#things you need to know about blackbirds and blueberries

[topfunnyanimalvideo]

Blackbirds also have the most beautiful song that is different each time it sings. The Blackbird’s improvisation is up there with Jimi Hendrix in my opinion!! If I was fortunate enough to be on ‘desert island disks,’ the song I would choose to take with me to the island would be the song of the Blackbird without a shadow of doubt. Such a beautiful bird.

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[anonil88]

Free (thundergrace fic)

Thundergrace (Anissa and Grace)

Rated: Explicit/Mature

Anissa and Grace have high sex aka i needed to practice writing smut as i worked on Bailentine’s Part 3.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18490330

Anissa lit the blunt sitting on her lips and pulled in burning clouds hard. Tossing the multi colored bic lighter in the night stand next to the ashtray. The smoke settling in her throat before she exhaled. It had been years since she smoked anything and years as in since pre med undergrad parties. So, she was surprised she didn't cough. Then again maybe she shouldn't be because her lungs were quite capable these days. Managing her control to not become a dense brick wall everytime she got upset and maintaining her poise. Grace let her spark first she said it was, “in case she didn't wanna do this they could stop at anytime.” But she assured Grace it was something she wanted, no needed just for tonight. She flicked and ashed cinders into the ashtray on Grace's night stand to her left before pulling in once more, longer and slower. Her hips rolled as she exhaled causing a low fuck to escape her lips. The smoke leaving her lips sooner than expected as her concentration broke.

The end of the brown blunt glowed red as the embers withered at its existence. Grace's fingers reached up and met Anissa’s own that were holding the rolled burning paper and herb in the air. Her fingers grazing Anissa’s as she pulled the blunt away. Ashing the blunt in the tray before pulling in a drag of her own. Grace was impressed that Anissa took two hits without as much as a flinch. Slow and heavy letting the smoke sit before she ghosted the hit. Swallowing heavy on the moisture left in her throat.

Anissa was on a Blueberry Kush clouded paradise and she could feel her eyes heavy as she watched Grace blow out perfectly formed o's. Her eyes fluttered as she ground down further on to the light blue toy. Resting her hands onto Grace's shoulders while rotating her hips slowly onto the strap. She felt her body tense up and then relax as she slid her hands down Grace's chest. Palms sliding over hardened nipples that cause her to lick her lips. Grace's eyes were fixated on her as she teased them under her thumbs. Anissa watched her eyes flit from her eye's to her lips as she dragged her tongue across them. She started rolling her hips loosely which created a new sensation that had her breath shaky. Her eyes snapped shut and she let the feeling take over.

When Anissa suggested they smoke together Grace was shocked. Sure Anissa knows she has smoked her fair share of cannabis but Anissa wanting to smoke was odd. Not odd in a maybe i need to call your parents way but an out of character odd. That was something she never thought nor really fantasized she'd hear from her girlfriend. From any sides of her girl it was strange specially the soon to be medical physician side. Maybe that's why she asked before they started tearing clothes off if Anissa had been body smatched. She understood though the reasons when things were worsening in Freeland, things were miserable in the Pierce home, and Anissa left her apartment dressed as a certain vigilante more and more at night.

One night Anissa fought with her dad and was so angry she called Grace fuming. Grace tried to calm her down but the bar was too busy for a real conversation. Anissa left the phone call abruptly telling her she needed to let go of some steam. Grace knew that meant riding her ATV around Freeland stopping as many criminals as she could with little restraint on them or her body. All Grace could do was pray that no news outlet would show up on the TV saying Blackbird or Thunder was dead. She showed up at Grace's door as soon as her late bartending shift ended. The sight when she cracked open the door to a faint knock was bad. Anissa stumbled in the apartment barely being able to mumble apologies.

Eyes frenzied while gripping Grace as she failed to suppress a heavy cough leaving red droplets on Grace's white button up. Her hand was coated in a dark red from holding together a gash on her side. Grace had to help Anissa undress and then stand in the shower as her body healed slowly. Assuring her girlfriend that it was okay and that she could stop apologizing. The shower water ran from bright red to a pinkish hue all with Grace holding Anissa close to her. Besides that she knew her girl was far so far from a good girl. Whether it was a new position at night, the light choking, or the hickies she’d found on her own body after nights Anissa was the one in control. Weed just never was an Anissa thing, It was always a conversation that led to something about Grace and Jen rotting their brain cells. Anissa was in her own words, “tired of walking on eggshells.”

Grace kept smoking feeling her body sinking further into her mattress with the added weight of Anissa. This new strain she picked up was also adding to her body feeling heavier but her brain was spit firing like a lit firecracker. Her skin was tingling with anticipation and her ears rang watching Anissa ride her with a different disposition. Usually with her on top Grace’s brain was staticky and hungry but, now Anissa looked seamless and un-tethered. Grace could tell from the deep moans escaping Anissa’s mouth and the control she wielded as her hips rocked that this was something different. Her body was not precise and flexible in its movements as usual it was chaotic. The way she moved reminded Grace of a grand rapids river winding and clashing, with Grace fixed inside of her.

Grace pulled in long and hard on the blunt before putting it out in the tray. Exhaling she felt her skin skitter and her eyes twitch as the smoke curled into the air. Her vision glazing over the sheen forming across Anissa’s skin that was forming. She shuddered and let her own head fall back feeling the friction of the harness against her hitting in the right spot. She sucked in hard feeling Anissa drop down into her lap with more veracity repeatedly.  Her free hand blindly met the top of the soft skinned hip above to steady the movements. Still Anissa kept her pace. “Just like that baby, don't stop.” Grace heard her own voice gravelly murmur.

Correcting her gaze Grace watched Anissa ride her with a head cocked back, hips grinding deeply, fingers clenching her sides, and abs spasming while moans escaped her mouth. Grace felt the intensity and her meta instincts rumbled in her throat. Maybe it was the weed but Grace felt everything causing her heart to pound in her chest. The burnt end of the blunt fell onto her chest creating a sting but it didn't bother her in the slightest. Flicking the blunt in the tray she pulled in from the shortened paper one last time. A long drag to savor the weed and the taste.

A sharp moan came from above and Grace looked away from Anissa's bouncing show to her face. She was nodding watching Grace hold the smoke in her lungs.

Grace's eyebrow rose.

“That's kind of hot in a way,” Anissa slowed her hip movements slightly her voice breathy and syrupy. “I'm close but, i want you to do it.”

Grace stayed silent ghosting the large thick cloud of smoke and lightly coughing to the side. She pulled om last time from the dying roach before killing it in the ashtray. Her hand gripped Anissa's hip before she was sitting up straight. Getting close to Anissa's mouth she ghosted a kiss with a closed grin. Waiting for Anissa to get the idea which was delayed. When she did Grace exhaled the smoke into the open waiting tongue before teasing it with her own. Sucking the tip of Anissa's tongue before laying back she smiled soaking in the image of Anissa looking free and wild.

“Please babe,” Anissa moaned thrashing her hips.

Grace swung her open hand onto the bare skin of Anissa's thigh.

“Baby i need you,” Anissa's voice trembled.

“But, you are doing so great without me.” Grace snickered her high laugh kicking in.

“Choi i swear,” Grace slammed into her, “...fuck.” Grace placed both hands on Anissa's hips making sure to cup her ass as well. Thrusting upwards into Anissa slowly.

“Fuck what,” Grace groaned sternly the friction still there and building.

“Me,” Anissa moaned loudly.

Anissa felt Grace adjust to roll the dildo further in her and her throat clenched. The stimulation her body felt as Grace started dragging her nails across Anissa's thighs was much more intense than usual. Anissa looked down and moaned Grace's name out somewhat quietly at first before grinding entirely onto her. The fullness of the girth in her made her toes curl. Her body felt on cloud 9.

Grace took control quickly sliding into Anissa from below. There was that same sound from before and when she looked at Grace hazel eyes hungrily gazed back. Anissa moaned louder this time feeling Grace rock into her while supporting her own movements. Anissa threw Grace's hands off her hips to rotate her body backwards so Grace could get a visual of the toy slipping in and out of her. Fingers were trailing her back before landing back on her hips. Falling back onto the strap wasn't new but the noises were. An unfamiliar sound was coming from Grace. It wasn't a whine or a moan but a growl that threw all Anissa's caution out the window.

Speeding up she looked back while pleasing herself on the strap to catch Grace's jaw slack. Grace was biting her bottom lip, cussing no doubt under her breath with her pupils blown.A low growl was emanating from Grace as she gripped tighter and matched Anissa's rhythm. A slew of you like that baby, i know you wanna moan, moan for me left Anissa as she coaxed her girlfriend towards the edge. Anissa knew she was close but looking back she realized Grace was close too. Clenching as she rocked she felt her vocal chords burn and her thighs start to tremble.

“Let go Nissa i got you, I'm right here with you.” Grace moaned watching her girlfriend scream out her name while goosebumps scattered across her back. Grace's own orgasm hitting as well when she began to pull Anissa back against her chest. Her arms wrapped around her girlfriend with her head tucked into the crook of the toned shoulder. She growled slightly with her normal moans into Anissa's ear quietly as they both settled into one another shuddering.

Things went still save for the sound of their breathing. Grace's hand was stroking Anissa's thigh in lazy blissed aftercare.

“You growl now hmm,” Anissa grinned staring dark strand of hair hanging across her shoulder.

“And you seem free.” Grace mumbled kissing the middle of Anissa's spine.

“I am.”

[nowitsdarkfic]

chapter twenty-seven (bud e luv bomb and satan’s lounge band)

October 23, 1988. New Orleans, Louisiana.

I haven't been able to find my shoes anywhere in Lars' place. Either I lost them in the restaurant or something else happened to them. Nevertheless, I don't really want to walk about the wet ground of the French Quarter barefoot. I found my ring in my jeans pocket, but I cannot for the life of me remember where I left my shoes. But nowhere in Lars' apartment can I find any shoes or boots or anything that seems to fit me. And the fact he hasn't woken up yet, at eight thirty, tells me I should probably bypass him and search for some shoes myself.

Meanwhile, I still haven't heard a peep from Ellen's apartment. I'm pretty sure I am the last person she saw given I'm met with silence each time I walk over there to knock on her door. I finally gave up about a half an hour ago when I decided it's better if I just take care of myself and fetch something to eat downstairs. I fix my shirt and head on downstairs with the coat over my body to see if it actually does fit me. Musty and scratchy, but does fit me well especially at my hips. I put on the gloves, which fit as though they were made for my hands. I lift my hair out from underneath the collar before wheeling around and heading out of the apartment. Lars is still sound asleep by the time I leave the apartment and head out to the hallway. The floor boards creak under my bare feet as I amble down to Ellen's door again.

Gently, I knock on the panel.

“Ellen? Are you there?”

I'm still met with silence.

“Ellen, it's Joey.” I feel odd saying this already. “I know you're probably gone now, like you went in your sleep but—” I don't know if it's the thirst of having drank a lot the night before or if it's the fact I was the last person for her to see me, but my throat is already closing up.

“—I want to tell you thank you. You know for... sharing your final moments with me and your last bit of wisdom. I'll admit I was a little unsure at first but—I don't know what I'm saying. You were a ghastly sick old lady taking her final steps and I want to thank you for letting me take them with you. But—I have to go now. I hope you and I can meet again one day.”

I sigh through my nose and feel the weight of the silence upon me. I close my eyes as I keep my hand on the door panel. I slide my hand down to the doorknob to feel it turn a bit. The door swings open and I'm met with a rush of cool air that smells clean once again. She's in there, I can sense it. It's like how I can sense Mrs. Snow or Vera in the same room with me. There's the corpse of an old lady in there but I don't really want to see it.

I close the door again out of respect for her. At least I can do one thing right for once in this past week.

I run my fingers through my hair before heading down the stairs to the bar and the restaurant, which is bustling with patrons and waitresses docked in black button up blouses and black and red skirts. I take a seat at the sole empty table near the stage, where the band of the day is setting up their amps and their equipment. A waitress strolls on over to me and asks me if I can have anything to drink.

“Cup of coffee please—no cream—and a blueberry muffin.”

She nods at me before stepping away. I can only hope I've got enough in my pockets to cover for it; I fold my arms over the top of the table and lean over so as to hide my face. I glance over my shoulder at the stage behind me and the girl in a lush crimson long dress that looks as though it's made entirely of velvet is setting up the microphone rack right down by her feet. I watch her stand up before the microphone itself and blow into it.

I adjust myself in the seat of the chair so my elbow rests on the top of the back and I'm facing her straight on.

She opens her lips and starts to sing “Blackbird” by the Beatles.

I learned to sing by covering the Beatles.

I can't help it: I do it along with her, but without my own microphone.

She lifts her gaze to me and our eyes lock together for a moment but it's long enough to coax a smile from her. I flash her wink and she wraps her fingers around the stand, to which I see a wedding ring on her third finger.

FUCK.

I sigh through my nose and that's when the waitress returns to me. I shift back around in my chair at the sight of a white mug of fresh black coffee and a big fresh blueberry muffin that I swear is larger than my fist. I take a sip of the coffee and it caresses my poor parched mouth with its warmth. I pick at my muffin, and I usually like my blueberry ones, especially the ones straight out of the oven. I think it just might be the hangover talking, though, so I keep drinking the coffee to the very bottom of the mug.

Little better. My headache is going away, but my appetite is still a ways off, though.

I pick at the muffin even more and once I reach the stump, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn my head to find the girl who was up on stage standing next to me but with a jacket over her dress.

“'Scuse me—er, I hate to do this to you,” she speaks with a little lighter of an accent compared to Ellen's, “but I saw you singin' earlier, and I was just wonderin' if it wouldn't be too much trouble for me to ask you if could you fill in for me, please? I have an emergency at home that I need to tend to, but I don't want my band to be without a singer again.”

“Um—sure.” The butterflies rise up inside of my stomach because this is a total unknown to me.

“We're just a cover band and we're only gonna do a couple of songs before we head on home, anyways. We're just the openin' band for the main act in a little while.”

“Yeah, I'd be honored to—it's no bother. Just lemme finish my muffin—”

She returns to the band, all of whom are already taking their places up on the stage. I wasn't hungry before but I wolf down the remainder of the muffin stump before striding over to them. I wish I hadn't already drank down the coffee because the whole thing coats my mouth for a moment. I recall what Ellen had told me the night before given this is the Big Easy and that someone will have work for you. I adjust the lapels of my coat and climb up the trio of steps leading up onto the stage.

There's a black girl with dreadlocks behind the small drum kit, a sandy haired boy holding an oversized blue bass guitar with five strings, and two boys with pompadours atop their heads holding twin red guitars. They're all wearing white shirts and black and white leggings held up with black suspenders.

Like a lounge version of Anthrax.

“Hey, guys, I'm Joey,” I introduce to them. “Your singer just told me she had to run on home real quick and so I took up to the challenge.”

“No challenge here, man,” the bass player assures me, “we're just gonna play two songs and then we're heading out.”

“The first song we're doing is 'Hush' by Deep Purple,” the drummer calls out to me. “Do you know that one?”

“Hell yeah! Like, by heart!”

“I like this guy already,” the guitarist on the right chuckles, taking out a comb from his trouser pocket for a quick swipe over his head, “let's get on it.”

I pull the thread bare coat over me before ambling over the stage to the microphone stand. I curl my fingers back to better break into the black leather gloves. All eyes are on me and the fact I'm the one person up here dressed in black with disheveled hair, bare feet, and dark Indian skin. I gaze on at the crowd before us. I hope Lars will hear me belt it out as the four of them launch into their heavy, rough sound right behind me. It's like being with Anthrax again as I grip onto the microphone stand with my left hand.

