October Oasis

Fall Fiesta Maple in our back garden

Oasis?  In Montana?  Yes!  Oasis is defined as "a pleasant or peaceful area or period in the midst of a difficult, troubled or hectic place or situation".  Pleasant?  Check.  Mother Nature graced us with several weeks of blue-sky, 60-degree weather.  Peaceful?  Check.  Visitor bookings were slow, at only four days.  Difficult situation?  Check.  The world has plenty of troubles; I keep my head down and focus on my 2018 goals.  It might be a bit of head-in-the-sand, but it's my refuge, my safe haven and my sanctuary.  Come join me at the oasis.

ONE: COLOR

Orange has always been a favorite color, so it's no surprise that I enjoy autumn, with its many shades of ginger.  Decorating for Halloween is a bonus that involves an outside display of pumpkins, corn stalks, hay bales and mums.

Inside, my focus is our dining room table.  We've had this Halloween tree for many years; normally the kids would split up the 'ornaments' and place them on the tree.  A little sad that I do this on my own now …








Of course, Mother Nature outperforms all of us with Her decorating.

Cotton clouds over the house

Upper left: sand cherry; Upper right: burning bush

Bottom: Larch framed by scudding clouds

TWO: CONCOCTIONS

Kung Pao Chicken

My cooking mo-jo revs up in the fall - maybe the cooler days and a craving for comfort food is the gas for that particular engine.  (And it helps that weekly cooking is one of my 2018 goals.)  Spousal Unit and I have created a bit of a routine with the cooking thing - I look up recipes on Pinterest and he reviews them for process, ingredients and overall interest.  If a recipe passes muster, he buys the ingredients during his normal shop.  Then, it's a joint session in the kitchen with his fine assistance as Sous Chef.  We've had pretty good luck lately with our choices; only the Savoy Cabbage recipe failed to make it onto the 'keeper' list.  (links to all the recipes except the bread are at the end of this post)

A family recipe for Pumpkin Bread

Lemon Fettucine Alfredo

Pad Thai with spaghetti squash

Savoy Cabbage Casserole

THREE: CREATURES

The trail cam has not delivered much this month; I tried out some new locations that were a bust, apart from the ubiquitous deer, some dim shots of a coyote and dark visions of a hare.  More interesting was the parade of turkeys near the fire circle, which I captured in the video below; this mama was quite intent to get her young'uns across the open space!

And then there are creatures of the Halloween kind … a couple of weeks ago we made an inaugural stop in the Tailing Loop Winery, and lucked out that someone had organized a jam session as part of a Halloween party.  As musicians rotated on and off the stage, the harmonica player would be struck with inspiration, grab a mike and wail away.  Check out this video of his talent.

Of course, following last year's post about Halloween and the Whitefish costume contest,  I am sure you all have been tortured by pins and needles, waiting for this year's entry.  Wait no longer … behold James Bond and his date from the Spectre movie.  Surely you see the resemblance?

Now, folks, we were not the only loonies to adopt an alter ego …

FOUR: CROSS-STITCH

Progress continues on my 30 Christmas cross-stitch ornaments.  I snatch some moments during car rides with Spousal Unit, but I usually double down while watching Dancing With the Stars (I favor Juan Pablo or Milo for the mirrorball) or football.  When I most need to escape, cross-stitch is my retreat.

FIVE: CHANGE

But change is definitely afoot.  I recently ordered my Day-Timer pages for 2019, and I thrilled to a fresh motif, a vibrant color scheme and the clean sheets.  Just a coincidence that January says "Seek Peace"?





Autumn is prime time for planting, and we've transplanted no less than 2 juniper, 18 aspen, 5 Engelmann spruce, 2 Douglas fir and 9 larches.  Throughout the winter months, I will dream about my babies; only in the Spring will we get a grade on the quality of our process.

Snow has dusted the landscape several times during the month, but has quickly yielded to the sun and warming temperatures.

Note these pictures were taken by the trail cam on the

same day, only six hours apart

But it's as good an excuse as any (if one was ever needed) to crank up the fireplace.  Come on November; I'm ready for you.

Kung Pao Chicken
Lemon Fettucine Alfredo
Pad Thai
Savoy Cabbage Casserole

Linking to:

All Seasons


I Like Thursday

Nature Notes


Orange You Glad It's Friday!

Our World Tuesday


Saturday's Critters

Skywatch Friday

Wednesday Around the World

Willy Nilly Friday