Susan's Corn Stalks

This year, I made a tactical error in my garden planting scheme. I planted my corn behind beans I thought were bush beans, which usually have a low profile and don't grow upward. These beans, however, grew long and tall, and obscured my corn plants.

As I was clearing out my raised beds last weekend in preparation for soil replenishment, I cut my small corn and bound two bunches together with twine. I lashed them to my white picket fence out by Paradise Lake Road, and now they stand as Fall decorations to the entrance of our gravel driveway. I'm glad I found a use for them, even if they didn't bear any corn this year.

Next year, I've already changed location for the corn, and I anticipate that the full sun I've provided for them in my garden software plan for 2011 will be a huge improvement.

Hayride at Bob's Corn

Here's a picture of the hayride at Bob's Corn. Alex and I love the bumpy ride out to the corn and pumpkin fields, and the day was bright, sunny, and beautiful.

Bob's Corn Maze--An Autumn Tradition

For the past three years, we've made a trip to Bob's Corn Maze and Country Store a family tradition. Bob's Corn is a lovely 100+ acre farm in Snohomish, just a couple of miles from where we live. Bob has inherited the farm, and is the third generation to work the land and raise cattle there. Bob's five daughters and their families actively participate in the Fall activities of the farm, and help with the hayrides, pumpkin patch, the corn maze itself, and man the country store.

A couple of weekends ago, Alex and I headed to Bob's Corn after lunch at our favorite Thai restaurant. We had been to Bob's in mid-September, but there were very few people there, and summer was still too fresh in our minds for us to really get into the spirit of Fall. However, when we arrived at Bob'sthis time, the place was packed with families who had arrived to take in all the activities that we had planned for the day.

We bought our tickets and got in line for the hayride that would take us to the corn maze. It's always so much fun to jump on a bale of hay on a large trailer attached to a gigantic tractor, whose wheels are taller than both Alex and me! In just a few minutes, we arrived at the maze, and maps in hand, popped through the corn under a sign that said, "Enter".

Two hours later, we came out the 'Exit'! This was the most intricate and difficult maze we had encountered in the three years we have come here. However, we didn't cheat and pop out of the corn mid-way to gauge our location and our progress--Alex wouldn't allow it! Around and around we went, and finally, most likely by accident, we finished the maze!

After the maze, we picked out a couple of pumpkins and hopped back on the hayride, taking us back to our car. We were very tired, but also very proud of ourselves for making it through the maze and picking out some of the best-looking pumpkins I've seen in a while. We're ready for next year now. Bring it on!

Falling Leaves

In past years, I remember the leaves falling from the maple trees and into our yard as a very scheduled and orderly process--leaves would fall, and on the weekend, we'd go and rake them up and put them in the compost. The yard usually looked fairly tidy, and after a couple of months (at least by Thanksgiving), the trees were bare and the leaves were gone from the yard.

However, this year, all-out chaos reigns in our yard! We've had a lot of rain and wind, and in the span of a couple of weeks, almost ALL of the leaves have fallen from the trees and into the yard. When I surveyed the damage last evening, I really didn't know where to start. The leaves are so deep that I can no longer see the lawn.

Tomorrow, the first order of the day is to get the leaf blower out and start fighting back the sea of leaves that has invaded my Maltby yard. I'll make cinnamon rolls and hot cider to get us through the task, and we'll have a chance to once again savor the Slow Life as we experience Fall in all its glory, up close and personal.

It's Pumpkin Time!

Saturday, the family gathered at our house for a 'comfort food' lunch of homemade tacos and Spanish Rice, followed by shortbread cookies and ice cream. We gathered up our mud boots and piled into the car, heading for Craven Farm in Snohomish. It's a family-owned farm between Snohomish and Monroe, far out into the country. There is a corn maze, and a number of outbuildings that house a market of farm produce and canned goods, face painting, historical data about the area, and a play area for children. The large pumpkin patches are the main attraction, and once you arrive at the farm and park your car, you head toward the large wheelbarrow corral and choose one big enough to hold the pumpkins you plan to pick out in the fields.

My granddaughter Kaila was overwhelmed by all of the people and sights and sounds of our lovely Fall day--blue skies, sun and temperatues in the 60's. She jumped in the wagon provided for us, and we all headed out into the pumpkin patches. There was a patch with small pumpkins, and further away, a patch with very large pumpkins.

It was so hard to choose! We stayed in the small patch first, and Kaila checked all of the pumpkins for the right color and shape (even at 5, she is a discerning customer of all things pumpkin!). By the time we headed for the large pumpkins, we had four small ones in the wagon.

I needed help with the two large pumpkins I chose for the front yard, but they were worth the effort. They look so nice in front of the flower beds in the front yard, one on each side of my small statue of St. Francis of Assisi.

It was a wonderful day full of fun, accomplishment, and family memories.

Autumnal Tulips

I love it when I've given up all hope of beautiful, colorful flowers, only to find that my local supermarket just got in fresh autumn-colored tulips! It's been a definite bright spot in an otherwise colorless week, and I'm going to soak in their lovely contours and blazing color tonight and dream of springtimes yet to come.

A Tea Party for Big Sisters

Four years ago, I joined the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Snohomish County organization. Shortly after joining, I was paired up with my Little Sister Alex. Over the years, I have seen her go from a perky 8-year-old to a smart and sophisticated 12-year-old. We've had wonderful times together, and we look forward to our future adventures.

Last week, Alex and her sister and grandmother created a special day for me. It was a Sunday Tea, complete with wide-brimmed hats from the turn of the 19th century, and beautiful china and crystal and teapots. I was ushered into a dining room filled with lovely sandwiches and fruit and lemon curd and petit fours and cake. We poured exotic teas, told stories, and spent the afternoon enjoying each others' company. I can't recall a time in recent years of such an outpouring of love and appreciation, and I'll never forget all of the time they spent to create such a lovely experience.

Ristorante Paradiso

Chef-Owner Fabrizio Loi is from the village of Triei on the island of Sardinia, Italy. In 1978, Fabrizio was accepted to Italy’s national culinary college, the Instituto Professionale Alberghiero, where he completed an intensive three year certification program in all aspects of restaurant management and operations, graduating with honors in 1980. Here in America, he has created his special versions of traditional Italian recipes.

Ristorante Paradiso has a wonderful quaint setting with the artist's touch of Chef Fabrizio’s finest gourmet delights. It's a place we haven't visited for dinner for years (I recall our son's 21st birthday there).

The meal began with homemade biscuits hot from the oven, followed by wild spring greens with homemade viniagrette dressing. The special of the evening was spinach ravioli filled with shrimp and parmesan cheese, with fresh asparagus atop a sweet cream sauce that was flavored by the asparagus. It was wonderful!

Dessert was a lemon gelato topped with creme fraiche and strawberry drizzle.

We'll be going back there for dinner soon.