I think about Maya, who's back in Seattle; about Ellen, who's upstairs; Brick, who's in the hospital; the fact I got drunk last night and lied to my parents; and most of all, I think about my past with Anthrax. It's all coming down on me like a pouring, torrential rain from the incoming hurricane outside.

But all I can do is sing out, and sing loud.

Since I woke up hungover, and I had just eaten a muffin, I haven't been able to warm up but I go forth with it anyways. My voice comes out broken and garbled, but loud and still plenty powerful from my last performance on State of Euphoria, even against the full sounding bass and the loud guitars. Their instruments are rough and filthy in sound, as though they hadn't spent a lot of money on buying them, but they're good musicians, though. They're a good heavy weight against my voice.

I'm loud, even with the breaks in my voice and my stomach tightening up. Ellen's firmly on my mind as I'm nearing the end of the first verse.

I feel a piece of my hair falling into my face, but I don't care. If anything, it just adds to it.

Ellen died alone and I'm the one soul grieving her at the moment.

My voice breaks even more when I hit the chorus and I throw myself into it even more. The four of them join in with me on their microphones.

I think back to when Anthrax and I did a song at the end of our album from last year, Among the Living, called “Bud E Luv Bomb and Satan's Lounge Band”, where I was Bud E Luv Bomb, the smarmy lounge singer blitzed off his ass on booze and cocaine and God knows what else. We did it as kind of a joke, but I had become that very entity.

I am Bud E Luv Bomb, and this is Satan's Lounge Band right behind me.

I run my fingers through my hair so everyone can better see my face. This is where I open my eyes to catch a view of the audience. Everyone is gazing on at me in awe.

I wonder how many of the people in here are aware that I was once the lead singer for a thrash metal band and am now caught up in a hurricane of strange events.

Probably not many, because the couple right in front of me lean together to say something. After the guitar solo, I hear the man on the right say, “he's got a lot of soul” and the woman next to him follow with “yeah, he's an amazing singer. Lot of melancholy.”

Melancholy, yes, especially at the moment. Amazing? Meh. I'm not sure about that.

[sidsky]

rules: Answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people who you want to get to know better.

I got tagged by @phantombrushy​ ! Thanks for thinking of me!

I tag: Anybody who wants to do this. Seriously, I’m terrible at tagging people, so if this looks like fun to you, consider yourself tagged :)

* nickname: SidSky

* zodiac: Virgo

* height: 5′5″

* last movie I saw: Unfortunately, I think it was BirdBox. Before that, Spiderman, into the Spiderverse. Much more my cup of tea.

* last thing I googled: Banging on the walls. The apartment I’m in now has loud forced steam/water pipes for heat. They sometimes sound like someone’s driving nails into the wall with a big hammer.

* favorite musician: Delta Rae. They’re a folk/rock/country/pop band, depending on their mood and who’s taking their turn as the lead singer. 

* song stuck in my head: Blackbird by The Beatles. Has a bit to do with the part of Safe I’m writing at the moment.

*  other blogs: None at the moment

* do I get asks: Yep, every now and then. Please feel free :)

* following: I follow 142; I have 25 followers. I’m small, but I have my fun.

* amount of sleep: 6-9 hours, depending on my work schedule/how much caffeine I’ve had/if I forget to turn on my alarm in the morning. I work mainly 3-11 and 4-midnight shifts, so I’ve finally been able to set a decently reliable sleep schedule, and can actually get a decent night’s sleep.

* lucky number: 4

* what I’m wearing: Red stripped pj bottoms, fuzzy gray socks with black bears on them, and a gray, long-sleeve Michigan State University shirt I’ve had since before I went off to college. It’s comfy.

* dream job: Professional creative writer. Books, movies, tv, podcasts, whatever I can get my hands on. And also non-fiction science writing. I love to geek out about new discoveries.

* favorite food: Blueberries. Fresh or frozen, but if frozen, they need to be rock solid, like a jawbreaker candy. My parents would often give my brother and I frozen blueberries instead of candy. Good move.

* play any instruments: I used to play the cornet, but I think if I tried now my lips would fall off. I want to get back into it, but I also don’t want my downstairs neighbors to murder me. I’m starting to learn ukulele and guitar. My grandpa left me his guitar, and I’d like to actually be able to play it. But the steel strings hurt my fingers a lot, so I’m trying to learn the ukulele first, to build up some calluses using less painful strings, before I go for the guitar. I also sing, and have been told I’m good at it. I enjoy myself, at the very least.

* languages: English is the only language I’m fluent in. I know a bit of French from high school and college, but I’m barely conversational. I just haven’t had a lot of opportunities to practice. I also know swear words in German, Spanish, and Czech: the first two because whenever my brother decides to start learning a language, he teaches everybody the swear words first. The third because I’m a quarter Czech; my grandmother’s family immigrated to the US when she was really young. My great aunt Bubby would swear in Czech every time she got excited/annoyed. She’s been gone for years, but my family carries on that tradition. The tradition of swearing.

* random fact: My resting face often makes people think that I’m either sick or about to cry. I’m fine. I’m probably even enjoying whatever I’m doing. I just look miserable. It’s an illusion.

* describe yourself as aesthetic things: A brick-and-board bookshelf, dirt under fingernails, a black trench coat, graphic tees, weird dresses, a stack of notebooks, paint splattered hands, insect photographs on the walls, and a frog-shaped tea strainer. Take from that what you will.

[rudemaidenswrite]

Ice Cold Mind Games

Part 6

Written by: @bookchic20 and @sylvanasthebansheequeen

Warnings: language and slight sexual implications

Italics are what the professor says in someones head

-A couple days later le time skip-

“Ugh I hated that me, you, and Kurt had class today plus Alex was in training all day and nobody was with her.” Jessie complains to Peter as they start walking towards the med bay to visit with Stacie.

“They even had my schedule so packed that I didn’t even had time to run down and see her even with my super speed.” Peter says clearly annoyed with the situation. “I don’t think my schedule has ever been that busy. I seriously don’t know why they had me doing so much extra crap today.”

“Right like what the heck are they thinking. I mean I know she’s in a coma and all but I still want to make sure one of us is with her like as much as possible.” Jessie continues as the door to the med bay slides open. “Huh shouldn’t Hank or someone be down here keeping an eye on her vital signs or whatever?”

“Hey guys long time no see.” Wade exclaims from his spot on an empty bed, around a mouthful of blueberry lollipop.

There was a short moment of silence where Jessie and Peter looked around the room for Stacie, quickly noticing that she was nowhere to be seen and that Wade was in fact sitting on the bed that previously belonged to Stacie.

And then Jessie exploded. “Where is she?!” Jessie screeches. “What happened to her?! What is going on!?” Jessie rants not taking a breath grabbing a box sitting on the counter and throwing it a Wade’s face, knocking Wade backwards off the bed he was occupying.

“Jessie, hey Jessie calm down. Give him a second to answer.” Peter says grabbing Jessie and holding her back from launching herself at Wade.

“Yeah calm down it's not nice to go around throwing stuff and breaking peoples lollies.” Wade whines like a small child.

“Rampage!” Jessie says as she hurls a large snowball at Wade hitting him in the stomach.

“Look all I know is that Iron Sides, Furball and Crotchy Grandpa put on her on The Blackbird and took off! I don’t know where they went!” He wheezed.

“Stop talking nonsense Wilson and just tell me where they took her.” Jessie yells at him not noticing Colossus slip into the room.

“Возьми этот кекс.” (Here take this cupcake.) Collosus extended his hand to Jessie.

She looked up at Colossus. Her face softened. “There isn’t a cupcake.”

“I read on the intranet that you should give an angry person imaginary cupcake.”

“That has to be like the worst advice solution thing ever.”

“Maybe but you are not angry anymore дорогая.” (dear.)

“I…well…well played big guy well played.” Jessie says.

“Wait does everyone know Russian besides me because I am completely confused.” Wade asks, looking back and forth between everyone.

“Da.” Everyone responds.

“Well fuck you I don’t want to be in your club anyways.” Wade says getting up. “I’m gonna go back and hang with the Avengers maybe see what Petey’s up to.”

“No, you can not right now.” Colossus says grabbing Wade by the arm as he tries to leave.

“Why not I wanna see my Petey.” Wade says annoyed.

“Um… because you cant.” He says jerking his head towards Jessie and Peter very obviously. “We are down three staff members and we need all the help we can get.” Colossus says unconvincingly.

“Um.. what was that? You don’t want the readers to know that Stacie was taken to the Avengers training facility in Upstate New York just off U.S. route 20 at 555 Lantern Lane, Syracuse, New York 13204. Oh that’s right you guys aren’t supposed to find out for a couple more pages, when she’s actually getting healed by the machine thingy that healed Hawkeye in Age of Ultron after he got shot in the side. Man I kinda miss that archer. I’m going to have to look him up and see if he wants to hang. Ok well I won’t tell them that for sure now.” Wade says while Collosus stares at him in disbelief. “Shit was that out loud.” He says before looking over to where Jessie and Peter had just been standing moments before. “Oh oops.” Wade says shrugging his shoulders.

Collosus sighs grabbing his phone before dialing the professor’s number, Charles answered after the second ring. “Um…sir the thing you said that Wade would do well yeah he let them know where you all are. And they disappeared probably on their way with Kurt, and more than likely Alex. Sorry.”

“Ok we will bring them back when we are done here just please keep an eye on the rest of the students and let the other teachers know where they are.” The Professor says before hanging up. Looking at the others in the room the Professor sighs before approaching them. “It seems that we will be having a few more visitors shortly.”

“Wait you told more people about this place it supposed to be a secret.” Tony says annoyed. “I’m sorry Mr. Stark, but it seems like our mutual friend Wade let the location slip to a few of our students.” The Professor starts to explain.

“Mutual! Mutual my ass, he isn’t allowed anywhere near here. Ever since the pancake incident.” Tony stomped his foot and pouted.

Ana stepped forward. “Actually the pancake incident was my fault. I wanted pancakes.”

“Ermergerd. Hank seriously? I dyed my hair blue to match you. And you have brown hair.” Lucine announced her entrance into the med bay.

“Yeah sure. Just everyone come in here. It’s not like anything is happening in here or anything.” Tony said exasperated.

“Lucine your hair is always blue.” Ana rolled her eyes.

“Hersh up Solana.”

Hank embraced Lucine. “Well I had to make a new batch of suppressants and what better way to test it than on myself. And I realize how horrible that sounds now that I’m saying it out loud. Why am I still talking out loud?”

“Wait up Lucine.” Steve says as he walks in the room behind his wife. “Oh so sorry we didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Um, speak for yourself Steve. I live to interrupt Tony plus Hank and the Professor are here and I haven’t seen them in forever.” Lucine whines.

“You saw me two months ago.” Hank starts before Lucine presses her finger to his mouth.

“Shhh Shhh Hank that’s forever in my time.”

“Anyway, it is an honor to meet you sir.” Steve says shaking the Professors hand.

“And you too Captain I’ve heard many a great things about you” The Professor says with a nod and a smile.

Logan coughed making his presence known to the rest of the room. “I’m here too ya know.”

Lucine groaned. “Yes we are all aware of your presence Mr. Howlett, we are however choosing to ignore it while you skulk around in the corner.”

He growled and crossed the room to Lucine in two strides. “Lucine.”

She straightened herself up and glared up at him. “Logan.”

“Ana!” Solana jumped in between the pair, trying to lighten the mood.

Unprompted and in unison the pair replied. “Not now Ana. Mommy and Daddy are fighting.”

Solana looked confused. “I’m older than you Lucine. Why are you my Mom? And why is Logan my Dad?” Downtrodden she left the pair alone.

BAMF! In a blue puff of smoke Jessie, Kurt, and Alex appear in the room, shortly followed by a silver blur that was Peter. “Ha Peter I told you Kurt was faster.” Jessie says laughing at Peter before following his gaze to where the rest of the occupants were staring at the four of them. “Oh um Hi.” Jessie says waving to a confused Tony Stark. “Um… sorry to interrupt but we are looking for our friend who was kidnapped from her hospital bed without notifying her next of kin aka me.” She says before pointing to herself.

Peter looks over at her. “Wait what about me am I not her next of kin?” Peter asks.

“No Peter I am. You are just her, unofficially official not boyfriend but totally her boyfriend, and I thought you knew that already.”

“Can you not do that right now.” Hank says from his place next to the Professor and Steve.

“Who are you to tell us what to do?” Jessie says rudely, then turns to Peter. “Doesn’t he sound a bit like Hank.”

“Well…” Peter starts, before being interrupted.

“Oh my god it is Hank!” Jessie exclaims.

“HA! I’m not the only one who gets confused when you’re not blue Hank!” Lucine points in his direction while maintaining eye contact with Logan. Jessie followed the sound of an unfamiliar voice and saw a petite blue haired girl locked in an intense stare with Logan. Anger bubbled in Jessie’s throat. She clenched her fists.

“We are sorry for not telling you but we did plan on letting you know once we had gotten her back to the mansion.” Hank says, drawing Jessie’s attention back to the conversation at hand.

“I get that y’all are helping but you can’t just take her away from me without telling me…” Jessie trails off starting to tear up. She’s all I have left. She angrily rubbed at her eyes.

I am truly sorry Jessica. I can assure you this was not the plan. We had planned on taking Stacie while you were in class and unfortunately we ran behind on our schedule.

“Ok what is going on right now who are these kids?” Tony asks confusedly looking to the Professor for answers.

“First of all, Mr. Stark these students are all over the age of eighteen and secondly these are the guests I told you about.” The Professor answered Stark’s question. “Won’t you introduce yourself to our gracious host please students.”

“Hey, I’m Peter Maximoff, I’m awkward and I run fast.”

“Alex”

“I am Kurt Wagner, also known as the incredible nightcrawler.”

There was a silence as Jessie failed to introduce herself. She stared intently at Logan and the girl.

“Miss Baise, won’t you introduce yourself, please.” The Professor asks drawing her attention.

“What oh yeah…” Jessie turned back to Stark after her attention had again been diverted towards Logan and the blue haired girl. “My name is Jessie I have control over icy things.”

“Ana can I have a hand please?” Bruce’s voice suddenly came through over the intercom.

“Of course Bruce! Apparently Mommy and Daddy are fighting and I don’t know why.” She scurried towards the back of the med bay.

After a few moments Bruce and Ana emerged from another room in the med bay pushing a gurney. Jessie shoved Peter backwards as she rushed over to her friend.

“Are you really that selfish?” Peter asked from the floor. Jessie shot back a glare at him. She wiggled her fingers and some ice appeared under Peter, hindering his ability to stand up.

“Everything went swimmingly.” Bruce stated to the crowd that had appeared in the med bay.

“Excellent.” The Professor said. “Now we can take Miss Barcus back to the mansion with us and begin to take her off of the pentobarbital.”

Beside Jessie, Stacie started to twitch on the gurney. “Uh.” Jessie shook her head. Maybe she had just imagined it. Stacie twitched again. “Okay so that’s definitely happening.” Jessie quickly turned towards the Professor who was talking with Tony and Bruce with Hank. “Professor? Hank? Logan?”

Jessie quickly ducked as she heard metal rattling behind her. A chair immediately flew over her head and shattered the window immediately to Tony’s right.

“What the hell was that?” Tony screeched cowering behind Steve.

