By Carol Cichorski, on October 5th, 2010  Yep, a second transitional picture encompassing both scarecrow and pumpkin.
If you need a scarecrow fix, you have options…
Bertholds in Elk Grove Village is holding a Fall Family Fun Fest on October 8th, 9th and 10th, 2010. They will celebrate with lots of activities and events, including a Haunted House, Scarecrow Building, Pumpkin Painting and a Corn Maze. Plus, there will be a special appearance by Toot-Toot the clown. www.BertholdsGardenCenter.com
Or head over to Lurveys in Des Plaines for Scarecrow Fest. Its being held October 9th and 10th, from 10 AM – 4 PM. Bring your old clothes and make a scarecrow for $1.00. They will have a petting zoo, train rides, fun house, and fall decor. www.lurveys.com
By Carol Cichorski, on October 5th, 2010 This is our main Dahlia garden. Mike has about 70 Dahlias here, and another 30 in the auxiliary garden.
 To say that we’ve got Dahlias would be an understatement. At the beginning on October, the Dahlia garden is in its final glory. Each of the many flowers is screaming for deserved attention. The heat of this years Summer was especially hard on the plants, but the beginning of October is still as good as it gets. No more work. Pure enjoyment.
To say that the season is almost over is also an understatement. Because when they are gone, they are really gone. It takes one frost and one frost only to devastate the Dahlia beds. In Chicago, we can expect the first frost to come in about two weeks.
 If you must work in the Dahlia garden, remove any buds that aren’t about ready to bloom. This allows the plant to focus the remaining energy on perfecting the flowers that are ready to bloom. Its sad to know that those buds will not have time to flower. Sad, but true. We won’t go there now. That’s what the next dahlia article will be about.
For now, lets enjoy…
   
By Carol Cichorski, on October 4th, 2010  Here we go, moving from scarecrows to pumpkins. And doing it by having a little bit of both. I don’t know what’s more fun, making scarecrows or decorating pumpkins. Either way, you can let your imagination run wild.
By Carol Cichorski, on October 3rd, 2010 
He’s saying ‘All done’, just like little Alex would. And that’s cuz I am all done with my Scarecrow-a-day. I want to do pumpkins now instead. Its my blog and I can do that. We’ll transition slowly so you don’t get withdrawal pains. Tune in tomorrow to see how I do that.
Need to see more scarecrows? I understand, really I do. Try www.Flickr.com. Here are a few scarecrow groups worth checking out…’Scarecrows’ and ‘Scarecrows Worldwide’.
By Carol Cichorski, on October 2nd, 2010
By Carol Cichorski, on October 1st, 2010 Door County in the Fall is a veritable feast (pun intended) of scarecrows and pumpkins. Here I am having dinner and discussing my blog with a friend.
By Carol Cichorski, on September 30th, 2010 We only planted one zucchini this year. Still, I’ve got as much zucchini bread as my freezer and I can handle. Here’s a suggestion from Greg, a recipe from his grandmother.
Ingredients
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 large Vidalia onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large fresh zucchini, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
Parmesan cheese (to taste)
Garlic salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
1. Peel a large zucchini and slice lengthwise. Remove any of the seeds. Cut each half into thirds (across the girth), then cut 3/4 inch strips, and then cut them into cubes. If the zucchini is wet…damp it dry.
2. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil and butter on medium-high heat. Add the onion and parsley and cook until the onions begin to get soft around the edges (not browned).
3. Immediately add the zucchini cubes, and a decent pinch of garlic salt and pepper (more if it suits your taste). Gently stir to coat the zucchini. Stir the mix every few minutes until the zucchini gets slightly opalescent. It can take 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how tender the raw zucchini, and how small your cubes are.
4. Remove from skillet and serve with parmesan cheese.
5. Enjoy!
The first time you make it you may want to try pieces as you cook. Why? Some people like their zucchini crunchy versus more on the softer side and you don’t want to over cook it. You can add more butter or olive oil if it suits your taste as well.
By Carol Cichorski, on September 30th, 2010 A scarecrow doesn’t have to be a typical scarecrow. This one from Hoffman Estate’s 2009 Scarecrow festival would certainly scare off those crows too. That is why we still make scarecrows, right?
By Carol Cichorski, on September 30th, 2010
By Carol Cichorski, on September 29th, 2010 
A new series! I’m calling it OhWhatA Wednesday. Every Wednesday I’ll be posting information about something that looks lovely in my zone 5 garden right now. Today, it’s the aptly named Beautyberry Bush. This is not the same plant as the Beautybush, so please don’t get them confused. We are looking at Callicarpa.
 The bright and stunningly beautiful berries will last into the winter. It looks like there are a lot of berries – that’s because there are. This bush has performed reliably year after year. Birds will eat the berries, but only later in the season when the buffet in my garden is picked over.
This is an easy care plant. Mine is about 8 years old, planted in well-drained soil, in full sun. I’ve read that it does well in partial shade as well. You can see that this one is thriving. Its about 4 feet tall. We prune it almost to the ground in late winter or early spring. We really don’t water it anymore, or give it any other care. It has been a happy healthy plant since day 1, with no bug or disease problems. Definitely one for the Work Less category.
P.S. – If you are a photo lover, you’ll appreciate the newly updated Mum pictures in last week’s mum article.
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Yep, a second transitional picture encompassing both scarecrow and pumpkin.
