Monday, September 23, 2013

Rustled pears...revisited.



This was the work in progress, last week, at attempting to bring a bit of the outdoors in....I was having guests for brunch and wanted a little decor to accompany the food...twigs and a few green branches from our woods...

....I had envisioned some tiny pears, still on the branch, to finish off the arrangement......luckily I found just the abandoned pear tree on one of the country roads near my home...



.....the treasured, vintage French cookbook, below, under glass, was purchased at Refuge, my favourite home decor store, owned by Liz Hawley in Niagara on the Lake...

It was pouring rain, when I saw the Bosc pear tree by the side of the road....but my garden clippers are always in the trunk.....I was totally drenched, but not deterred....



.....our country roads yield an abundance of material for anyone looking for some natural beauty to decorate with, especially this time of year....wild grapevines, gorgeous rose hips, wild sumac (beware of poison sumac!) and colourful twigs and gnarled branches....



....I rarely buy seasonal decorations, but rely on what I have at hand, or in the garden....

This vintage, Mason soup tureen, the pattern Friarswood, I filled with moss from the garden, kale, and some small gourds recycled from a prior fall scheme....

I love beautiful, floral fall bouquets, of any kind.....but my material of choice is simple, natural elements found in Nature.......enjoy this glorious time of year.....N.xo

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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

September of my life.....

September is birthday month around here....mine, my cousin Mary's, my husband's..... Our anniversary....I love this time of year...

.....the lower terrace late this afternoon.....

I feel a kinship with the Earth, Mother Nature....these days....her groaning bounty of goodness you see at every fruit stand, the grapevines laden down, the bunches waiting to be harvested...peaches, nectarines and pears, all ready for preserves or just juicy enjoyment!

 

My own garden, offering up bursting blooms of faded hydrangeas, in just the perfect colours..the Japanese anemones, always flawless and abundant....

....fuelling my imagination with woodsy, earthy settings of Mother Nature's priceless gifts to us....

 

...from my Pinterest board Garden Views....

I begin to feel the urges of hunting and gathering...much like the squirrels and chipmunks outdoors...

I begin to bake and cook....above a lemon torte in the making...

.....and a chocolate hazelnut version of the same.....

 

 

Readying the house for cooler months with soft furnishings, pillows and throws....these 24" cushions were sewn with vintage curtain panels and trimmed in bottle brush fringe....they cozy up the wicker side chairs to our French refractory table in the new dining/mini conservatory.....

.....and thinking ahead to the holidays, yes, just a few months away!!

 

....our Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated the first weekend in October.....yes!!

I've got a bit of a jump on cleaning up in the garden....and actually finding the time and inspiration to do a bit of decorating....

This Grey Ghost pumpkin fills in the gap, where more Greek oregano used to thrive in an outdoor urn...

....and indoors...

....still working on the vintage flower basket.....thinking of adding branches of green pears as soon as I can rustle some up!!

...ornamental kale and pumpkins pair well together for a simple arrangement on a bed of moss....because

I am an incurable collector, I try to keep things simple...

...a local grower just down the road grows these perfect, white Cinderella pumpkins....I believe they are called Boer pumpkins....

 

....a late fall afternoon in the garden.....

...with every warm, sunny day left, I still want to be outdoors...here in Jordan, our grape harvest is in full swing...driving down our country roads with the windows down, you can smell the grapes on the vine, hear the bangers constantly, trying to keep the birds away from the grapes needed for ice wine....not harvested till January.......Mother Nature is in the last stages of her glory, ripe and bountiful.....beautiful and satisfied.......life is good.

N.xo

The second picture in this post, is from the beautiful blog French Kissed....