“Her suppressants are wearing off.” Hank excused himself from the small group and injected a small syringe full of yellowish liquid into the IV on Stacie’s arm. “We should be good now.” Hank helped Jessie off the floor.

“SHE DID IT ON PURPOSE!” Tony yelled.

“TONY. SHE IS IN A COMA!” Bruce yells mirroring Tony’s emotion level.

“Thank you very much Mr. Stark for allowing us to use your Regeneration Cradle.” Hank says rolling Stacie over to the group with Jessie’s help.

“I am truly sorry about your window Mr. Stark. You can add that to our bill if you so wish. However for now we should be on our way.” The professor says as he holds his hand out to shake Starks. Stark just stood there staring between the window and Stacie.

“Don’t worry about the window Charles.” Bruce starts as he shakes his hand instead of Tony. “We just hope that she gets better soon.”

*“Thank you Bruce, we will keep you updated on how she progresses.” Charles turns his attention towards the students. “Peter, Alex, Kurt, and Jessie. Please follow Hank to the Blackbird. We will be leaving shortly.”

“But Professor-”

“Miss Baise we will be leaving soon now that our objective here is complete.”

There will be no further discussion on the subject.

Jessie sighed as Alex grabbed her arm and forced her to follow.

“Are you two just going to keep staring at each other?” Steve sighed looking at the pair. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

“Ugh just leave your wife to her drama, and go help Bruce clean up the med bay why don’t you.” Tony says as he stares at the broken window. “While I go and try to find someone that can get a window made and delivered asap.” He sighs before walking out of the room.

“Alright Bruce lets go then since Tony is apparently in control of this situation.” Steve says as he and Bruce head through the doors to the back of the med bay.

Ana wormed her way in between Logan and Lucine. She poked Lucine in the face. Lucine didn’t flinch. After a few more pokes and prods Ana reluctantly gave up. “Screw this. I’m going to go bug Sam. He was making cookies earlier. And I’m going to eat all of them so you can’t have any!” Ana stuck her tongue out at Lucine before making her way to the elevator.

“I know you two want to have your chat.” Charles turned towards Logan and Lucine. “And normally I wouldn’t mind however, we do have students with us, so please make it as short as possible.” Charles turned his chair around and wheeled himself towards the jet. Where everyone was starting to load into the jet.

“Is he always that bossy?” Lucine asks cracking her neck.

“Eh you get used to him.” Logan grumbles. “Now go ahead and say it.”

“Say what?” She asks.

“Look I’ve known you long enough I know you have something to say.”

“What?! I have no clue what you are talking about Logan.” Lucine says sarcastically.

He narrowed his eyes. “Lucine.” He growled.

She threw her hands up exasperated. “How old is she?”

“Stacie’s 19.”

“The other one. The one who gave me frostbite.” She pulled down the shoulder of her shirt. Her shoulder was turning a light blueish gray.

“Are you fucking kidding me! You didn’t even flinch! How are you okay?” Logan placed his hand on her shoulder trying to warm it up.

Lucine laughed. “I grew up with Ana. She made Steve cry on our first date because she slapped him. Like Solana made Captain America cry.”

“Shit. I didn’t know she hit that hard.”

Lucine snapped her fingers in his face. “Oh no. Oh no no no. You will not be deterring this conversation. How old is Jessie?”

“She’s 19 too.”

“Oh thank God. She’s legal.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jessie peered around the corner of the med bay.

Lucine chuckled. “Logan Logan Logan. I’ve gotten those bedroom eyes from you enough. I know that damn look. Or as Ana puts it the chocolate cake look.”

“Because you love chocolate cake.” Logan rolled his eyes.

“God I love you.” Lucine wrapped her arm around his waist.

Logan kissed the top of her head. “I love you too kid.”

Jessie. You are supposed to be on the plane.

She jumped. “Professor. I was just uh yeah.”

“Come on Jessie. Logan and Lucine are old friends.”

“I wasn’t…It’s not like I care I mean.” Jessie stutters out.

“Sure you don’t, now come on they will be along shortly. Let’s get you buckled up in the Blackbird.” Charles says as he starts to lead Jessie back to the plane.

“Hold on Professor. I have to tie my shoe.” Jessie bent down and pretended to tie her shoes while watching.

“Take care of yourself kid.”

“You too old man.”

Logan laughed. “And you never complained about that before when I made you co-”

Lucine cut him off by placing a quick kiss on his lips. “Shut up James.”

He rubbed his lips. “I hate that you do that platonically.”

She wiggled her left hand in front of his face. “You don’t get non-platonically anymore.” She slapped his butt. “Now get moving sweetcheeks. You gotta plane to catch.”

“Yeah yeah yeah.” He made his way to the Blackbird. There was only one open seat next to Jessie. Logan sat down and buckled himself in. Jessie immediately stood up and sat on Alex’s lap. Alex sighed and unbuckled himself. Jessie buckled herself into Alex’s now vacant seat.

She saw you kiss Lucine. She’s upset.

[carolunea-matea]

Put Me In Coach

Chapter Ninteen

Lunea looked in wonder at the man sleeping next to her. They stayed up talking until day break. About their old lives, about their new lives, about their love.

Negan had had to convince Lunea he meant it when he said he loved her.

“Ribbons, I loved my wife. I always fucking will. But that part of my life is over. I moved on a long time ago. She passed three years ago. Right before all this shit started. I think she would want me to be fucking happy. You make me fucking happy.”

She finally understood. It made her love him more. She grabbed the walkies and went into the bathroom.

“Alex, come in? It’s Lunea.”

“Yes ma’am, I’m here.”

“Any way we can get some blueberry pancakes and some coffee up here?”

“Absolutely, ma’am. Can I say something?”

“Go for it.”

“You were really amazing up there last night. And you’re right. Negan is harsh but fair. My sister and I would not have made it if we hadn’t found The Sanctuary. So, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Alex. And bring Jenny by my office before evening yoga. I have a birthday present for her.”

“I will ma’am! Thank you”

“See you in a bit.”

Lunea decided to take a quick shower before the food arrived. She turned the water as hot as she could stand it and climbed in. Pretty soon she was singing while washing her hair.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these sunken eyes and learn to see All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Negan woke up and reached for Lunea. When he didn’t feel her he sat up. That’s when he heard her. He walked over to the bathroom and leaned on the door frame smiling.

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Lunea turned off the water still humming. She pushed open the curtain and almost jumped out of her skin.

“Jesus Christ, Negan! Don’t do that!”

“I fucking forgot that you sing. That was fucking beautiful, princess.”

Lunea blushed, while grabbing her robe.

“Thanks.”

There was a knock on the door.

“Who the hell…”

“Relax, Negan, it’s Alex with breakfast.”

Lunea walked to the door.

“Thanks, Alex. I know you were probably getting ready to start lunch. We had a late night so we slept in and I’m sure Negan is starving!”

“It was my pleasure, Ma’am. We had Orange Juice, too so I brought you some. Good Morning, Sir.”

“You brought coffee, kid, I’m liking you more and more,” Negan grabbed his coffee and sat on the couch.

“Thanks again, Alex! I’ll see you and Jenny later.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Alex left looking as relaxed as Lunea has ever seen him.

“It may be time to give that kid a promotion. These pancakes are fucking incredible!”

“Mhmm. It would be nice for him to have an easier time with his sister,” Lunea added

“What do you think? Get them a two bedroom? We’ve got one near the office. Twenty extra points an hour?”

“That sounds wonderful, Negan! Maybe I can let them pick out some things for their new place? I really like those kids, Negan. He is only 17. They had it rough even before all this. Mom died in a car accident. Dad was a drunk. He’s been taking care of that little girl since she was a baby.”

“Well it is fucking settled then! I’ll get everything straightened out when we get to the office.”

Lunea smiled at him.

“I love you,” she kissed his cheek and went to get dressed.

“I love you, too, Ribbons.”

~

They walked down to their office hand in hand. Negan carrying Lucille and Lunea carrying her machete.

People walking past inclined their heads towards them both out of respect.

“We make a damn good looking couple, Ribbons”

She laughed as they walked into their office.

“Well, hello, Simon! Glad you made it back. Did Rick like his little gift,” Lunea practically snarled.

Simon laughed, “Oh he was beside himself. He thought Negan had done it. When I told him it was a tiny little thing of a female that did not appreciate some little bitch coming into her home to kill her leader, he turned white as a fucking ghost. I told him next time any of them step a toe out of line they have more than just Negan to worry about.”

Lunea and Negan laughed as they leaned their weapons against their desks.

“I see you’ve still got your new toy. I’ll send someone up to clean and sharpen it later if you’d like. Are you going to name it, too?” Simon asked.

“That would be great! I don’t know. Maybe? What does one name a machete?” Lunea laughed.

“Alright, Simon, we’ve got some things to discuss,” Negan interrupted.

They all set to work.

~

Hours later there was a knock at the office door.

“Come in!” Lunea called. She was so excited to tell Alex and Jenny the good news. Negan chuckled at her obvious excitement.

Alex and Jenny walked in the room shyly.

“Hey guys!” Lunea got up and sat on her desk.

“Few things today. First, Jenny, I know you just had a birthday. I wanted you to have these,” Lunea handed her a box.

The little girl opened it and pulled out a doll with pink ribbons in her hair along with different colored ribbons to change out and ribbons off her own.

“She is beautiful! And she has ribbons just like you! Thank you so much!”

The little girl gave Lunea a big hug.

“You are very welcome! Now, Alex. You have been amazing and they food you make is delicious. Negan and I discussed it and we have agreed that it is time for a promotion.”

Alex looked from Lunea to Negan as Negan stood up.

“Follow me,” he scooped Jenny up and walked out of the office down the hall past Lunea’s old room. When he got to the correct door, he unlocked it and pushed the door open before putting the little girl down.

“Welcome to your new room.”

Alex and Jenny walked in with their mouths hanging slightly open. Lunea and Negan grinned at each other.

“Th…this is ours?” Alex asked in disbelief.

“Yes and along with it comes a 20 point an hour raise,” Negan explained, “You’ve been doing a damn good job and we wanted to make sure to acknowledge it. Keep up the good work, kid.”

Negan nodded to Lunea and walked back to his office.

“Now, as my thank you for all your hard work, tomorrow morning the two of you will join me in the warehouse and we will get this place decorated. I have already asked Nick and Joey to bring your stuff up here for you. So you should have what you need for the night.”

“Can I hug you, ma’am?” Alex asked shyly.

“Only if you stop calling me ma’am,” she laughed.

Alex gave her a huge hug.

“This means so much to us. Thank you.”

“Family, Alex. I meant it. You two remind me of my cousins. It makes me happy to see you happy. Enjoy the space and tomorrow we go shopping!”

Jenny jumped up and down excitedly. Lunea gave them each one more hug before walking back to the office.

“That felt really good. Thank you, Negan.”

“I love seeing you happy, Doll. Now what do you say we go for a walk?”

“I love the sound of that.”

Tag List:

@catlovescats @neganandblake @likearaindropfilledwithgoldust @negans-network @ask-kakashihatake @soythedemonqueen @collette04 @idk-wtf-is-happening @kateyasher

[benjamingarden]

This Month On The Farm: October 2020

  Our first snow has arrived!!  Ok, so it was only about an inch, but, nonetheless, it arrived on the second to the last day of October.  And with it came some significantly colder weather including our first below 30 degree night. 

While the majority of our summer garden ended in September, we were the happy recipients of additional garden goodness throughout October in the form of cabbage, broccoli, green beans, squash, beets, carrots, peppers, tomatoes (the first half of the month), and herbs.  Needless to say, our freezers are chock full.

Garden Wins And Fails

Let's start with the fails and get those right out of the way. Eggplant, for some reason, did not do well for me this year.  I've never ever had an issue with it but 2020 was no ordinary year.  Cucumbers, too, did not produce well for some reason.  I've always struggled with melons, and this year, of course, was no different.  They did ok, not great.  And, of course, because of the early-on visits by the whistle pig (with the enormous appetite) who adored all things green, we had a rough start with greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and carrots.  Many eventually came back and others were replanted.

And the wins......  My peppers did outstanding this year as did my squash, tomatoes, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, and pretty much everything else in the garden.  Partial credit, I'm sure, goes to the soil that we continue to amend.  Partial credit also goes to the fact that I had time to weed, pick bugs, water, and do all of the things that make a garden happy.

On October 30th, the night temps dipped into the 20's, so I pulled of all remaining veg except for greens (kale, chard, arugula, mustard, and loose leaf lettuce).  I've left them growing but we did not get our tunnel made for the raised bed they are in so, unfortunately, I don't think they'll last long with just a cloth row cover.

Oliver & Jackson

Well, back to the specialty veterinary clinic we go.....  

Poor Ollie has been having some issues, come to find out he has multiple herniated discs.  He is doing well and it's nice to know what we're dealing with instead of guessing.  Initially we all thought (us and his neurologist) that he may have a brain tumor like Emerson as well, but it was ruled out with an MRI (thankfully!).

And then there's Jack.  Wouldn't you know that Mr. Jackson has a heart murmur, discovered at his annual check-up, and is now scheduled to see a cardiologist?  That guy must have been jealous that Oliver got to travel to see specialists......  Unfortunately they are booked until February, so as long as he doesn't show any signs of distress, he will go at that time (they will get him in as an emergency if need be).  

We expected this would likely come at some point as one of his litter mates has had some heart issues for a few years and is now on medications to keep it under control.  So, Jack will, at the very least, have annual appointments with a cardiologist to keep an eye on his heart.  And in case you're wondering, no, his heart murmur does not stop him from harassing Oliver or biting our toes at night.  

Some things will never change.

delicious apple cake

In The Kitchen

We haven't been out to eat or purchased food to-go since February so our kitchen stays quite busy.  Breakfasts remain fairly simple although I did make Cinnamon Swirl Bread and Blueberry Scones this month, just because.  For lunch we didn't make the switch to soups because of the moderate temps.  Instead, we continued to use the outdoor grill, make quick sandwiches or salads, and of course enjoy leftovers.

Dinners were fairly standard since we've been busy with our soap business.  I did try this recipe for Chicken Fajita Rice for Jay and he loved it. 

For dessert I tried this Apple Cake recipe and it is soooooo good.  As I've noted before, we very rarely use processed sugar, however, we do make exceptions from time-to-time and this cake is worth it.  I did cut the brown sugar used in the actual cake batter in half because I knew it would be way too sweet for us.  It was still definitely more then plenty sweet in our opinion.  I also substituted out the egg, used oat milk & vinegar for the buttermilk, vegan butter, and reduced the oil to make it something I would eat as well, but I'm positive if you are interested in making the recipe exactly as is it will be amazing.  

Jay has asked if it could be made for Thanksgiving so I will be whipping another one up today!

In The Coop

Absolutely nothing is happening in the coop.  The girls enjoy their feed and snacks but are still on their egg laying break.  Jay has been rationing his egg consumption and we did purchase a dozen eggs from our farmer's market a few weeks back so he could make omelets and scrambled eggs frivolously.  At that time we were getting 3-5 eggs per week but now we are getting none.  So we will be buying them again....

What I've Been Reading

I've continued to enjoy reading in the evenings.  I have realized that there are a few new (to me) authors whose writing I love - K.A. Tucker, Elizabeth Berg, Louise Miller, and Heather Webber.  All write very differently but I just really enjoy what I've read by each of them so far.

