This time of year the pyracantha is beckoning me from almost any window I pass during the day. Woohoo! Come outside and admire my lovely red berries! Yes, well, I’d like to. And today I did. Took a ladder with me and admired their beauty way up close. Thank you!

Not to be outdone, the neighboring privet (an ifey word in my vocabulary, btw) seduced me into this portrayal.

Yes, you are pretty. Sort of. And I am anticipating a flock of robins to come through and gobble you all up in one fell swoop. Any day now. The robins are not charged with the task of pulling up baby privet out of each and every garden I tend. The privet feeds them; an entirely different arrangement, which I do appreciate on their behalf. And I do like their annual visit.

Then the trumpet vine came into view, on its way out, frankly, but still lovely and worth the documentation. Fully. I have almost come to terms with how pervasive it is. I find I must admire its fortitude, but I would not recommend signing up for it unless one has very very clear boundaries (read CEMENT). And even cement won’t stop it as it’s inclined to scoot underneath and come out on the other side laughing its head off. Hahahaha. I still love it for its splendid orange trumpet beauty.

Oh. Oh. But what is this? What is this?? The most precious find of the day. Tiny ladybug curled into the fold of a grapeleaf, fast asleep. Awesome.

Ladybug! Ladybug!
Fly away home.
Your house is on fire.
And your children all gone.

Bet you have plenty of these where you live right about now, right? Might be a different species but, let’s face it, this is the time of year when we gardeners spend an awfully lot of time rounding up spent leaves. Where do they go? Mulch? Compost? Recycling? I can tell you this. Some of them are filling in a few holes dug by one very pretty Border Collie, fortunately in the far back corner of the yard, behind many trees. But one wouldn’t want to step in any of them. No. So in go the leaves. Thank you, leaves.

Loveliness abounds in our autumnal days. There must be a purpose to a celebratory leaving in a blaze of color. “I’m leaving you now, but will return in spring. Don’t forget me.” As if we would. Flanked by blue sky I am made to forget temporarily the cold and wet that will soon ensue.

Go, sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them —
The summer flowers depart —
Sit still — as all transform’d to stone,
Except your musing heart.
~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Most abundant in this county is the pistachio, which seems to manifest in a variety of colors, some lighter, some richly darker and the contrast only adds to their beauty.

Living in wine country we are blessed to be surrounded by grapevines, used as often decoratively as for the pragmatics of grape growing. Here is one such lovely vine.

What beauty do you find yourself immersed in this autumn, dear readers?

Love and blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

Book News! Thank you to all who came to meet me and get signed copies of my book last Saturday at Copperfield’s Books in Healdsburg last Saturday! It was a joy to meet you!

For latest news and events calendar please visit Estrella Catarina!

Posted on November 10th, 2010 by Kathryn
Filed under: Plants | 10 Comments »

A recent excursion south gave me the luscious opportunity to fill my larder with organic pumpkins and squashes from Oak Hill Farm down in Sonoma County. What a treat! And most of us, I’m certain, have pumpkins within easy reach around this time of year. But what’s the easiest way to prepare pumpkins, and their beautiful cousins, and preserve them for the upcoming holidays? Afterall, it’s not all year long we have access to such beautiful winter squashes! How do we easily maximize the good fortune of having organic pumpkins in abundance without making a huge time commitment? Honestly? When I first began preparing my own pumpkin purees to be used later in breads and pies and soups, I really thought I was obliged to hack one in half and put in the oven for a goodly amount of time. I’m not sure when I got the bright idea to simply boil them, but here’s what I now do, and highly recommend!

The trick? See that little apple corer? Yep. Simply poke a couple of holes in the top of the pumpkin to ensure expanding air can safely escape. Note, you might have to put the corer into the pumpkin a couple of times to make sure you have fully entered the cavity. I find this infinitely easier than having to wrestle a pumpkin with a big knife.

Then simply put the pumpkin in a large kettle.

Fill about half full with water. Sometimes I put a bit of the water down one of the air holes to be sure the pumpkin is settled into the bottom of the pan. And turn on the heat to a medium degree and let the water boil until the pumpkin succumbs to a fork. Do not do as I did in this particular instance, as I did need to flip the pumpkin to be sure the top was fully softened, and that entailed a quick clip of the stem with a gardening tool. You might want to do that before it’s in boiling water. 🙂

After the meat of the pumpkin is thoroughly cooked, pour off the water, let it cool a bit, then flip out onto a cutting board. And now you can use the knife. So much easier! No comparison!

Then remove the seeds. Cut into quarters or smaller. Use a paring knife to cut off the skin. And then put the pumpkin into your Cuisinart bit by bit. Voila!

I then measure the puree into 2C portions and put each two cups into freezer bags, marked with the date they were prepared, and pop in the freezer. This one pumpkin resulted in almost ten cups of absolutely delicious puree. You simply can’t compare the exquisite taste of fresh pumpkins home prepared with what you buy in a can. (And you know they are now using that dreadful chemical in the cans themselves, don’t you? The one they found in water bottles? Yeah. So. Not so good.) Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity now available to you! Frugal suggestion: pumpkins will be dirt cheap after Halloween, right? This little tip could keep you in pumpkin for the rest of winter! You will be so glad you did!

Love and kitchen blessings!
Kathryn xoxo

Book News! I was deeply honored and grateful to receive this most excellent review of Plant Whatever Brings You Joy published in Spirituality and Practice written by reviewers Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, authors of the bestselling book Spiritual Literacy. They have kindly included an excerpt from my book with the review.

I am also absolutely delighted to send you along to Liz’s gardening blog Nutty Gnome in the UK, who has just posted the most wonderful review of Plant Whatever Brings You Joy on her blog! I love her fresh, candid, honest review and thank her from the bottom of my heart!

And, to keep you up to date on where the book can now be locally purchased, a full list here.

Posted on October 24th, 2010 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Work | 11 Comments »