"The Saturday Almanac"

Well, now that we are on the downhill slide to the holidays, there are 

lots of things to do out and about in the metro KC area. 

In our own small neighborhoods of Tonganoxie/Basehor/Linwood, we have a craft fair every year that is a juried affair, and it coincides with the Holy Angels Parish craft fair. 

My sister and I used to go together to these shows, and then have lunch together afterwards.  It was "our time" and how I miss my once a year visit where we could talk about old times and gossip about new things. 

Here's Stacie Johnson of the Little Flower Farm selling her goat milk soaps, lotions, shaving cream and other creations in her booth at the craft fair. Stacie also sells at the Leavenworth Farmer's Market in the spring, summer and fall, and online (see link above).   She makes all her products at the farm, with milk from her own goats. 

You might remember I visited the Little Flower Farm in April to look at three Kinder bucklings that Stacie had for sale, but they proved to be too big for what I thought I could handle. 

Okay, I wish I had bought the harvest pillow, it was 20.00.  A bargain! 

The bread on the table below is povatica.  (pronounced POvateetsa).  It is a bread made and sold here locally by several bakeries, but also by ladies who learned to make it from their Croatian moms. 

It's nut bread, but can have several fillings in it.  

I love it.  

I have a friend who makes it at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I am going to place an order with her for three loaves.  It's 20.00 a loaf! 

The lady who was selling in the above picture also had smaller loaves of nut bread and streudel for sale for 6.00, and now I wish I had bought one for a treat for us this evening. 

One of my favorite pictures of our hens.  She was so happy rambling through the flower beds. 

They are really turning over the beds for me these days. 

Look!  There was a hydrangea (or is it a viburnum???) hiding behind all those zinnias that were blooming there.  

I won't crowd it next year, and that beautiful colored mum is coming out and going somewhere where it can be enjoyed better, too. 

The zinnias, on their way to the pasture brush pile.  They are too woody for the compost heap. 

That's one of the butterfly bushes leaning over behind them, the one I pruned so hard this spring.  I don't like the fact that it has fallen over, literally, because the whole plant leans forward, and may be coming out.  I'm going to prune it again and see what happens. 

I think this weekend is going to be it for our colorful byways, as leaves are dropping like crazy now, and we are expecting hard rain on Tuesday.  It's such a pleasure to be out and about in it.  

(I cannot tell a lie, I snapped this while driving west on 24/40 this morning). 

Sometimes I wish we could all be like this duck, and just enjoy things for what they are....

even a fortex of water in the pasture! 

On a much more serious note, our little friend Tweedles has become very ill again after being able to come home from the specialty vet clinic.  She is back in and in an oxygen incubator, with serious pneumonia.  Her mama, Georgie, is caring for her and for her other mama, Paulette, who had surgery this week.  Please remember Georgie in your prayers tonight, as she needs strength to meet all these challenges right now.