Here are some of my favorites read this month.  Actually I LOVED each of these (affiliate links):

The Simple Wild: A Novel and the second in the series Wild At Heart: A Novel - by K.A. Tucker (the third and final in the series is available December 1st)

Say You Still Love Me: A Novel - by K.A. Tucker

The Last Time I Saw You: A Novel - by Elizabeth Berg

The Late Bloomer's Club: A Novel - by Louise Miller

Midnight At The Blackbird Cafe: A Novel - by Heather Webber

One that I was surprised to really like, because it's not a book I would have normally chosen, was Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb.  I really enjoyed it and am so glad that I read it.

If you have some favorites that you would recommend, I would love for you to leave it in the comments!

soap curing on the shelves

The Soap & Skincare Business

We are incredibly blessed to be quite busy despite the craft shows being cancelled and having limited tourists in our town to shop at our weekly farmer's market.  Our online store continues churn out the orders and our local regulars continue to come out.  And, the holiday Artisan Market at a museum one town over is going to be able to open so we are thrilled to have our products there again this year.

Our farmer's market usually moves indoors in November, however, we are trying to stay outside as long as possible this year.  It's been chilly, I'm not going to lie.  A couple of Sundays ago we barely made it to 40 degrees and this past Sunday we were at, I believe, 41 degrees.  We did invest in a portable heater that is fueled by propane so that will be nice.  We can put our tent walls up and turn on the heater to get warm.  It's nice because it gives shoppers much more space to shop and makes them feel a lot more comfortable as our areas COVID numbers continue to rise.

Although this post was about 2 weeks late, I wanted to give you an October update.  Thank you to those of you who have reached out asking for this and other posts.  I'm hoping to get back to posting more often soon!  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we certainly have a tremendous amount to be thankful for.  Although we usually host a small gathering for friends, we will be celebrating just the two of us (and critters of course) this year.  It will be a great day off (except for cooking) that we've looked forward to.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

This Month On The Farm: October 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

[johnboothus]

Wine 101: Merlot

Inspired by one of VinePair’s most popular site sections, the Wine 101 Podcast takes an educational, easy-to-digest look into the world of wine. This episode of Wine 101 is sponsored by William Hill Estate Winery. To experience William Hill Estate Winery is to discover another side of Napa Valley. William Hill Estate Winery is a place where extraordinary vineyards are tucked away along the serene Silverado Trail. A place where you can still discover an incredible wine for the first time. A Napa Valley winery that is off the beaten path. At William Hill Estate, we believe the beauty of wine is in its simplicity, sincerity, sun, soil, and the power of human hands and minds. That’s the spirit in which we make our wines, staying as true to nature and its fruits as we can. William Hill Estate Winery, pair with life.

Welcome back to Wine 101. In this week’s episode, VinePair tastings director Keith Beavers goes through everything you need to know about Merlot: Its parentage, its use as a blending variety in wines like Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, and how its extreme popularity (and a line from the movie “Sideways“) has given it a bad reputation in more recent years.

As Beavers explains, the Merlot group came from two orphan grape varieties: Cabernet Franc and Madeleine. In France, Merlot is predominantly grown in Bordeaux, where it is celebrated for its blending abilities.

Outside of France, the grape is also grown in the Friuli region of Italy, as well as in Croatia, Slovenia, California, Washington State, and New York. Following the wine’s peak in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it began to decline after being overly mass-produced and saturating the market, but, as Beavers explains, Merlot is worth a second try. The grape is used in many blends on the U.S. market — especially Pinot Noir, thanks to the 75 percent rule — meaning most are already consuming it, whether they are aware of it or not. And when it is done right, Merlot can be a beautiful, soft but round wine.

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My name is Keith Beavers, and Mercury is in such retrograde right now. Can you feel it?

What’s going on, wine lovers? Welcome to episode 22 of VinePair’s Wine 101 Podcast. My name is Keith Beavers, I’m the tastings director of VinePair, and salutations!

OK, here we are. We are at the Merlot episode. This is going to be awesome. It’s time to set the record straight on this awesome grape. I promise you’re gonna love it.

Often throughout these episodes, I have mentioned the variety Cabernet Franc, and I call it an orphan grape. And I never really explained what that means. We know that Cabernet Franc originated in the Basque region of Spain, where it was called Achéria. DNA profiling cannot find its parentage, so it’s an orphan grape. It appeared in the Basque region of Spain, and then it began to travel with humans, eventually making its way to the Bordeaux region.

If you were to head north off the coast of the Basque region of Spain, you would be in the Bay of Biscay. And if you go straight north from the Basque region, the town called Bilbao, which is the capital of that region, you would hit the northwestern peninsula of France, which is called Brittany. Inland from the coast of Brittany is a town called Saint-Suliac (my French is terrible). Here, in the middle ages, was a monastery or an abbey — monks were everywhere around this time. And of course being monks, they had vineyards and it’s thought that the Cabernet Franc grape, at the time, made its way to Brittany. And then from Brittany down into the Loire Valley, then from the Loire Valley down into Bordeaux.

One thing about Bordeaux that I couldn’t mention in the Bordeaux episode is that the majority of the activity in old-school Bordeaux before the Médoc was even created, because it was created, took place mostly south of the town of Bordeaux. A lot of wine was made in Entre-Deux-Mers, that big swath of forested vineyard land, where all the white wine is made now.

But there are a lot of vineyards all around that area. There’s also islands in the Garonne River where vines were planted back in the Middle Ages. And early on, these vineyards were not one set variety, they were field blends of different varieties. And it’s here in this mix of vineyards, maybe even on one of those islands and the Garonne River, where Merlot was born. And the DNA profiling for a long time showed that Cab Franc was a parent of Merlot. But at the time, no one could figure out what the second parent was. So let’s say Cab Franc was the father. Who was the mother?

In 1996, there was a vine sample that came from that little town Saint-Suliac from an abandoned vineyard on a slope called Mont Giroux. Brittany had abandoned all winemaking 200 years prior, actually to this day there’s only one vineyard in that area making wine. Nobody knew what this vine was, it didn’t even have a name. And then, a few years later in the Charente Department, which is just northeast of Bordeaux, this same vine was found on the front of four houses in four villages in that department. Is that cool, or what?

They actually named this grape the Grape of Madalena because at the time, the grape ripened around the holiday of Saint Madeleine, on July 22. Initial DNA profiling showed that it was also an orphan grape, so they named it Madeleine Noir de Charente, the black grape of Madeleine from the Department of Charente. And then in 2008, further DNA testing showed that it is, in fact, the mother of Merlot. No one knows where Madeleine came from. But two orphan grapes that probably came through Brittany and made their way down to the mixed vineyards of Bordeaux back in the day, and somehow, Cab Franc and Madeleine cross-pollinated and created Merlot.

And in the early 19th century, the Médoc has been around for a minute, and there is documentation coming out showing the origin of the name Merlot, which is really cool as well. It says that the name was given to the variety because there’s a blackbird in this area that likes this grape very much. And in the old tongue called Occitan, which is this very old language that’s been around this part of France and Spain for a long time, the name of the bird was Merlau. We started to see documentation about the Médoc, celebrating the Merlot grape as a blending partner to Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Cab Franc, but Merlot has this softness to it that rounds everything out. And of course, on the Right Bank, Merlot is being focused on because it is an early ripening variety. And over on the Right Bank, it thrives because of the climate over on that side. And this is the home of Merlot. This is where it came from. And like we talked about in the Bordeaux episode, it reaches its peak of awesomeness on the Right Bank, specifically north of Saint-Émilion in the Pomerol appellation, specifically with Pétrus being a hundred percent Merlot, and another one called Le Pin. And this is something to know about this grape. It is not really known for its varietal character, so much as it is known mostly for its blending ability.

Merlot is a lot about texture, more than it is about varietal characteristics and aroma. But the cool thing about Merlot, and somebody who was part of the DNA profiling had this to say about it: From its mother Madeleine, it gets its early ripening because that grape was an early ripening variety, from its father Cab Franc, it gets it’s high-quality tannin and pigment. Also, when it’s grown in cooler climates, you can get some of this herbaceous nuance with Merlot and that is absolutely a characteristic that comes from Cab Franc.

It’s kind of wild. Cab Franc gives Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon its peppery stuff. I mentioned this in the Bordeaux episode, but we might as well mention it again because it’s the Merlot episode, the majority of those affordable Bordeaux coming from the Right Bank from the Côtes de Bordeaux and Bordeaux AOC and Bordeaux AOC Supérieur, those are all primarily Merlot blends. And this is aided by the fact that it is an early ripening variety but also it’s very friendly to a high yield. And speaking of high yields, California, my god … we’ll get there. So in its home, it’s known mostly as a blending variety, with few exceptions.

What happens when this grape leaves its home? We don’t see a lot of Merlot being celebrated outside of Bordeaux. There is Merlot being made in the southwestern part of France, north of Bordeaux, and also in southern France, but Bordeaux is really where it shines. But because of its early ripening and because of its friendly high yielding, it is the blending grape for the world, it seems, for red wine. As of 2010, it was the second-most-planted grape on the planet.

I love Merlot. I think it is such an awesome grape that makes awesome wine. It’s a workhorse around the world for blending, but there are places in the world outside of France that do 100 percent Merlot that is just stunning as well. If it’s done right, in the right soils, and the right climates, it is just beautiful. Even though the thing is it’s not really about aroma, you can get some blueberries sometimes, and there’s that peppery note that comes in, but it’s the texture of Merlot that is so wonderful. And one of those places in the world outside of France that makes Merlot this way is Italy. And not just Italy, Friuli. One day I should do a Friuli episode, am I right? The Merlot coming out of Friuli can be so wonderful. It’s often a 100 percent variety, sometimes it’s blended with Cab Franc, but the climate there and the soils and the slight elevation of their vineyards, just make the most beautiful Merlot. There actually is Merlot made on the lower plains area, which is a little more basic, but still beautiful and plump and juicy. But Merlot in Friuli is a thing, it’s not often available, but you should definitely try to seek it out, because that’ll give you a sense of what a 100 percent Merlot can taste like in one of its purest forms.

Actually, Merlot makes up 15 percent of the wine produced in Friuli. And sometimes they call it Merlott, with two “T”s at the end, because it’s part of their dialect. But what’s really interesting is there’s an actual agriturismo touring route called Strata de Merlot. It goes along one of the main rivers in Friuli, the Isonzo river. And you can travel along the river and you hit all these little towns and you drink Merlot the whole time. It’s real. It’s awesome. Outside of Friuli in northern Italy, Merlot has grown all over the place in the Veneto and the Trentino-Alto Adige, but significantly. Merlot plays a big role in the central part of Italy in Umbria. In Tuscany, in Chianti Classico, Merlot is allowed in their blends. And I have to say, there’s something really nice about a Merlot and a Sangiovese being blended together. Sangiovese has this crazy ripe cranberry and cherry thing going on, and Merlot comes in and softens and rounds it off. It’s just beautiful. Also in Bolgheri, which we’ve talked about before, Merlot is allowed in those blends and it softens the Cabernet that’s grown in that area. Just south of Tuscany in Umbria, there is a grape that’s native to that region called Sagrantino. It’s one of the most tannic varieties on the planet. It’s huge and ages forever. And sometimes, they blend that with Merlot and it’s just an amazing thing. What it does is it softens and keeps the depth, and it’s really an awesome blend. And they call that Montefalco Rosso, which is an appellation in Umbria.

Just across the border from Friuli in Slovenia, Merlot is awesome as well, because political lines don’t define terroir. So it’s a similar terroir to Friuli, it’s awesome stuff. Also down into Croatia, Merlot is done as well. I just say that because those wines are coming onto the market, and it’s something to look out for, but what we really have to talk about is why a lot of people are like, “Should we hate Merlot?” Thanks California.

OK, so it’s not California’s fault as a whole. In wine, it’s usually the human’s fault, not the wine’s fault, because the humans are the ones that make everything crazy. And this thing went crazy.

Merlot in California wasn’t really a thing before Prohibition. It wasn’t until the late ’60s, ‘69 into ‘70, that Merlot began to be experimented with as a blending variety to Cabernet Sauvignon, which was quickly becoming a very popular vine in the area. And it wasn’t until after the 1976 Judgment of Paris, and in 1980 when the first AVA was awarded to California in Napa Valley, that Merlot started really making a name for itself. Cabernet Sauvignon was so popular, and Merlot was such a great blending variety, Merlot was just everywhere. People started making Merlot on its own as a variety itself. And people started thinking, “Hey, this is really nice. It’s soft.” There was a quote calling it “Cabernet without the pain.”

So in the ’80s, it built and built, and by the 1990s, Merlot became one of the most powerful, popular wines out there. It was one of the most popular glass pours in America in the 1990s. In 1991 or ‘92, there were about 8,000 acres of Merlot under vine in California. By 1995, there were 26,000 acres of Merlot under vine in California, and they got more and more popular, and it got crazy. By 1999, this dude named Rex Pickett was writing a book about two loathsome dudes rolling around in wine country in Santa Barbara. For research, he would go to wine tastings. It was like $4 for a wine tasting back then, so he went to all these wine tastings, and what he realized was that no one liked Merlot. The people that were working the tasting rooms weren’t really a fan of it. And there was this perception at the time, Merlot had saturated the market so much, and so much mass-produced Merlot was being made, it went from being one of the most popular varieties to a variety that was so overdone, that people were done with it.

And the book “Sideways,” Rex Pickett had a few versions of it, and in one of the versions of the novel, that famous line from the movie is in it, but he deleted it from the final novel. And when the movie was being made, he gave the director of the movie every version of the novel that he had, and the director found that line and kept it in the script, because it was a good punchline for the movie.

But by 2003, there were over 52,000 acres of Merlot under vine in California. So in 2004, when the “Sideways” movie came out and that line hit, Merlot had been suffering for a while. It had not been a popular wine at all because of its over-saturation in the market. And of course, because of that amazing Pinot Noir monologue in the movie, Pinot Noir becomes the No. 1 grape in the world. It kind of takes Merlot’s place, if you will, as the soft alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon. And within a year after the release of the film, Merlot’s sales in California dropped by $77 million. That’s a big hit, it didn’t destroy the Merlot industry, but it definitely messed it up. And there were winemakers that make great Merlot in California that were like, “What going on?”

Merlot is not bad. It doesn’t make bad wine. It’s sort of what we’ve done with it that turned it into what it was. And Pinot Noir went down that path for a while as well. The popularity of Pinot Noir, and the oversaturation of it. You can’t mass-produce Pinot Noir, so it had to be blended with other varieties like Merlot and Syrah and be called Pinot Noir because of the 75 percent rule that’s available in the New World. It was a trend. Merlot is awesome.

To this day, 10 to 15 percent of all Merlot made in California goes into a California blend. It’s a blending variety. It just is. But when it’s in the right place. it can be beautifully done. And there are places, specifically in California, in Napa, that are very good for Merlots, that are often 100 percent Merlots. You have the cool climate of the Carneros region, which actually has some fun Merlots. Coombsville, Oak Knoll, and, of course, the famous Stags Leap district, which is near Carneros. Those areas have great soil and climate for good Merlot that people make, and they don’t have to blend it with other varieties.

Outside of California — Merlot is grown everywhere, it’s all over the United States. If there’s a wine- growing region in the United States, Merlot is being grown. It was once a big deal in Washington State, and they make great Merlot over there. But, like California, it was more popular in the ’80s and the ’90s. It’s still there, but just not as popular as Riesling.

New York is doing Merlot in a really wonderful way. Last episode, we talked about the Riesling happening in the Finger Lakes. Well, the Finger Lakes also does really great Cab Franc and Merlot. But Merlot really shines on Long Island, specifically on what’s called the North Fork of Long Island. It’s a bunch of old potato farms that are now vineyards, and it has a great climate. There’s actually a sign when you’re going to Long Island saying, “Last stop before Bordeaux,” because it’s across the ocean and stuff. But it’s a great place for Merlot, and I’m sure you’ll see some of that on the American market.

