The weather has gone full on Autumn and the temperatures are low. Tonight it is 39°F and the other night we were down to freezing. The pond is being readied for winter. The new leaf net arrived and last year I bought a super heater that kept the entire pond completely warm and ice free. The fish are still eating but that will soon stop as they go into hiberation once the water temperatures lower to below 50°F.
Well Halloween certainly is Goosebumps time. It is the night before what is called All Saints Day when martyrs are remembered and honored. Do you remember the Canadian show Goosebumps? Most of the really great kids/teen/young adult programs were from Canada.
From this Side of the Pond
1. What most recently gave you goose bumps?
Tonight a draft from the window next to my desk gave me a chill and goosebumps. It's getting very cold outside.
2. What does Halloween look like in your home and/or neighborhood these days?
Homes with children are decorated. A family on the corner go all out for every holiday and their home is always one of the best decorated.
Do you participate? I hand out bags of chips and Doritos to kids who come by.
3. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, chia...your favorite seed on the list? What's something you like to make/eat that calls for one of these seeds in the recipe?
I love hemp seeds in soup, stew, sandwiches, etc. I make homemade soft pretzels and put sesame or poppy on those too. And below is the recipe for a good Hobbit lemon poppy seed cake.
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| Belladonna Took-Baggins |
Belladonna Took-Baggins Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (the Hobbit)1 box of lemon cake mix... follow the directions but add 2 Tablespoons of poppy seeds to it.
Prepare a bundt cake form and pour the mixture into it after oiling and flouring.
Bake at the time and temperature on the package.
Serve with lemon frosting or sprinkle on confectioner's sugar.
Lemon Frosting
1 cup of butter
5 cups of powdered (Confectioner's ) sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon of lemon zest ( grated lemon peel)
yellow food coloring ...but you don't need it.
Mix the sugar with the butter until completely mixed.
Add the lemon juice and zest and mix it in.
If you need to stiffen up the frosting you can add more sugar as you need it stirring in until you get the right consistency.
Frost the cake when it is cool and sprinkle with more Poppy Seeds.
4. What's the most (or one of the most) 'fall photos' you've ever taken? Share it here. Just one.
One of the most fall photos I have taken. This is the scene behind my house through the woods and is one of the hundreds of creeks that stream into the bay.
5. Somehow we're rolling in to November next week. If your October were a chapter in a book, what would the title of this chapter be?
"The Gentle Amber Days of Autumn"
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Happy Autumn
