A great weather day for Stein’s

Hey everyone! It's time for the yearly trip to Stein's! On the day we went, the sky kept changing. Within minutes, the sky would change from sunny and bright blue to looking like it would rain. Some of those dark clouds were very dramatic and I liked the way they looked behind the pumpkins. I also liked how the bright sunniness lit up the garden area. It was like at least two different weather days in one!

I'm not sure what these pumpkins are called, but they look like giant marshmallows to me.

This photo is the background on my phone right now. I love the look of weathered wood with pumpkins.

This is one of my favorite sky pics. It looks like I caught the sky mid-change and those ghosts look like they have a spotlight on them.

Stein's had some wonderful mums out this year. And how great do they look with the pumpkins?

This picture! I love the ombre. This one was the background on my phone until I decided to change to pumpkins. I was ready for something more Halloweeny, but it was still hard for me to change from this picture!

I don't think I've ever seen such vibrant purple mums. I've seen them in dark purply pink, but nothing like this. I didn't bump up the contrast on this picture. They were seriously this intense. 

I don't think I've seen these cute little flowers before. Do any of you know what these are?

I like when all those decorative cabbages come out in fall, usually along with some small peppers.

These containers were new this year. They look similar to those kind of straw pumpkin pots, but these were made of metal.

There was a small selection of mini pumpkins and an even smaller selection of mini gourds. I tried my best to make it look like there was a full container here, but I couldn't even attempt that with the gourds! Someone must have bought up a ton of mini gourds for a display.

Yup, this is all you're going to see of the mini gourds: a close-up of two of them.

Oh, the drama! We never were rained on, by the way.

Check out those little stripes on the corn kernels. I love cameras for the help they give in seeing details like this.

These next two were new this year. Looks like a ghost cat and a ghost balancing a pumpkin on its head.

Here's one of those straw-like containers you probably remember. 

I'm sharing two photos of this next decoration because I like both pics so much. I'm not sure if they've displayed these ceramics in with flowers before, but I like it. This gives an idea of what could be done with these pumpkin towers. They're cool, but I usually look at them and wonder where they could go.

So here's a bit of the front of the store, with those dramatic clouds reflected in the windows. 

A closer look at the window displays... 

Yes, this one is also a window display. It might look like something else in this photo. How cool is that backdrop? And I love that crow. I'd like to have one of those crows! It looks like it's probably made from cardboard.

This guy greets you by the front door. He's actually pretty menacing. I've seen a lot of large props by now, so it takes something special for me to say that. There's something about the way he looms over you and slowly moves around.

He has those led light-up eyes like some of the giant skeletons you may have seen. His eyes move around and blink as he growls. This prop would be so effective in the woods at night! I'm creeping myself out just thinking about it.

Stein's has a nice gift section and a pretty sizable floral section.

Little monsters with air plants for brains. Have any of you tried growing air plants? I guess you don't really "grow" them although they have to start from somewhere. They seem easy to care for.

This cat yard decoration is made of metal. She's so adorable!

I like that garland. It's kind of Christmasy and vintage looking. This picture reminds me that I want to decorate a Halloween tree, but I haven't seen one I like yet. I'd like to find one that is bright orange.

I think this vintage cuteness was on a dishtowel. 

I like this new material the ghosts are made of. I saw some cool reindeer made from this iridescent plastic at Menards. I'm sure those reindeer would look pretty shimmering in the snow.

Of course you can't tell from this still picture, but this tree waved its limbs around like it was alive.

So there we have this year's trip to Stein's! Looking these pictures over, I'm seeing some things to be on the lookout for after Halloween. My favorite is probably that witchy black cat yard decoration. 😸

A November walk through the subtle and subdued

After the colors of October in the last blog post, we transition into the quieter tones of November. I took these photos a few days ago, on November 17. I walked around a small local park and through some tree-lined neighborhood streets looking for something beautiful in the fading November nature. 

I like the challenge of taking nature pictures at this time because what we mostly see is what I call "plant skeletons". There is beauty in just the shape or structure of a plant when it's missing its petals and all that is left is a seed pod. Without the distraction of color, you can really see the framework.

If any of you can help me identify some of these plants, that would be great! We can start with this one. I was tempted to say these were wild grapes, but they're not. They're not on a vine and the leaves aren't a fit. These were actually part of a massive shrub. 

The light was mellow that day, because I went out right after it had rained. Actually, I was being lightly rained on at the time. The sky is a milky white to gray in these, which I like for November photos. I can really see the outlines of the leaves. This is the top of a Ginkgo tree. 

This photo turned out spookier than expected. I think Tim Burton would dig this tree. It's a super massive Oak. 

Here is an up-close view of its bark. 

I rooted around under the tree, finding all different types of leaves. As much as I love the fresh and bright October leaves, I also find the thick and leathery November leaves pretty cool. These two leaves were so huge. I'd say they were slightly larger than my hand, outstretched. 

I think this is a nut after a squirrel got to it. The more I look at this, the more I notice.

These next few photos were taken in the "Children's Garden" that I've mentioned before. Any idea which plant these leaves belong to? They were part of a long vine.

The giant pumpkins they grew in the garden are still in great shape.

Any idea what this is the remnant of? I rubbed one of the leaves and it smelled nice and lemony. I know it isn't lemon balm. Maybe some form of lemon sage or mint? 

This looks like Red Yarrow to me. I know it looks too big for that here, but I closed in. I just looked up some images of Red Yarrow leaves, and they look like this. So that's what I'm sticking with. 

I may have shared this birdhouse creature before. Isn't it fun?

This is a close-up view of the top of a tree stump. I like photographing things that look plain at first, but then seem very detailed later. 

This one was taken off a bridge I have mentioned earlier. I love standing on this little bridge and looking down at the creek moving. This is very close to that tree-lined area behind the backyard with all the spooky scarecrows. 

How twisty and turny is this bark? I'm not sure what kind of tree this is.

Looking at this next pic tells me that the bark probably belonged to a maple. 

I don't recognize these next seeds, do you?

These bright seed pods belong to the European Spindle. Every year I want to say that this is Bittersweet and then need to google it. 

I know this one is Burdock, though! These may not look it, but they're soft to the touch. I was holding some of them still to take my photos. 

Pine:

Only a few weeks ago, these trees were full of yellow leaves.

It's hard to express how tall this tree is. You'd just have to see it. I can't imagine how old it is. The more I look at this tree, the more I wonder what type it is. It fans out in a way I don't think I've seen anywhere else. 

Well, there's some November nature for you! Beautiful in its own way and mysterious in the way where I'm not sure what I'm looking at. Maybe some of you will be able to help me with that. 🍂