That’s Merlot, guys. Are you guys into it now? Is it something that you’re like, “You know what, man, Keith, you’re right. I’m going to go check out some Merlot.” Check it out, guys. It’s a great blending variety. It’s going to be in a lot of wines, whether you know it or not, especially in American wines. But it can really shine on its own as well. And it’s great in blends from Bordeaux. Give it a chance.

If you’re digging what I’m doing, picking up what I’m putting down, go ahead and give me a rating on iTunes or tell your friends to subscribe. You can subscribe. If you like to type, go ahead and send a review or something like that, but let’s get this wine podcast out so that everybody can learn about wine.

Check me out on Instagram. It’s @vinepairkeith. I do all my stuff in stories. And also, you got to follow VinePair on Instagram, which is @vinepair. And don’t forget to listen to the VinePair Podcast, which is hosted by Erica, Adam, and Zach. It’s a great deep dive into drinks culture every week.

Now, for some credits. How about that? Wine 101 is recorded and produced by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin. I also want to thank Danielle Grinberg for making the most legit Wine 101 logo.

And I got to thank Darby Cicci for making this amazing song: Listen to this epic stuff. And finally, I want to thank the VinePair staff for helping me learn more every day. Thanks for listening. I’ll see you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Wine 101: Merlot appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-101-podcast-merlot/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/wine-101-merlot

[twistednuns]

June 2019

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”   

A (very) sunny day in London. Seeing a seal in the Thames, right under the Tower Bridge. Walking through St. James’s Park, eating ice-cream. Taking a beautiful picture of Laura in Covent Garden. Finally getting out of the underground. A tiny rainbow reflection in the sky over Greenwich.

Playing badminton in the evening with Frank. Sitting by the river, making new friends (duckies).

Micha. Meeting in Thalkirchen after I had just seen a half dead mouse. Walking along the river, finding a nice spot across from the zoo with a bunch of musical hippies playing the drums on the other bank. We got drunk on Toro Loco and Grasovka in ice hockey cups until he kissed me in the middle of a sentence. It took quite a while until I noticed I was just kissing my first man with a tongue piercing. At some point I re-erected a knocked over portable toilet (does drunk me have superhuman powers?) and we walked to the subway together. Such a gentle weirdo.

Making breakfast for someone other than me. Sharing an apple. Eating out of the same bowl.

IKEA has veggie hot dogs now. Excellent. I also got a new cutting board. And that’s ALL I got. I’m virtually patting myself on the shoulder right now.

Christoph and Lauren’s wedding was pretty chill. We squeezed into a car, went up a very steep hill to attend the ceremony and spent the rest of the day around a camp fire drinking gin and tonics or dancing to very bad music. I loved getting to know Michael’s boyfriend of 4 years. I always received gay vibes from him… good to know that my gaydar isn’t broken.

Taking polaroid pictures in the beautiful afternoon light. I also loved Christian’s outtakes of the theme music quiz. One of them honestly looks as if I’d just won a beauty pageant - we have a host, two ladies with jealous side glances and me, all excited, open mouth, in front of the mic, waiting for her tiara…

Spending a few hours in my mum’s garden. Doing dangerous yoga exercises in the grass. Walking barefoot. Marveling at the lush roses everywhere. Watching a blackbird taking a bath under the cherry tree. Very entertaining.

I want to learn Spanish and this video gives me hope - apparently I can heavily rely on my French vocabulary.

Why the men I like usually look the same.

Hanging out with Martina, Tobi and Diego the dog at the Thalkirchen campsite. Watching the rafts go by (horrible music), driving them home with their car right before the apocalyptic thunderstorm.

The perfect dessert: berries or peaches with fresh cream. The perfect dinner: Truffle pasta.

The concept of eclecticism.

Spending the afternoon with Franzi at Maria Einsiedel. Meeting baby Elise for the first time. Hopping into the Eiskanal, turning my body into a freezer for five minutes. Eating tiny lemon ice-cream and galia melon.

Meeting Catrin and Andreas at Brillengalerie in Altheim. Really good cappuccino (he’s an optician AND a latte artist). I loved trying on those gorgeous glasses and talking to Catrin about the Latte Art championships and rude customers.

Our trip to the Bavarian Forest to make a cake tree for the wedding. We visited Lena’s uncle who turned a tree trunk into a three-tiered cake stand with his chainsaw. We helped. I really want to get a chainsaw license now.

Once again: roses. They are incredibly lush this year. I don’t know why exactly but climate change seems to have one tiny upside.

Drawing. Portrait practice. Filling my sketchbook from idee. Polychromos coloured pencils.

Using Instagram’s story feature for the first time. I love editing pictures and adding gifs and colours. Immature and tacky but fun.

Looking trough old analogue pictures. Finding lots of my dad looking like the perfect Millennial. 90s fashion really IS back. I still loathe fanny packs though.

I found someone who’s coming to India with me!! I’m going to travel with Bibi this summer. So excited!

Unfortunately: the Solitaire app on my phone. Unhealthy obsession. You know you’ve got a problem when you’re getting REALLY good…

The smell of dill pickles reminds evokes vivid memories of my grandma. She used to make them herself, in heavy stoneware next to the wash room in the cellar.

Spending the evening with Bibi at Kulturdachgarten (having Ginger Spritz as a sundowner in the late afternoon sun), eating Israeli mezze at NANA in Haidhausen and seeing Rocketman at Rio cinema. My colleague works there so we got discount tickets and free ice-cream. Taron Egerton is a fabulous actor. If I had to describe the film in one word it’d be flamboyant. Also, I’d have loved to be the costume designer for this.

Iglo veggie love frozen meals. With Hela curry ketchup. Nom.

Extremely cute new rockery plants (who will have to do with regular potting soil I’m afraid).

Meeting Andre at Thalkirchen. Spending the evening on an Isar gravel bank, drinking the beer Martina brought from Croatia. Joining the… eh, what’s the Mile High Club for people who prefer water to air travel? Catching the last train home. Taking dinky photobooth pictures because we still had ten minutes to spare. That fake photo strip makes me happy instantly whenever I look at it.

Getting better at asking for what I want.

The character Moe in the Netflix series Trinkets. To me, she’s so much more attractive than Tabitha. And I love her attitude. And her hookup in episode seven. What a pretty man.

Manu making me realise how much I look like my dad. “At least jawwise!”

Spending the evening with Tom. Pre-theatre Spritz, Melancholia at Kammerspiele, Isar-beer near Müllersches Volksbad. Talking about our insights and issues.

It’s fascinating to see the lupin in front of my balcony door open it’s blossoms gradually from bottom to top. This plant has such an interesting structure and geometry.

Salad season. Somehow I only like salads in the summer but then I eat them passionately. With strawberries, Black Forest tofu, peaches, blueberries, mangoes, olives. Those nice, firm Roma tomatoes you only get during the summer months. I made a huge bowl of Tabouleh the other day and had it for breakfast, lunch an dinner.

Going home in the morning, smelling of another person.

Booking flights to India. 5 weeks. I’ve never been gone for so long and then I chose India of all places… I feel a mild panic attack coming but I’m also super excited.

Artificial cherry flavour.

A day trip with Lexi. She brought crisps and a fun Mexican dice game which we played on the train. Spending the whole afternoon soaking in the warm water at Therme Bad Aibling. Discovering the amazing acoustics in the various domes. Making a new duckie friend. Weird mirror selfies with hairdryers. Dinner at a Bavarian restaurant in Rosenheim. Teaching le Sash some obscure Bavarian words.

The word obscure, come to think of it. Uncanny is a close second.

Jupiter being so bright in the night sky. I always notice it first as soon as it’s dark.

Librarians are secretly the funnest people alive.

So many things, really. I’m feeling quite happy at the moment. My only problem is that I keep gaining weight. Somehow enjoying myself is adverse to the strict regime I need in order to stay perfectly healthy.

Random things: Schweppes Fruity citrus and orange lemonade. Tomato sandwiches with fresh basil on olive ciabatta. That squirrel running over the garage roof in the morning. Dreaming of ferry rides through US rivers. And intercourse with a panther. The Garner Ambre Soleil natural bronzer spray with coconut oil. Nice colour, good smell, minimal chipmunk effect. And of course me regular Garnier sun oil. It’s the bottled essence of summer.

Filling in for someone in the Natural 20s pub quiz team. Being invited to a pen and paper round with feline characters only. Meeting Sophia who, I realised later, played Rosencrantz (or Guildenstern?) at Entity Theatre’s production of Hamlet last year.

My complete and utter obsession with Phil Collins’ version of You Can’t Hurry Love. I think it’s going to be my next karaoke song.

A desire and drive to be creative. Making collages out of dried leftover paint. Drawing on the window panes. Getting out gouache, pastel chalks, oil pastels, those weird 3-in-1 coloured pencils which create such a nice texture. Drawing first thing in the morning. Spending hours drawing owls for the coffee roasters. Using coloured pencils to draw portraits of all the cool girls of Instagram.

Oh, speaking of art. I don’t want to jinx it but I might get the chance to write a book soon! I met an editor who works at a publishing house for lifestyle books and needs someone to make a book about portrait drawing/painting for her. So. Excited. They’re also looking for a trainee in the graphic design department. I really hope I get to collaborate with them in one way or another.

Cute summer outfits. Good colour combinations. Accessorizing. Wearing pretty clothes with a creative twist. Actually putting some thought into putting together an outfit can be a lot of fun. After all it’s just another way of making a collage.

Polarized sunglasses providing me with the bluest skies and rainbow-tinted tram windows.

The Croatian man who sat down next to a visibly pregnant Bavarian woman on the subway and started telling her about his daughter Persephone and the abduction myth connected with her. I keep reading and hearing about Demeter and Persephone lately, for example about Baubo and the vulva presentations / Demeter worship.

Carmen Rohrbach’s Unterwegs sein ist mein Leben. I was very impressed by how much she has seen and experienced. How much she knows about nature and animals. I mean, she’s a biologist, too. Reading this book made my days a little more special because it gave me a sense of how much more there is to discover on this planet.

Eating vegan ice-cream (pumpkin seed and ginger-turmeric) with Micha. Sitting on the balustrade in front of the Art Academy. Staring into these insanely pretty blue eyes all the time. Looking for the toilets, roaming through the hallways. I love the architecture of that building.

A ladybug escaping the subway train through an open door. Freedom!

I love how the characters resemble each other so much in the different generations in the TV-series Dark. Uncanny. And they feature very nice colour contrasts, too. I guess I like their production designer / cinematographer.

Late-night Isar strolls. Drinking red wine, lying down, watching the stars surrounded by fireflies! (which are quite rare where I live so I was lucky - the strangest thing is that I had drawn a firefly into my sketchbook earlier that day, feels like I manifested it)

Tollwood gin and tonics, forgetting to go home, ending up in a gay club at 3am. Nice Thursday.

Making up for the lack of sleep on Friday afternoon. Waking up late. Releasing my inner Julia Child at 2am by making sushi rolls, taboulé and Bergsteigerbrot, something like super tasty vegan granola bars with lots of nuts and honey.

A little bike tour with Frank along the river. Pseudo-meditating on a log, eating some snacks I brought. Floating with the current. His alliterations (“further fodder for future followers”).

[birdnett]

What are the most important things to know about anti bird netting?

Birds are one of the top problems of the agricultural production in the country. Not only do birds interrupt crops, they can also ruin your garden, the school's playground, the parking lot in your work, and many more locations where birds exist.

What’s not to love about an open window and birds singing in the tree in your front yard? Most of us can’t wait for spring to bring our feathered friends home again so that we can start our days off with a cup of coffee and some peaceful chirping from the branches. We love them so much that there is an entire industry dedicated just to feeding birds and encouraging them to nest nearby. Millions of dollars are spent every year making our yards a haven for birds of all types. If you are a business owner, however, the story is probably much different.

Anti-Bird net is a type of safety net that is used to shoo away birds. It’s one of the Best Bird Control services available at present to keep birds away from food crops. While these nests are used in abundance varying from residential houses to offices, they play a significant role in food industry so as to safeguard the crops from the tyranny of birds.

Anti-bird netting for crop protection

In the vegetable garden and agricultural crops, seeds, fruits, and vegetables are the dishes of choice for birds in search of food. This attractiveness of the birds for production can cause significant discomfort to producers and farmers. If nothing is done to protect production, harvests can be damaged or completely lost. To avoid such risks, there is a simple solution of consulting Best Bird Control services: the installation of a bird protection net. These nets offer a concrete response to the attacks of starlings, blackbirds, carobs, sparrows and other species. Let’s discover together more information about these products, their uses, and their benefits to protect vegetable gardens and orchards.

Types of Bird Netting

There are various types of bird netting. Without going into very technical details, what really matters is the material in which they are manufactured, their durability and the size of the mesh light, that is, the square, to prevent the passage of birds that bother us.

Protection of trees and crops: Thin plastic nets are usually used that are very cheap and have little resistance. What matters in these cases is that they are very light, easy to put on and take off and that they allow the application of fertilizers and pesticides if necessary.

Building protection: much more resistant nets, made of high-density polyethylene, must be used and must have an anti UV (ultraviolet) treatment, as well as a flame retardant treatment to avoid that, in case of fire, they can spread the fire. Here the most important thing is the resistance of the network because it must last many years in the open.

Why Birds Need to be distanced from Crops?

Birds can set their nests in or near gardens, vegetable gardens, fields and covet your valuable collections. Once nested, they can attract many other congeners and quickly become a problem. Installed near your production or just passing, their presence in number and their appetite are the causes of all dangers. Indeed, to feed, pests are used directly in your crops. Therefore, pecking and devouring seeds and plantations are the main risks and damage to be feared.

The repercussions can be very significant and lead to the loss of some or all of the production. There are numerous birds that can harm your crops including Red-winged Blackbirds, Starlings, Blackbirds, Common Finches, seagulls, crows, pigeons, etc. These different species can attack various crops: cherries, blueberries, grapes, apples, sweet corn, strawberries, raspberries, and be the cause of 25 to 40% of losses depending on crops. Fortunately, there is a solution for not regretting such prejudices: the bird netting.

Why use a bird protection net?

Each producer spends time and energy to take care of the production: monitoring, regular maintenance, watering, weeding. Many efforts are used to optimize harvests; it is not for the fruits of this hard work benefit the ravaging birds! The anti-bird netting is an ideal solution against birds. Once planted on trees, shrubs, and plantations, they help prevent birds from nibbling and eating crops while ensuring good air and light circulation. The net is a natural, ecological and safe protection solution since it protects crops without the use of chemicals.

The anti-bird nets allow effective protection of fruits and vegetables in vegetable gardens and crops against birds. If you are a producer looking for an effective solution against sparrows, pigeons, starlings, or any other kind of bird you can count on the effectiveness of one of our nets. Available in different sizes and in different meshes, they will allow you to fight effectively against the birds of small sizes as those which are more imposing. Nets are also a very good way to keep animals inside an enclosed area or to protect fish in the basins of predatory birds such as raptors, herons or cormorants.

