Questions Answered......

Someone mentioned wanting to know about the natural disasters I have experienced, so here goes...

1. Blizzard - while growing up/living in Colorado High Country, experienced several severe storms that would knock out power & left us using the wood stove to heat & cook with & kerosene lanterns to use for light
   
2. Earthquake - while never having experienced a severe one, I did feel quite a few while living in both Washington & Alaska; seeing the plants sway from the ceiling hooks, hearing the dishes rattle in the cupboard, & feeling the ground move under your feet is something else
3. Flood - when living in Louisiana, Tropical Storm Allison flooded the bayou behind our home, bringing the water up onto the nearby road & almost covering the bridge which was located at the corner of our property
4. Forest Fire - while living in Colorado, one major forest fire brought dark skies, smoke, & soot our way. The other smaller fire was much closer and a Forest Service fire fighting helicopter dipped water out of the local pond with its bucket to drop on the fire.
5. Hurricane - While living in Louisiana Hurricane Lili came ashore almost directly south of us (we lived approx. 20 miles from the coast). Lili was a Category 4 (with wind speeds of 145 mph) one day prior to making landfall but rapidly decreased in strength to a Category 1 when it hit the coast of Louisiana.
6. Tornado - The first tornado was a small one which was spawned from Hurricane Lili and went through our property; defoliating several trees and demolishing a storage shed. The second one was just this April when a EF3 tornado left a 14 mile path of destruction through the town of Mena, Arkansas (where we live).
7. Volcanic Eruption - I lived in Washington near Mount St. Helens before and during its eruption. Experienced ash fall-out and earthquakes.

I'm throwing these in for good measure -

1. Freezing Arctic Temperatures - Lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for several years and experienced (minus) -70 deg. temperatures
2. Blistering Desert Temperatures - Lived in Phoenix, Arizona from June through December & I was pregnant!

I had someone mention to me that I must have a dark cloud hanging over me, that is why I have experienced all of these things. I don't think so! Having had experiences like these comes from moving around a lot! And boy, does it give you stories to tell!

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Here is the ONLY picture I could find of the PUMPKIN HOUSE that we lived in. (And all the locals knew the house by THAT name!) It is located in what was a small ex-mining community in the Colorado Rockies. It was originally just a one room cabin. The window you see is the one Hubby would paint up at Halloween. {the color may be a bit off as I had to scan the photo}

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As for yesterday's PUMPKINS, check out this site STOLLOWEEN. I used his method of making JOL to make mine. This is the front of the two Pumpkins you saw yesterday.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, & more Pumpkins!!

My PUMPKIN crop didn't do so well this year - those nasty squash bugs!! So I made my own!

They will make a nice addition to the PUMPKIN collection I already have.

Oh Nuts!!

I gathered nuts yesterday.

Here in the WildWoods, there is an abundance of natural foods to gather and eat. Among them are nuts - pecans, black walnuts, and chestnuts to name a few.

We have four large pecan trees in front of the house and every year we are serenaded to the plunk, plunk, ting of the pecans falling on the courtyard or the lid of the metal grill. (oval shaped in front of pic)
In the backyard we have black walnut trees. They drop tennis ball size gems which make a horrible racket when run over with the mower. (large round green thing)
The chestnuts are the most fascinating. They come in a spiny husk that pops open when ripe and two or three chestnuts will drop to the ground. You don't want to walk on one of these barefoot! (four nuts & what looks like a spiny hedgehog on the right)

Of course, Our bounty is shared with squirrels, opossums, raccoons, and armadillos......