#pumpkin pye

[inthecityofgoodabode]

September 2022: Our 17th Wedding Anniversary

It was our 17th wedding anniversary. The day started great. I walked in the backyard garden with my coffee & the construction crew working on the roof of a house a block over had a Spanish love song playing. It ended & one of those jaunty, polka beat numbers with horns came on:  

I believe this is one of the yellow field peas that I planted from our bird seed: 

Ha! Apparently, some of the “yellow field peas” that I planted were actually soybeans: 

This young butterfly bush is heavily shaded by our joe pye weed but it still managed to blossom: 

My queen had harvested some Plot 420 sweet basil & put it in water to keep it fresh until we could use it. Well, it decided to make roots: 

Seen while walking. Another alien abduction but it looks like the aliens plan on returning their captive because they let them put their sock in the shoe: 

Found while walking - a complete role-playing game. Seriously, everything else you need to play is in your head: 

Pumpkin on a stick. This came in a flower arrangement that I got for my queen. We had to look it up. It is actually an eggplant & it is edible. We are thinking about trying to save some of the seeds: 

Anniversary cards & flowers: 

A little bubbly for the celebration: 

Heading out to dinner: 

My queen at dinner. We’ve been married for seventeen years but it only seems like yesterday that I mustered up the courage to ask her out to lunch: 

[homestylealchemy]

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Type your email… Subscribe “To make Pumpkin-Pye ― TAKE the Pumpkin and peel the rind off, then stew it till it is quite soft, and put thereto one pint of pumpkin, one pint of milk, one glass of malaga wine, one glass of rose-water, if you like it, seven eggs, half a pound of fresh butter, one small nutmeg, and sugar and salt to your taste.” ― Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and…

[rabbitcruiser]

National Pie Day

National Pie Day is a "day to maintain America's pie heritage, pass on the tradition of pie making and promote America's love affair with pie." It is a day to bake and eat pies, try new recipes, and give pies to others. Charlie Papazian, who later went on to found the Great American Beer Festival, started the day in 1975 in his classroom, while teaching in Boulder, Colorado. He chose his birthday, January 23, as the day of celebration. In 1986, the American Pie Council began sponsoring the day, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Crisco. National Pie Day is also celebrated on December 1, but it is unknown why this date was also chosen or who chose it.

Pies are made up of pastry crusts filled with sweet or savory ingredients like fruits, custards, vegetables, meats and fish. The most common fruit pies in America are apple, blueberry, cherry, and peach, while banana cream is a favorite custard pie. Pumpkin pie is popular during autumn and winter, Key lime pie is a specialty of Florida, and Mississippi mud pie is beloved in the South. Pot pies often consist of chicken or beef with vegetables.

Ancient Romans made pies and may have learned about them from the Greeks. It is likely that the Greeks came up with pastry shells consisting of flour and water. However, shells were not edible with many early pies. Roman pies were often made in reeds, which were just made for holding fillings, not to be eaten. Early pies were almost all meat pies, and the Romans even included seafood such as mussels in their fillings. Although, the first published pie recipe, written in Rome, did not have meat, but was a goat cheese and honey pie with a rye crust.

Pies were in England by early twelfth century, where they were known as pyes. Common pies were filled with duck, magpie pigeon, lamb, and beef, and were spiced up with currants, dates, and pepper. The crust was called a "coffyn."

Pies were brought to the Americas by English colonists. Some pie crusts were not eaten at this time, just as had been the case in the past. Although fruit pies were likely first made in the 1500s, most of the pie recipes brought across the Atlantic Ocean were for meat pies. These pies were seasoned with nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper, and some dried fruit. As the nineteenth century progressed, more and more fruit pies were being made. This reflected the regional and local foods of the country as it expanded across the continent. Pie is one of the most important American desserts today, and is such a big part of the culture that when something is seen as being very "American," it is often said to be "as American as apple pie."

How to Observe National Pie Day

There are many ways to celebrate National Pie Day, and they all involve pie!

Bake a pie or pies. Try a new recipe or a type of pie you have never had before.

Teach someone how to bake a pie, such as a child.

Have a pie party and have each guest bring a pie.

Give a pie to a new neighbor, a police officer or firefighter, or a friend or relative.

Eat some pie at one of the best pie shops in the United States.

Become a member of the American Pie Council.

Plan in order to take part in the National Pie Championships.

Watch the film Labor Day, which was promoted by the American Pie Council.

Source

[the-wotog-collection]

some new(ish) kids

“new” as in they didn’t exist yet when we last posted. so some of them are at least 9 months old. anyway!

list under the cut:

CAS

- they’re a half-elf monk! but now that i think about it it would be kinda funny if they had a level or two in rogue

- honestly? they’re a frat boy, but one who drinks respect women (and everyone, really) juice

- complete thembo. they have a -1 int, but +5 dex and +3 cha so who’s really winning here

- seriously when i say they’re a thembo i mean it. cas can dodge bullets all day but they don’t know that a tomato is a fruit

- they’re a people person and respectful and are very much work hard play hard. i love them

PUMPKIN

- now this is a bastard right here

- he/they tiefling rogue. yes they stole that crown what about it

- very much like mollymauk tealeaf i’m not gonna lie. they’ll charm the pants off of you and run away with your whole coin pouch

- smth i love about pumpkin is 1) their last name is pye 2) they have aliases bc in nearly every town they’ve been in there’s a warrant out for his arrest