[networkingdefinition]

Pumpkin Quotes

Official Website: Pumpkin Quotes

  “Only write what you know” is very good advice. I do my best to stick to it. I wrote about gods and dreams and America because I knew about them. And I wrote about what it’s like to wander into Faerie because I knew about that. I wrote about living underneath London because I knew about that too. And I put people into the stories because I knew them: the ones with pumpkins for heads, and the serial killers with eyes for teeth, and the little chocolate people filled with raspberry cream and the rest of them. – Neil Gaiman

In a clutch or a corner, I tend to make a weapon out of what is near at hand. That can be anything from a crowbar to a cat, though if I had a choice, I would prefer an angry cat, which I have found to be more effective than a crowbar. Although weaponless, I left the house by the back door, with two chocolate-pumpkin cookies. It’s a tough world out there, and a man has to armor himself against it however he can. ~Odd Thomas – Dean Koontz

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West, From North and South, come the pilgrim and guest, When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board The old broken links of affection restored, When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more, And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before. What moistens the lips and what brightens the eye? What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie? – John Greenleaf Whittier

And all Halloween candy pales next to candy corn, if only because candy corn used to appear, like the Great Pumpkin, solely on Halloween. – Rosecrans Baldwin

And I Jack, the Pumpkin King, have grown so tired of the same old thing. – Tim Burton

And so, Thanksgiving. Its the most amazing holiday. Just think about it — it’s a miracle that once a year so many millions of Americans sit down to exactly the same meal as one another, exactly the same meal they grew up eating, and exactly the same meal they ate a year earlier. The turkey. The sweet potatoes. The stuffing. The pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we all can agree so vehemently about? I don’t think so. – Nora Ephron

Asleep by the Smiths Vapour Trail by Ride Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum Dear Prudence by the Beatles Gypsy by Suzanne Vega Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues Daydream by Smashing Pumpkins Dusk by Genesis (before Phil Collins was even in the band!) MLK by U2 Blackbird by the Beatles Landslide by Fleetwood Mac Asleep by the Smiths (again!) -Charlie’s mixtape – Stephen Chbosky

At last, small witches, goblins, hags, And pirates armed with paper bags Their costumes hinged on safety pins, Go haunt a night of pumpkin grins. – John Updike

Autumn. Pretty leaves, pumpkin pie and sweaters. Perfect weather for reading. Winter is great but I hate shoveling. – Eden Robinson

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'pumpkin', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_pumpkin').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_pumpkin img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

Boston: Their hotels are bad. Their pumpkin pies are delicious. Their poetry is not so good. Edgar Allan Poe

But see, in our open clearings, how golden the melons lie; Enrich them with sweets and spices, and give us the pumpkin-pie! – Margaret Junkin Preston

Dark furrow lines grid the snow, punctuated by orange abacus beads of pumpkins – now the crows own the field. – John J. Geddes

Dear Great Pumpkin, Halloween is now only a few days away. Children all over the world await you coming. When you rise out of the pumpkin patch that night, please remember I am your most loyal follower. Have a nice trip. Don’t forget to take out flight insurance. – Charles M. Schulz

Do not be small minded. Do not pray for gourds and pumpkins from God, when you should be asking for pure love and pure knowledge to dawn within every heart.- Ramakrishna

Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there’s not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see.- Charles M. Schulz

Eighteen luscuios scrumpitous flavors, Chocolate,Lime and Cherry Coffee,Pumpkin, Fudge-Banana, Caramel Cream and boysenberry. Rocky Road and Toasted Almond, Butterscotch,Vanilla Dip, Butter Brinkle, Apple Ripple,Coconut,and Mocha Chip, Brandy Peach and Lemon Custard. Each scoop lovely.smooth and round. Tallest cream cone in town lying there on the ground. – Shel Silverstein

Eric followed Vlad Tepes’s stubby finger, identifying me as the future Happy Meal. Then he stared at Dracula, looking up from his kneeling position. I couldn’t read his face at all, and I felt a stirring of fear. What would Charlie Brown have done if the Great Pumpkin wanted to eat the little red-haired girl? – Charlaine Harris

Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake. – J. K. Rowling

Even where the land was more receptive, settlers soon learned to take some precautions before planting their vegetables. Maize and pumpkin seeds were soaked in water for several days and then blackened with tar before planting – the most effective way to deter rats, mice and birds. Bee Dawson

Every woman needs secrets,’ her mother said with a smile then, her eyes meeting Sally’s in the rearview mirror. ‘Remember that when you’re old like me, pumpkin, because the world has a way of making a woman’s life everyone else’s business–you have to dig out a little place that’s only yours. – J. Courtney Sullivan

‘Good Morning America’ exploited Joan Lunden’s pregnancy, but you won’t see me bringing my babies on the air. The only reason I’m talking about the babies at all is that they’ve been with me on the show since I became pregnant. After a while, I had to acknowledge this pumpkin tummy. – Jane Pauley

He gave me a look sure to put frost on anyone’s pumpkin.- Charlaine Harris

I don’t believe pumpkin pie is even made from pumpkin. I mean, how can something that smells that shitty make a pie so sweet? There’s not enough sugar in the universe. – Lewis Black

I feel like Cinderella sitting in the middle of the road with a pumpkin and a couple of mice, while Prince Charming charges off to rescue some other chick. – Cynthia Hand

I get more out of life just being myself, by just being a human being. Not by being a rock star, not by being whatever. Sometimes I act like a jerk, but I think people respect me for being myself. That’s the ultimate thing about the Smashing Pumpkins. – Billy Corgan

I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s listening to Public Enemy and Mobb Deep and the Smashing Pumpkins. I don’t even know what it was like in the ’60s – I wasn’t alive then – so the Mayer Hawthorne sound is taking what I can learn from the classics, and blending it with my hip-hop DJ and producer background and punk-rock bands that I played in as a kid. – Mayer Hawthorne

I haven’t taken my Christmas lights down. They look so nice on the pumpkin. – Winston Spear

I idolised bands like Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins, who wanted to reach as many people as they could. Nate Ruess

I kept as still as I could. Nothing happened. I did not expect anything to happen. I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep. – Willa Cather

I like to make pies. Thats kind of my new obsession – peach, blueberry, apple, strawberry. I make a really good pumpkin pie with real pumpkin. – Morgan Saylor

I lost my virginity to a pumpkin when I was 23. Back then I was convinced I was actually a Vegetable, hell, that’s what the song is about. – Thom Yorke

I love the scents of winter! For me, it’s all about the feeling you get when you smell pumpkin spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, gingerbread and spruce. – Taylor Swift

I love the U.S. We came the first time in 2003, and it seems like we haven’t left since. James Iha from The Smashing Pumpkins came to Stockholm to see one of our shows, and he really fell in love with the band. He said, “I’m going to take you to America, I’m going to release you on my label.” When you’re in your early twenties and you get that kind of opportunity, you just gotta roll with it. – Maja Ivarsson

I mean you know at midnight everything is going to turn to pumpkins and mice; right? But if the evening goes along, I mean, you know, the guys look better all the time, the music sounds better, it’s more and more fun, you think why the hell should I leave at quarter of 12. I’ll leave at two minutes to 12. But the trouble is, there are no clocks on the wall. And everybody thinks they’re going to leave at two minutes to 12. – Warren Buffett

I never wanted to leave the Smashing Pumpkins. That was never the plan. – Billy Corgan

I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. – Paul Wellstone

I saw thousands of pumpkins last night come floating in on the tide, bumping up against the rocks and rolling up on the beaches; it must be Halloween in the sea – Richard Brautigan

I see a girl caught in the remains of a holiday gone bad, with her flesh picked off day after day as the carcass dries out. The knife and fork are abviously middle-class sensibilities. The palm tree is a nice touch. A broken dream,perhaps? Plastic honeymoon, deserted island? Oh, If you put in a slice of pumpkin pie, it could be a desserted island! (Pg 64) -Laurie Halse Anderson

I sort of have a dark, twisted, offbeat way of writing, which I see coming up in my kids. It’s funny, on Halloween, one of my daughters said, “Halloween isn’t supposed to be happy, dad, it’s supposed to be dark. ” No smiling pumpkins at the Sixx household! – Nikki Sixx

I suppose I will die never knowing what pumpkin pie tastes like when you have room for it. – Robert Breault

I think people fetishize glasses in general. You could put glasses on a rotting pumpkin and people would think it was sexy. – Tina Fey

I was never able to get through Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I’ve never been able to make it through. And I love the Smashing Pumpkins, they’re one of my favorite bands ever, but I’ve never been able to listen to the whole thing all the way through. – John Wozniak

I went to Floridita on Wardour Street when I was 18. All I could afford was pumpkin soup and a glass of champagne, but it was worth it. – Karen Gillan

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. I would rather ride on earth in an ox cart, with a free circulation, than go to heaven in the fancy car of an excursion train and breathe a malaria all the way. Henry David Thoreau

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion. – Henry David Thoreau

I’m half-Japanese, so I collect toys, like a Yayoi Kusama stuffed pumpkin. – Nicola Formichetti

I’m not sure I would label it a ‘survivor,'” said Iko, her sensor darkening with disgust. “It looks more like a rotting pumpkin. Marissa Meyer

In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning, can pull everyone from bed in a fog. Food is better in November than any other time of the year. – Cynthia Rylant

In the lives of children, pumpkins turn into coaches, mice and rats turn into men. When we grow up, we realize it is far more common for men to turn into rats.- Gregory Maguire

Instead of doing cinnamon, nutmeg, and all those baking spices I’ll have one spice that’s for sweets, and that’s pumpkin pie spice. – Sandra Lee

Is there a short-eared koobish, then?’ Mmmyes …’ said J.Lo. ‘But it is technically not really a koobish. Is more alike a kind of singing pumpkin.’ We had conversations like these all the time, where I just eventually gave up. – Adam Rex

It looks more like a rotting pumpkin. – Marissa Meyer

It was time to take the pumpkin out of the pot and eat it. In the final analysis, that was what solved these big problems of life. You could think and think and get nowhere, but you still had to eat your pumpkin. That brought you down to earth. That gave you a reason for going on. Pumpkin. – Alexander McCall Smith

It’s midnight Cinderella, but don’t worry none. Cause I’m Peter the Pumpkin Eater and the party’s just begun. – Garth Brooks

  Just wait and see, Charlie Brown. I’ll see the Great Pumpkin. I’ll SEE the Great Pumpkin! Just you wait, Charlie Brown. The Great Pumpkin will appear and I’ll be waiting for him. – Charles M. Schulz

Know what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of today. It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of Baptism; it is to believe in belief; it is to be so little that elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child had its fairy godmother in its soul. – Percy Bysshe Shelley

Lakes, June, Games

Like many indelible family memories, carving a pumpkin begins with someone grabbing a really sharp knife. – Dana Gould

Little brats yellin ‘Trick or Treat’ all through my screen door, When y’all should be at home sleep, Instead of at my front porch 15 deep. The jack o’ lantern came in handy… I can turn my porch light out like I ain’t got no candy. But ain’t that somethin? You buy a Halloween costume and a pumpkin, Almost gave your children a heart attack. It’s a tradition, but who the hell started that? Kam

Miraculously, smoke curled out of his own mouth, his nose, his ears, his eyes, as if his soul had been extinguished within his lungs at the very moment the sweet pumpkin gave up its incensed ghost. – Ray Bradbury

My father played guitar, so I always wanted to play for that reason. But I think the biggest reason was just the ’90s in general – growing up listening to the Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day and bands like that, and going to concerts and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. – Jack Antonoff

My favorite word is ‘pumpkin.’ You can’t take it seriously. But you can’t ignore it, either. It takes ahold of your head and that’s it. You are a pumpkin. Or you are not. I am. – Harrison Salisbury

My kids just brought home a beautiful pumpkin, but you know what? I’m going to return it because it’s a Democratic pumpkin. It has the orange color of John Kerry’s tan, and the roundness of Teddy Kennedy. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

My most memorable meal is every Thanksgiving. I love the food: The turkey and stuffing; the sweet potatoes and rice, which come from my mother’s Southern heritage; the mashed potatoes, which come from my wife’s Midwestern roots; the Campbell’s green bean casserole; and of course, pumpkin pie. – Douglas Conant

October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace! – Rainbow Rowell

Of the first achievements of the legislature was to institute a ten-thousand-dollar agricultural fair to show off forty dollars’ worth of pumpkins in – however, the territorial legislature was usually spoken of as the “asylum”. Mark Twain

On the moon we have everything. Lettuce, and pumpkin pie and Amanita phalloides. We have cat-furred plants and horses dancing with their wings. All the locks are solid and tight, and there are no ghosts. Shirley Jackson

Once a pumpkin, Always a pumpkin. – Billy Corgan

Pumpkin pie is a living symbol of mediocrity. The best pumpkin pie you ever ate wasn’t all that much different from the worst pumpkin pie you ever ate. – Garrison Keillor

Pumpkin spice lattes are egg nog for morning people. – John Oliver

Pumpkins are the only living organisms with triangle eyes. – Harland Williams

Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid’s pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. – J. K. Rowling

Severus, please fetch me the strongest truth potion you posess, then go down to the kitchen and bring up the house elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrids house where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here. J. K. Rowling

She liked anything orange: leaves; some moons; marigolds; chrysanthemums; cheese; pumpkin, both in pie and out; orange juice; marmalade. Orange is bright and demanding. You can’t ignore orange things. She once saw an orange parrot in the pet store and had never wanted anything so much in her life. She would have named it Halloween and fed it butterscotch. Her mother said butterscotch would make a bird sick and, besides, the dog would certainly eat it up. September never spoke to the dog again — on principle. – Catherynne M. Valente

Smashing Pumpkins has never been a band about hit songs. – Billy Corgan

Some people are absolutely funny and you want to wish them Happy Thanksgiving in funniest way possible. Here is the list of Funny Thanksgiving sayings. Just chose the quote you want to wish that person. Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie. – Jim Davis

Sometimes I think that ideas float through the atmosphere like huge squishy pumpkins, waiting for heads to drop on. – Neil Gaiman

Thanksgiving is a magical time of year when families across the country join together to raise America’s obesity statistics. Personally, I love Thanksgiving traditions: watching football, making pumpkin pie, and saying the magic phrase that sends your aunt storming out of the dining room to sit in her car. – Stephen Colbert

The coach has turned into a pumpkin and the mice have all run away. – Lady Bird Johnson

The first real concert, other than going with my dad to see Three Dog Night, was Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage. I was fourteen or fifteen. I liked Shirley Manson because she reminded me of Annie Lennox. They both have these deep, sexy, powerful alto voices. – Amy Lee

The ideology of the Smashing Pumpkins was ultimately more valuable than the music of the Smashing Pumpkins. That’s what critics can’t put their finger on. – Billy Corgan

The mask can be a limitation, but you just deal with it. You do get superhuman strength and pumpkin bombs and all this other stuff to express yourself with.’ – Willem Dafoe

The mellow sweetness of pumpkin pie off a prison spoon is something you will never forget. – Mitchell Burgess

The near end of the street was rather dark and had mostly vegetable shops. Abundance of vegetables – piles of white and green fennel, like celery, and great sheaves of young, purplish, sea-dust-coloured artichokes . . . long strings of dried figs, mountains of big oranges, scarlet large peppers, a large slice of pumpkin, a great mass of colours and vegetable freshness. . . . D. H. Lawrence

The past was a consumable, subject to the national preference for familiar products. And history, in America, is a dish best served plain. The first course could include a dollop of Italian in 1492, but not Spanish spice or French sauce or too much Indian corn. Nothing too filling or fancy ahead of the turkey and pumpkin pie, just the way Grandma used to cook it. – Tony Horwitz

The Pumpkins love rock-and-roll, we absolutely love it, but we also think it’s a flatulent, ego-serving kiddie playground. You can have your cake and eat it too. – Billy Corgan

