Wednesday, November 7, 2018

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
Our World Tuesday Graphic

Saturday's Critters

Skywatch Friday

Wednesday Around the World

Willy Nilly Friday





33 comments:

  1. It does indeed seem like an oasis from the world's troubles.

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  2. A lovely oasis and you have been busy and accomplished a lot. All those trees planted. Your kitchen creations look very tasty. I have to get back into the kitchen groove here and learn where I've put all my utensils, etc. I might find out quick I need to reshuffle things. Happy middle of the week to you. My sister and her hubby are coming to visit this weekend. Our first overnight guests in our new home. I'm looking forward to it.

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  3. Such a pretty place and the yummy things look terrific!

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  4. so much to like!!! I enjoyed the harmonica player a lot, I used to go hear a local band in Tampa with a harmonica player called, "rock bottom" and the food, yum, love the halloween tree. I know it's a change to decorate yourself but good job on raising kids who launched! The house is just so peaceful, and don't you love a fresh clean calendar?

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  5. I too keep my head down and try and not let the outside world in too much. So glad Tester won! That gives me hope. Your Halloween decor is great and I used to have that exact Halloween tree. :) We got about 3 inches of fresh snow yesterday. So pretty and cold! :) Kit

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  6. It looks like you're having a gorgeous fall! And snow dustings in fall are kind of nice provided they melt off and clear up. I too love to cook and bake more in fall- I've been on a squash kick recently, doing up lots of things with butternuts from the garden...

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  7. Those recipes look delicious! I'm hungry. Your fall colors are beautiful, and I like the progress on your cross stitch. So cute!

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  8. Thank you for sharing the recipes. My Husband and I are trying to cook more at home. Fall definitely makes me want more comfort foods. I like the Turkey parade.

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  9. So many beautiful photos to look at in your post. You are surrounded by beautiful trees and autumn colour, loved the turkey parade and the harmonica. You have planted a lot of trees, hipe they all grow well.

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  10. waw… a lot of series beautiful photos.
    I love Pad Thai with spaghetti squash.

    have a great day.

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  11. ...Oasis, yep that's what it looks like to me! I see that you have Halloween fever, something that I've avoided for years. Thanks Angie for stopping by, enjoy!

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  12. A beautiful oasis indeed, and I like the harmonica player! Have a great weekend.

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  13. Beautiful views of your oasis, Angie! I love that you are planting more trees! Your Halloween costumes were great. My grandchildren love the Disney movie "CoCo" and your makeup reminded me of the Mexican Day of the Dead.

    I will try the spaghetti squash Pad Thai-- I love those flavors.

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  14. I always love your pictures. All the color of fall is like the crescendo of the year.

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  15. What wonderful shots of your Oasis! And I just loved the turkey parade. :-)

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  16. You truly live in such a beautiful place, enjoyed your photos of it. Those costumes are something! Pretty fireplace. Makes me want to "light" my pretend Netflix one. Hope your weekend is off to a great start.

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  17. Love your oasis! Fall is absolutely my favorite season. Thanks for your comment on my photo of my granddaughter and her friends at the football game. My daughter was also in marching band in high school and again in college. In fact, she majored in music education and is now the band director at my grandson's high school. It's amusing to watch him participate in marching band with his own mother as his band director, but so far there have been no issues!

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  18. It IS a Turkey Parade . . . how fun.

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  19. You've been busy! Nice photos, but you made me hungry!

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  20. I find myself pulling out some of the holiday decorations that I used to set up with my children as well. They have all grown now and I have a 2 year old grandson and a granddaughter due on Christmas Eve. Sometimes I think of letting go of the things we did when the children were young but I'm not sure I'm ready to do that yet.

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  21. love the oasis both inside and out.enjoyed both the videos.what beautiful colours the trees are.the new trees look good.xx

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  22. Hello, you do have a lovely oasis there. I enjoyed the parade of turkeys. I hope they go into hiding before they become Thanksgiving dinner. The sky photo is lovely. I like the Halloween decorations and costumes. The new trees are beautiful, I love aspens. Thanks so much for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day and weekend! PS, thanks also for leaving me a comment.

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  23. Some great pictures, and liked seeing your Halloween outfits.

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  24. Hello. Beautiful colours of autumn and great photos.

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  25. As you will know Angie. Halloween has always been a low-key or even non-existent date in UK calendars, and although it has taken off in recent years, us oldies tend not to dress up but just enjoy the kids enjoying the day (and night).

    Yes, it's essential to have an oasis, even if it's often in the mind while having a soothing cup of coffee or a glass of red.

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  26. You've been so busy!
    I like that cooking partnership. I usually work alone, hubby cleans up!
    Hallowe'en, your dressups are divine!
    I have no goals. SOme days, one day at a time is all I can muster.
    P.S. I love the turkeys, too!

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  27. I love your web cam footage Angie..Is that cabled or WIFI? I always though I would like to do that. I am glad that the fall info was interesting to you. I am always asking questions and looking up info so I learn with everyone else. There is no end to what can be learned about nature...Michelle

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  28. Great post. Some lovely Fall Scene, I liked your costumes and the cute Halloween tree as well.

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  29. Visitor bookings? That sounds interesting. Your fall colors are great and I love your costume. Do you have a costume party every year? I love cooking in the fall and winter too, though from your perspective, it's a long fall.

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  30. I guess that in life we all need a refuge of some kind, whether physical or mental, both perhaps.

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