Labor Day Leisures

A time to reap, a time to sow... a time to stuff your face with hotdogs roasted over an open fire and spend time with family and friends.

That was what I was doing yesterday. And I got back from it all just a bit too late to post.

We had a beautiful day for the annual Labor Day wienie roast. There was a constant breeze and the sky was filled with blowing clouds...

And vultures!...


My friend Scoobie's little bro gathers monarch caterpillars every year and watches them go through their adolescence into full-grown butterflies. So I got to take some pictures of his elaborate butterfly habitat. The caterpillars were too busy munching milkweed to care about the photo shoot...

Here's one that's already turned into a chrysalis. I'm always amazed by the soft green and gold-trimmed work these worms manage...


The gourds there are doing well this year. And there was a variety like I'd never seen. I've always been fond of these cute little pumpkin-shaped ones...

But check out this type called the Caveman's Club!...

I'd asked the little brother who is in fact not so little to stick his hand in there to help show some perspective. Now that is one hefty gourd!


This sunflower looks weary, ready to call the season to a close...

And the hay is being baled into great round rolls...

Cows rest sleepily in the meadow among the trees and rocks...

The sun hides languidly among the clouds...

And Scout, having begged and devoured entirely too many pork products bearing the "dog" name, has settled down to digest all of this food and added attention from the picnic guests.

I don't blame her. I could use a nap today myself!

Hope you all have a non-laborious Labor Day, if you're celebrating!

Treasure Box Wednesday: The Great Outdoors

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, and the corn is as high as an elephant's eye... No, we're not in "Oklahoma." We're right here in Western Pennsylvania over Labor Day weekend. I went to a picnic out a the farm of a friend's uncle. And I thought as a minor change of pace, today we'd take a look at some of the treasures of late summer/early autumn.

Like these stripey monarch butterfly caterpillars...

They're just hanging around, munch, munch, munching away, storing up the food they need to transform into a bright orange butterflies, and flutterby south for the season...


This fellow is already well on his way to his brand new look for fall...


The gourds are out slightly early this year, and it looks like it's been a bounty...


These spaceship shaped squash are a good six to eight inches in diameter...


The tomatoes are getting big, beautiful and oh-so-ripe. I had one of them, in fact, in a BLT on Tuesday night. Mmmm, can't beat those garden tomatoes!


The pumpkins here are HUGE... Several of them are about hundred-pounders. I'm really not sure how they're going to move them. I know my friend's brother has his sights set on a really ginormous jack o'lantern!...


They'd planted several different kinds this last year, and they seem to be doing really well.


Across the street from our picnic, some four-legged friends paused for a nibble...


...And a photo op!


Just a couple of other things I wanted to remember to tell you before I go. For those who check out this site through the main www.thriftshopromantic.com homepage, I won't be updating that section until Tuesday, as it's fairly involved. I will have a new Sunday post, though, set to publish automatically, here at http://thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com -- so I hope you'll pop by on Sunday anyway!

Why all this automation and pre-planning? Well, I'm off to meet some of my blogging friends in Philadelphia this weekend. So here's hoping I'll come back to you with some great pictures, some fun new information, and a lot of good stories!

• Did you miss last Sunday's post of inspiration photos of period kitchens? Well, just click here.

And otherwise, I hope I'll see you this Sunday. I will be checking my email, so know if you email, I'll try to respond as soon as I can.

Have a lovely one, my friends!