The Smashing Pumpkins was never meant to be a small band. It was going to either be a big band, or a no band. – Billy Corgan

The tree of nonsense is watered with error, and from its branches swing the pumpkins of disaster. – Nick Harkaway

The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats. Tom Skelton shivered. Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked. – Ray Bradbury

The word ‘vegetable’ has no precise botanical meaning in reference to food plants, and we find that almost all parts of plants have been employed as vegetables – roots (carrot and beet), stems (Irish potato and asparagus), leaves (spinach and lettuce), leaf stalk (celery and Swiss chard), bracts (globe artichoke), flower stalks and buds (broccoli and cauliflower), fruits (tomato and squash), seeds (beans), and even the petals (Yucca and pumpkin).Charles Heiser

There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people…religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin! – Charles M. Schulz

This year I invested in pumpkins. They’ve been going up the whole month of October and I got a feeling they’re going to peak right around January. Then bang! That’s when I’ll cash in. – Homer

To be a textual critic requires aptitude for thinking and willingness to think; and though it also requires other things, those things are supplements and cannot be substitutes. Knowledge is good, method is good, but one thing beyond all others is necessary; and that is to have a head, not a pumpkin, on your shoulders and brains, not pudding, in your head. A. E. Housman

Way out in the country tonight he could smell the pumpkins ripening toward the knife and the triangle eye and the singeing candle. – Ray Bradbury

We fancy men are individuals; so are pumpkins; but every pumpkin in the field goes through every point of pumpkin history. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well, there doesn’t seem anything else for an ex-President to do but to go into the country and raise big pumpkins. – Chester A. Arthur

  What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye? What calls back the past like the rich pumpkin pie? – John Greenleaf Whittier

What she did have were Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. – J. K. Rowling

When I had a job catering, I catered a wedding for the Smashing Pumpkins bassist in Indiana. And I served Billy Corgan shrimp off a tray. – Amy Poehler

When I lived in New York, there wasn’t as much TV or film around. I got asked to do a couple of indie films, just based on me being from The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle. I did a couple of indie movies from Japan and one from Canada, and I thought it was an exciting, fun thing to do. I had a great time doing it, it was just that, in New York, there really wasn’t as much. My studio in New York closed, so I moved out to L.A. and just started looking into composing as another thing to do, as a musician. I like it a lot. It’s fun and it’s a different way of thinking about music. James Iha

When I was a kid, Halloween was strictly a starchy-vegetable-only holiday, with pumpkins and Indian corn on the front stoop; there was nothing electric, nothing inflatable, nothing with latex membranes or strobes. – Susan Orlean

When the Lord starts out to make an oak tree, he takes a hundred years to do it in, but he can make a pumpkin in 90 days. More or less life is like that. We must choose whether we desire to become and oak tree or a pumpkin. – Sterling W Sill

When white men first effect contact with some unspoilt race of savages, they offer them all kinds of benefits, from the light of the gospel to pumpkin pie. These, however, much as we may regret it, most savages receive with indifference. What they really value among the gifts that we bring to them is intoxicating liquor which enables them, for the first time in their lives, to have the illusion for a few brief moments that it is better to be alive than dead. – Bertrand Russell

Who are you writing to, Linus?” “This is the time of year to write to the Great Pumpkin. On Halloween Night, the Great Pumpkin rises out of his pumpkin patch and flies through the air with his bag of toys for all the children!” “You must be crazy! When are you going to stop believing in something that isn’t true?” “When *you* stop believing in that fellow with a red suit and the white beard who goes, ‘Ho, ho, ho!'” “We’re obviously separated by denominational differences. – Charles M. Schulz

Why are terms of endearment always food? Honey, cookie, sugar, pumpkin. Its not like caring about someone is enough to actually sustain you. – Jodi Picoult

With the garden I planted for the Reina Sofia, each plant related to different celebrations along the calendar – Christmas with evergreen trees, Valentine’s Day with roses, Halloween with pumpkins. All these symbols are so culturally loaded, but they are organic living entities – just like the fish in the tanks. They grow on their own. The symbolic ecosystem is growing without a narrative anymore. It’s a physical and mental landscape.- Pierre Huyghe

Women are like pumpkins; you search and search for the perfect one, bring it home, and the next thing you know, you’re looking for a knife. – Dana Gould

You could hollow out a big pumpkin and wear it on your head for the entire week of your birthday. This will allow you to get in touch with your Halloween emotions.- Jade Puget

You will never see the four original Pumpkins on stage ever again, unless it’s a Hall of Fame thing. But you would never see a tour. There’s so much damage, there’s no way. – Billy Corgan

[equitiesstocks]

Pumpkin Quotes

Official Website: Pumpkin Quotes

  “Only write what you know” is very good advice. I do my best to stick to it. I wrote about gods and dreams and America because I knew about them. And I wrote about what it’s like to wander into Faerie because I knew about that. I wrote about living underneath London because I knew about that too. And I put people into the stories because I knew them: the ones with pumpkins for heads, and the serial killers with eyes for teeth, and the little chocolate people filled with raspberry cream and the rest of them. – Neil Gaiman

In a clutch or a corner, I tend to make a weapon out of what is near at hand. That can be anything from a crowbar to a cat, though if I had a choice, I would prefer an angry cat, which I have found to be more effective than a crowbar. Although weaponless, I left the house by the back door, with two chocolate-pumpkin cookies. It’s a tough world out there, and a man has to armor himself against it however he can. ~Odd Thomas – Dean Koontz

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West, From North and South, come the pilgrim and guest, When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board The old broken links of affection restored, When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more, And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before. What moistens the lips and what brightens the eye? What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie? – John Greenleaf Whittier

And all Halloween candy pales next to candy corn, if only because candy corn used to appear, like the Great Pumpkin, solely on Halloween. – Rosecrans Baldwin

And I Jack, the Pumpkin King, have grown so tired of the same old thing. – Tim Burton

And so, Thanksgiving. Its the most amazing holiday. Just think about it — it’s a miracle that once a year so many millions of Americans sit down to exactly the same meal as one another, exactly the same meal they grew up eating, and exactly the same meal they ate a year earlier. The turkey. The sweet potatoes. The stuffing. The pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we all can agree so vehemently about? I don’t think so. – Nora Ephron

Asleep by the Smiths Vapour Trail by Ride Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum Dear Prudence by the Beatles Gypsy by Suzanne Vega Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues Daydream by Smashing Pumpkins Dusk by Genesis (before Phil Collins was even in the band!) MLK by U2 Blackbird by the Beatles Landslide by Fleetwood Mac Asleep by the Smiths (again!) -Charlie’s mixtape – Stephen Chbosky

At last, small witches, goblins, hags, And pirates armed with paper bags Their costumes hinged on safety pins, Go haunt a night of pumpkin grins. – John Updike

Autumn. Pretty leaves, pumpkin pie and sweaters. Perfect weather for reading. Winter is great but I hate shoveling. – Eden Robinson

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Boston: Their hotels are bad. Their pumpkin pies are delicious. Their poetry is not so good. Edgar Allan Poe

But see, in our open clearings, how golden the melons lie; Enrich them with sweets and spices, and give us the pumpkin-pie! – Margaret Junkin Preston

Dark furrow lines grid the snow, punctuated by orange abacus beads of pumpkins – now the crows own the field. – John J. Geddes

Dear Great Pumpkin, Halloween is now only a few days away. Children all over the world await you coming. When you rise out of the pumpkin patch that night, please remember I am your most loyal follower. Have a nice trip. Don’t forget to take out flight insurance. – Charles M. Schulz

Do not be small minded. Do not pray for gourds and pumpkins from God, when you should be asking for pure love and pure knowledge to dawn within every heart.- Ramakrishna

Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there’s not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see.- Charles M. Schulz

Eighteen luscuios scrumpitous flavors, Chocolate,Lime and Cherry Coffee,Pumpkin, Fudge-Banana, Caramel Cream and boysenberry. Rocky Road and Toasted Almond, Butterscotch,Vanilla Dip, Butter Brinkle, Apple Ripple,Coconut,and Mocha Chip, Brandy Peach and Lemon Custard. Each scoop lovely.smooth and round. Tallest cream cone in town lying there on the ground. – Shel Silverstein

Eric followed Vlad Tepes’s stubby finger, identifying me as the future Happy Meal. Then he stared at Dracula, looking up from his kneeling position. I couldn’t read his face at all, and I felt a stirring of fear. What would Charlie Brown have done if the Great Pumpkin wanted to eat the little red-haired girl? – Charlaine Harris

Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake. – J. K. Rowling

Even where the land was more receptive, settlers soon learned to take some precautions before planting their vegetables. Maize and pumpkin seeds were soaked in water for several days and then blackened with tar before planting – the most effective way to deter rats, mice and birds. Bee Dawson

Every woman needs secrets,’ her mother said with a smile then, her eyes meeting Sally’s in the rearview mirror. ‘Remember that when you’re old like me, pumpkin, because the world has a way of making a woman’s life everyone else’s business–you have to dig out a little place that’s only yours. – J. Courtney Sullivan

‘Good Morning America’ exploited Joan Lunden’s pregnancy, but you won’t see me bringing my babies on the air. The only reason I’m talking about the babies at all is that they’ve been with me on the show since I became pregnant. After a while, I had to acknowledge this pumpkin tummy. – Jane Pauley

He gave me a look sure to put frost on anyone’s pumpkin.- Charlaine Harris

I don’t believe pumpkin pie is even made from pumpkin. I mean, how can something that smells that shitty make a pie so sweet? There’s not enough sugar in the universe. – Lewis Black

I feel like Cinderella sitting in the middle of the road with a pumpkin and a couple of mice, while Prince Charming charges off to rescue some other chick. – Cynthia Hand

I get more out of life just being myself, by just being a human being. Not by being a rock star, not by being whatever. Sometimes I act like a jerk, but I think people respect me for being myself. That’s the ultimate thing about the Smashing Pumpkins. – Billy Corgan

I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s listening to Public Enemy and Mobb Deep and the Smashing Pumpkins. I don’t even know what it was like in the ’60s – I wasn’t alive then – so the Mayer Hawthorne sound is taking what I can learn from the classics, and blending it with my hip-hop DJ and producer background and punk-rock bands that I played in as a kid. – Mayer Hawthorne

I haven’t taken my Christmas lights down. They look so nice on the pumpkin. – Winston Spear

I idolised bands like Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins, who wanted to reach as many people as they could. Nate Ruess

I kept as still as I could. Nothing happened. I did not expect anything to happen. I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep. – Willa Cather

I like to make pies. Thats kind of my new obsession – peach, blueberry, apple, strawberry. I make a really good pumpkin pie with real pumpkin. – Morgan Saylor

I lost my virginity to a pumpkin when I was 23. Back then I was convinced I was actually a Vegetable, hell, that’s what the song is about. – Thom Yorke

I love the scents of winter! For me, it’s all about the feeling you get when you smell pumpkin spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, gingerbread and spruce. – Taylor Swift

I love the U.S. We came the first time in 2003, and it seems like we haven’t left since. James Iha from The Smashing Pumpkins came to Stockholm to see one of our shows, and he really fell in love with the band. He said, “I’m going to take you to America, I’m going to release you on my label.” When you’re in your early twenties and you get that kind of opportunity, you just gotta roll with it. – Maja Ivarsson

I mean you know at midnight everything is going to turn to pumpkins and mice; right? But if the evening goes along, I mean, you know, the guys look better all the time, the music sounds better, it’s more and more fun, you think why the hell should I leave at quarter of 12. I’ll leave at two minutes to 12. But the trouble is, there are no clocks on the wall. And everybody thinks they’re going to leave at two minutes to 12. – Warren Buffett

I never wanted to leave the Smashing Pumpkins. That was never the plan. – Billy Corgan

I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. – Paul Wellstone

I saw thousands of pumpkins last night come floating in on the tide, bumping up against the rocks and rolling up on the beaches; it must be Halloween in the sea – Richard Brautigan

I see a girl caught in the remains of a holiday gone bad, with her flesh picked off day after day as the carcass dries out. The knife and fork are abviously middle-class sensibilities. The palm tree is a nice touch. A broken dream,perhaps? Plastic honeymoon, deserted island? Oh, If you put in a slice of pumpkin pie, it could be a desserted island! (Pg 64) -Laurie Halse Anderson

I sort of have a dark, twisted, offbeat way of writing, which I see coming up in my kids. It’s funny, on Halloween, one of my daughters said, “Halloween isn’t supposed to be happy, dad, it’s supposed to be dark. ” No smiling pumpkins at the Sixx household! – Nikki Sixx

I suppose I will die never knowing what pumpkin pie tastes like when you have room for it. – Robert Breault

I think people fetishize glasses in general. You could put glasses on a rotting pumpkin and people would think it was sexy. – Tina Fey

I was never able to get through Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I’ve never been able to make it through. And I love the Smashing Pumpkins, they’re one of my favorite bands ever, but I’ve never been able to listen to the whole thing all the way through. – John Wozniak

I went to Floridita on Wardour Street when I was 18. All I could afford was pumpkin soup and a glass of champagne, but it was worth it. – Karen Gillan

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. I would rather ride on earth in an ox cart, with a free circulation, than go to heaven in the fancy car of an excursion train and breathe a malaria all the way. Henry David Thoreau

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion. – Henry David Thoreau

I’m half-Japanese, so I collect toys, like a Yayoi Kusama stuffed pumpkin. – Nicola Formichetti

I’m not sure I would label it a ‘survivor,'” said Iko, her sensor darkening with disgust. “It looks more like a rotting pumpkin. Marissa Meyer

In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning, can pull everyone from bed in a fog. Food is better in November than any other time of the year. – Cynthia Rylant

In the lives of children, pumpkins turn into coaches, mice and rats turn into men. When we grow up, we realize it is far more common for men to turn into rats.- Gregory Maguire

Instead of doing cinnamon, nutmeg, and all those baking spices I’ll have one spice that’s for sweets, and that’s pumpkin pie spice. – Sandra Lee

Is there a short-eared koobish, then?’ Mmmyes …’ said J.Lo. ‘But it is technically not really a koobish. Is more alike a kind of singing pumpkin.’ We had conversations like these all the time, where I just eventually gave up. – Adam Rex

It looks more like a rotting pumpkin. – Marissa Meyer

It was time to take the pumpkin out of the pot and eat it. In the final analysis, that was what solved these big problems of life. You could think and think and get nowhere, but you still had to eat your pumpkin. That brought you down to earth. That gave you a reason for going on. Pumpkin. – Alexander McCall Smith

It’s midnight Cinderella, but don’t worry none. Cause I’m Peter the Pumpkin Eater and the party’s just begun. – Garth Brooks

  Just wait and see, Charlie Brown. I’ll see the Great Pumpkin. I’ll SEE the Great Pumpkin! Just you wait, Charlie Brown. The Great Pumpkin will appear and I’ll be waiting for him. – Charles M. Schulz

Know what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of today. It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of Baptism; it is to believe in belief; it is to be so little that elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child had its fairy godmother in its soul. – Percy Bysshe Shelley

Lakes, June, Games

Like many indelible family memories, carving a pumpkin begins with someone grabbing a really sharp knife. – Dana Gould

Little brats yellin ‘Trick or Treat’ all through my screen door, When y’all should be at home sleep, Instead of at my front porch 15 deep. The jack o’ lantern came in handy… I can turn my porch light out like I ain’t got no candy. But ain’t that somethin? You buy a Halloween costume and a pumpkin, Almost gave your children a heart attack. It’s a tradition, but who the hell started that? Kam

