only a slight amount of spotting on peel: slice on cereal or use in gelatin. Stage 3: squishy ripe and heavily spotted peel: use in baking muffins, quick breads or something.  Now Hubby will eat a Stage 2 banana plain. I won't. But nobody in my house eats Stage 3! This recipe calls for a jelly roll pan, which is either a 10 x 15 or 12 x 17 size baking pan with a 1" high side wall.  I have a couple I use for baking cookies on. They make good cookie sheets, too, so not a waste to have on hand. This is a pass-along recipe given to me by my friend, Paula, who said these bars were popular whenever she took them to a pot-luck. A good picture of what Banana Bars look l...