Miraculously, smoke curled out of his own mouth, his nose, his ears, his eyes, as if his soul had been extinguished within his lungs at the very moment the sweet pumpkin gave up its incensed ghost. – Ray Bradbury

My father played guitar, so I always wanted to play for that reason. But I think the biggest reason was just the ’90s in general – growing up listening to the Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day and bands like that, and going to concerts and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. – Jack Antonoff

My favorite word is ‘pumpkin.’ You can’t take it seriously. But you can’t ignore it, either. It takes ahold of your head and that’s it. You are a pumpkin. Or you are not. I am. – Harrison Salisbury

My kids just brought home a beautiful pumpkin, but you know what? I’m going to return it because it’s a Democratic pumpkin. It has the orange color of John Kerry’s tan, and the roundness of Teddy Kennedy. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

My most memorable meal is every Thanksgiving. I love the food: The turkey and stuffing; the sweet potatoes and rice, which come from my mother’s Southern heritage; the mashed potatoes, which come from my wife’s Midwestern roots; the Campbell’s green bean casserole; and of course, pumpkin pie. – Douglas Conant

October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace! – Rainbow Rowell

Of the first achievements of the legislature was to institute a ten-thousand-dollar agricultural fair to show off forty dollars’ worth of pumpkins in – however, the territorial legislature was usually spoken of as the “asylum”. Mark Twain

On the moon we have everything. Lettuce, and pumpkin pie and Amanita phalloides. We have cat-furred plants and horses dancing with their wings. All the locks are solid and tight, and there are no ghosts. Shirley Jackson

Once a pumpkin, Always a pumpkin. – Billy Corgan

Pumpkin pie is a living symbol of mediocrity. The best pumpkin pie you ever ate wasn’t all that much different from the worst pumpkin pie you ever ate. – Garrison Keillor

Pumpkin spice lattes are egg nog for morning people. – John Oliver

Pumpkins are the only living organisms with triangle eyes. – Harland Williams

Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid’s pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. – J. K. Rowling

Severus, please fetch me the strongest truth potion you posess, then go down to the kitchen and bring up the house elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrids house where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here. J. K. Rowling

She liked anything orange: leaves; some moons; marigolds; chrysanthemums; cheese; pumpkin, both in pie and out; orange juice; marmalade. Orange is bright and demanding. You can’t ignore orange things. She once saw an orange parrot in the pet store and had never wanted anything so much in her life. She would have named it Halloween and fed it butterscotch. Her mother said butterscotch would make a bird sick and, besides, the dog would certainly eat it up. September never spoke to the dog again — on principle. – Catherynne M. Valente

Smashing Pumpkins has never been a band about hit songs. – Billy Corgan

Some people are absolutely funny and you want to wish them Happy Thanksgiving in funniest way possible. Here is the list of Funny Thanksgiving sayings. Just chose the quote you want to wish that person. Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie. – Jim Davis

Sometimes I think that ideas float through the atmosphere like huge squishy pumpkins, waiting for heads to drop on. – Neil Gaiman

Thanksgiving is a magical time of year when families across the country join together to raise America’s obesity statistics. Personally, I love Thanksgiving traditions: watching football, making pumpkin pie, and saying the magic phrase that sends your aunt storming out of the dining room to sit in her car. – Stephen Colbert

The coach has turned into a pumpkin and the mice have all run away. – Lady Bird Johnson

The first real concert, other than going with my dad to see Three Dog Night, was Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage. I was fourteen or fifteen. I liked Shirley Manson because she reminded me of Annie Lennox. They both have these deep, sexy, powerful alto voices. – Amy Lee

The ideology of the Smashing Pumpkins was ultimately more valuable than the music of the Smashing Pumpkins. That’s what critics can’t put their finger on. – Billy Corgan

The mask can be a limitation, but you just deal with it. You do get superhuman strength and pumpkin bombs and all this other stuff to express yourself with.’ – Willem Dafoe

The mellow sweetness of pumpkin pie off a prison spoon is something you will never forget. – Mitchell Burgess

The near end of the street was rather dark and had mostly vegetable shops. Abundance of vegetables – piles of white and green fennel, like celery, and great sheaves of young, purplish, sea-dust-coloured artichokes . . . long strings of dried figs, mountains of big oranges, scarlet large peppers, a large slice of pumpkin, a great mass of colours and vegetable freshness. . . . D. H. Lawrence

The past was a consumable, subject to the national preference for familiar products. And history, in America, is a dish best served plain. The first course could include a dollop of Italian in 1492, but not Spanish spice or French sauce or too much Indian corn. Nothing too filling or fancy ahead of the turkey and pumpkin pie, just the way Grandma used to cook it. – Tony Horwitz

The Pumpkins love rock-and-roll, we absolutely love it, but we also think it’s a flatulent, ego-serving kiddie playground. You can have your cake and eat it too. – Billy Corgan

The Smashing Pumpkins was never meant to be a small band. It was going to either be a big band, or a no band. – Billy Corgan

The tree of nonsense is watered with error, and from its branches swing the pumpkins of disaster. – Nick Harkaway

The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats. Tom Skelton shivered. Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked. – Ray Bradbury

The word ‘vegetable’ has no precise botanical meaning in reference to food plants, and we find that almost all parts of plants have been employed as vegetables – roots (carrot and beet), stems (Irish potato and asparagus), leaves (spinach and lettuce), leaf stalk (celery and Swiss chard), bracts (globe artichoke), flower stalks and buds (broccoli and cauliflower), fruits (tomato and squash), seeds (beans), and even the petals (Yucca and pumpkin).Charles Heiser

There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people…religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin! – Charles M. Schulz

This year I invested in pumpkins. They’ve been going up the whole month of October and I got a feeling they’re going to peak right around January. Then bang! That’s when I’ll cash in. – Homer

To be a textual critic requires aptitude for thinking and willingness to think; and though it also requires other things, those things are supplements and cannot be substitutes. Knowledge is good, method is good, but one thing beyond all others is necessary; and that is to have a head, not a pumpkin, on your shoulders and brains, not pudding, in your head. A. E. Housman

Way out in the country tonight he could smell the pumpkins ripening toward the knife and the triangle eye and the singeing candle. – Ray Bradbury

We fancy men are individuals; so are pumpkins; but every pumpkin in the field goes through every point of pumpkin history. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well, there doesn’t seem anything else for an ex-President to do but to go into the country and raise big pumpkins. – Chester A. Arthur

  What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye? What calls back the past like the rich pumpkin pie? – John Greenleaf Whittier

What she did have were Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. – J. K. Rowling

When I had a job catering, I catered a wedding for the Smashing Pumpkins bassist in Indiana. And I served Billy Corgan shrimp off a tray. – Amy Poehler

When I lived in New York, there wasn’t as much TV or film around. I got asked to do a couple of indie films, just based on me being from The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle. I did a couple of indie movies from Japan and one from Canada, and I thought it was an exciting, fun thing to do. I had a great time doing it, it was just that, in New York, there really wasn’t as much. My studio in New York closed, so I moved out to L.A. and just started looking into composing as another thing to do, as a musician. I like it a lot. It’s fun and it’s a different way of thinking about music. James Iha

When I was a kid, Halloween was strictly a starchy-vegetable-only holiday, with pumpkins and Indian corn on the front stoop; there was nothing electric, nothing inflatable, nothing with latex membranes or strobes. – Susan Orlean

When the Lord starts out to make an oak tree, he takes a hundred years to do it in, but he can make a pumpkin in 90 days. More or less life is like that. We must choose whether we desire to become and oak tree or a pumpkin. – Sterling W Sill

When white men first effect contact with some unspoilt race of savages, they offer them all kinds of benefits, from the light of the gospel to pumpkin pie. These, however, much as we may regret it, most savages receive with indifference. What they really value among the gifts that we bring to them is intoxicating liquor which enables them, for the first time in their lives, to have the illusion for a few brief moments that it is better to be alive than dead. – Bertrand Russell

Who are you writing to, Linus?” “This is the time of year to write to the Great Pumpkin. On Halloween Night, the Great Pumpkin rises out of his pumpkin patch and flies through the air with his bag of toys for all the children!” “You must be crazy! When are you going to stop believing in something that isn’t true?” “When *you* stop believing in that fellow with a red suit and the white beard who goes, ‘Ho, ho, ho!'” “We’re obviously separated by denominational differences. – Charles M. Schulz

Why are terms of endearment always food? Honey, cookie, sugar, pumpkin. Its not like caring about someone is enough to actually sustain you. – Jodi Picoult

With the garden I planted for the Reina Sofia, each plant related to different celebrations along the calendar – Christmas with evergreen trees, Valentine’s Day with roses, Halloween with pumpkins. All these symbols are so culturally loaded, but they are organic living entities – just like the fish in the tanks. They grow on their own. The symbolic ecosystem is growing without a narrative anymore. It’s a physical and mental landscape.- Pierre Huyghe

Women are like pumpkins; you search and search for the perfect one, bring it home, and the next thing you know, you’re looking for a knife. – Dana Gould

You could hollow out a big pumpkin and wear it on your head for the entire week of your birthday. This will allow you to get in touch with your Halloween emotions.- Jade Puget

You will never see the four original Pumpkins on stage ever again, unless it’s a Hall of Fame thing. But you would never see a tour. There’s so much damage, there’s no way. – Billy Corgan

[benjamingarden]

This Month On The Farm: October 2020

  Our first snow has arrived!!  Ok, so it was only about an inch, but, nonetheless, it arrived on the second to the last day of October.  And with it came some significantly colder weather including our first below 30 degree night. 

While the majority of our summer garden ended in September, we were the happy recipients of additional garden goodness throughout October in the form of cabbage, broccoli, green beans, squash, beets, carrots, peppers, tomatoes (the first half of the month), and herbs.  Needless to say, our freezers are chock full.

Garden Wins And Fails

Let's start with the fails and get those right out of the way. Eggplant, for some reason, did not do well for me this year.  I've never ever had an issue with it but 2020 was no ordinary year.  Cucumbers, too, did not produce well for some reason.  I've always struggled with melons, and this year, of course, was no different.  They did ok, not great.  And, of course, because of the early-on visits by the whistle pig (with the enormous appetite) who adored all things green, we had a rough start with greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and carrots.  Many eventually came back and others were replanted.

And the wins......  My peppers did outstanding this year as did my squash, tomatoes, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, and pretty much everything else in the garden.  Partial credit, I'm sure, goes to the soil that we continue to amend.  Partial credit also goes to the fact that I had time to weed, pick bugs, water, and do all of the things that make a garden happy.

On October 30th, the night temps dipped into the 20's, so I pulled of all remaining veg except for greens (kale, chard, arugula, mustard, and loose leaf lettuce).  I've left them growing but we did not get our tunnel made for the raised bed they are in so, unfortunately, I don't think they'll last long with just a cloth row cover.

Oliver & Jackson

Well, back to the specialty veterinary clinic we go.....  

Poor Ollie has been having some issues, come to find out he has multiple herniated discs.  He is doing well and it's nice to know what we're dealing with instead of guessing.  Initially we all thought (us and his neurologist) that he may have a brain tumor like Emerson as well, but it was ruled out with an MRI (thankfully!).

And then there's Jack.  Wouldn't you know that Mr. Jackson has a heart murmur, discovered at his annual check-up, and is now scheduled to see a cardiologist?  That guy must have been jealous that Oliver got to travel to see specialists......  Unfortunately they are booked until February, so as long as he doesn't show any signs of distress, he will go at that time (they will get him in as an emergency if need be).  

We expected this would likely come at some point as one of his litter mates has had some heart issues for a few years and is now on medications to keep it under control.  So, Jack will, at the very least, have annual appointments with a cardiologist to keep an eye on his heart.  And in case you're wondering, no, his heart murmur does not stop him from harassing Oliver or biting our toes at night.  

Some things will never change.

delicious apple cake

In The Kitchen

We haven't been out to eat or purchased food to-go since February so our kitchen stays quite busy.  Breakfasts remain fairly simple although I did make Cinnamon Swirl Bread and Blueberry Scones this month, just because.  For lunch we didn't make the switch to soups because of the moderate temps.  Instead, we continued to use the outdoor grill, make quick sandwiches or salads, and of course enjoy leftovers.

Dinners were fairly standard since we've been busy with our soap business.  I did try this recipe for Chicken Fajita Rice for Jay and he loved it. 

For dessert I tried this Apple Cake recipe and it is soooooo good.  As I've noted before, we very rarely use processed sugar, however, we do make exceptions from time-to-time and this cake is worth it.  I did cut the brown sugar used in the actual cake batter in half because I knew it would be way too sweet for us.  It was still definitely more then plenty sweet in our opinion.  I also substituted out the egg, used oat milk & vinegar for the buttermilk, vegan butter, and reduced the oil to make it something I would eat as well, but I'm positive if you are interested in making the recipe exactly as is it will be amazing.  

Jay has asked if it could be made for Thanksgiving so I will be whipping another one up today!

In The Coop

Absolutely nothing is happening in the coop.  The girls enjoy their feed and snacks but are still on their egg laying break.  Jay has been rationing his egg consumption and we did purchase a dozen eggs from our farmer's market a few weeks back so he could make omelets and scrambled eggs frivolously.  At that time we were getting 3-5 eggs per week but now we are getting none.  So we will be buying them again....

What I've Been Reading

I've continued to enjoy reading in the evenings.  I have realized that there are a few new (to me) authors whose writing I love - K.A. Tucker, Elizabeth Berg, Louise Miller, and Heather Webber.  All write very differently but I just really enjoy what I've read by each of them so far.

Here are some of my favorites read this month.  Actually I LOVED each of these (affiliate links):

The Simple Wild: A Novel and the second in the series Wild At Heart: A Novel - by K.A. Tucker (the third and final in the series is available December 1st)

Say You Still Love Me: A Novel - by K.A. Tucker

The Last Time I Saw You: A Novel - by Elizabeth Berg

The Late Bloomer's Club: A Novel - by Louise Miller

Midnight At The Blackbird Cafe: A Novel - by Heather Webber

One that I was surprised to really like, because it's not a book I would have normally chosen, was Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb.  I really enjoyed it and am so glad that I read it.

If you have some favorites that you would recommend, I would love for you to leave it in the comments!

soap curing on the shelves

The Soap & Skincare Business

We are incredibly blessed to be quite busy despite the craft shows being cancelled and having limited tourists in our town to shop at our weekly farmer's market.  Our online store continues churn out the orders and our local regulars continue to come out.  And, the holiday Artisan Market at a museum one town over is going to be able to open so we are thrilled to have our products there again this year.

Our farmer's market usually moves indoors in November, however, we are trying to stay outside as long as possible this year.  It's been chilly, I'm not going to lie.  A couple of Sundays ago we barely made it to 40 degrees and this past Sunday we were at, I believe, 41 degrees.  We did invest in a portable heater that is fueled by propane so that will be nice.  We can put our tent walls up and turn on the heater to get warm.  It's nice because it gives shoppers much more space to shop and makes them feel a lot more comfortable as our areas COVID numbers continue to rise.

Although this post was about 2 weeks late, I wanted to give you an October update.  Thank you to those of you who have reached out asking for this and other posts.  I'm hoping to get back to posting more often soon!  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we certainly have a tremendous amount to be thankful for.  Although we usually host a small gathering for friends, we will be celebrating just the two of us (and critters of course) this year.  It will be a great day off (except for cooking) that we've looked forward to.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

This Month On The Farm: October 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)