- pumpkin pye (persona), a flirty rapscallion. if they had to pick one alias to stay as, this would be that one

- apple pye, a quiet sweetheart. kinda country bumpkin-esque

- pecan pye, taciturn but honest (as he can be while using an alias and on the run from the law and generally up to no good) and a hard worker

 - underneath all the layers? he’s kinda sad and lonely, still a flirt and a rapscallion but considerably less, and sometimes he just wants to stay in bed instead of going out and getting into all kinds of trouble

- oh also! he’s self conscious about his freckles, and usually uses some kind of makeup to cover them up if hell brain is acting up/he’s causing trouble

TENJIN

- i’ll be honest i do not remember if i still have their picrew

- i do nvm

- this is tenjin! iirc they’re a drow enchanter (homebrew class my cousin made) but ig in a legal game they’d be a divination wizard

- he’s such a sweetie, oml

- fun fact he has autism! mostly nonverbal and gets overwhelmed super easily, and has a whole pouch full of trinkets that they fidget and stim with

- baby. baby boy

- really fun to play actually

BEE

- she’s here to kick names and take ass, and she’s all out of names

- a whole lesbian. most of why she does what she does is to protect pretty girls

- human (shocker, i know) cleric of a storm god that i forgot to write down

- anyway!

- do no harm but take no shit is her motto. her methods may be borderline illegal, but hey, as long as the thing gets done it’s fine

- usually.

- basically her only method is swing a bat around until people talk and if the bat hits anything/anyone, well. that’s not her business

- oh yeah her bat. it’s infused with electricity and deals lightning damage as well as bludgeoning. it’s sick as hell

- she’s pretty rad

RAY

- everyone needs a weed druid

- okay but seriously. they eat every plant they come across to 1) figure out what they do (they have insanely high con dw) and 2) for magical power

- are they high most of the time? yes. are they really sad actually? also yes

- they aren’t religious, but they do worship the deity their childhood best friend (turned lover, yes) worshipped

- i might talk about that more later :)

- anyway they’re super chill and also one of the few drows i have, iirc

WALKER

- okay now we’re starting to catch up

- his name isn’t actually walker, but it’s what everyone calls him so that’s what he goes by

- he/they (wow theres a lot of he/theys huh) fallen aasimar gloom stalker ranger

- basically think of the edgiest anime boy you can imagine and go “what if he went to therapy”

- he’s such a good boy! yes they still do the adventuring thing, but make a point of going to therapy every week

- they’re making some great progress :)

- while he’s basically a witcher and gets treated like one (i.e. poorly), he just wants to settle down somewhere quiet when there’s no more evil in the world to grow vegetables where the only one around to judge him for being mute is his crow

- the picrew didn’t have a crow so please pretend that’s what the pigeon is

VAL

- valor is a tiefling fighter who came into existence bc i rewatched netflix castlevania and was super gay for striga so i made a character inspired by her

- also has autism, but in addition, she has ptsd from her days in the royal army. she’s seen some shit yall

- isn’t very good with social interactions, a lot of stuff goes right over her head and she’s just awkward as hell, but get her talking about her special interest (military tactics) and she will talk for hours. please let her

- fun fact she met her wife bc she was fishing in a bog trying to catch dinner and fished out a wholeass lady instead

- she’s buff as hell. she could use literally anything as a weapon and make it hurt

UNNAMED WIZARD

- i don’t have a name for them yet BUT i do know that they’re a bitch

- yet another he/they, this time we have a neutral evil wizard who doesn’t care who gets hurt as long as they get results for their experiments

- think albedo genshinimpact but with almost no morals

- yes he’d cast ninth level spells on his party if he was researching something. no he would not feel remorse. probably

- idk i haven’t fleshed him out yet i just know that he’s a bitch

MOUSE

- finally! my favorite character on this list

- this is maisy, but she’s so tiny that everyone calls her mouse

- when i say tiny i mean she’s a halfling and also seven years old. she’s fucking little

- little human druid girl who basically raised herself in the forest and can & will make friends with literally any animal she comes across

- her arcane focus is her flower crown, which also has berries growing on it. they grow back every time she picks one to give to her friends :)

- she’s so fucking pure oh my god. actual cinnamon roll and everything that’s good in this world

- her rat’s name is rat. he’s her friend :)

- and also dog sized compared to her it’s hilarious. she has a little leash for him made of vines and particularly spry twigs

- have some bonus art bc oh my god cutie

[eldritchships]

So I forgot to do anything for Halloween but uh Pumpkin Bug headcanon that on Halloween BJ turns into that one post that's like 'This is my bf's special holiday and if you all don't applaud and make him feel like the bestest guy in the world I'll blow this whole building up'

Pyre appreciates it but he'd much rather not draw attention to himself. BJ helps him manage (or encourage) his urges during the holiday

[r0sedevil]

asking for 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒

e uhm which cookies did you use for the raspberry cookie boss in ep 11 like i see so many people complaining about how she keeps yeeting they whole 400k+ team and shit so it makes me scared and wonder how y'all's got through it HSBZJSNZN

UM U MUM M UM I THINK. i used pumpkin pye, cotton, pure villa, sorbet, ang vampire with the pin cushion treasur THE LEVEL IS HARD THOUG LIKE I STRUGGLED WITH IT FOR A BIT . i believe in yu so hard

[simplyfandomish]

Sister, Sister (3/_)

Older! Gilbert Blythe x Older Shirley! Reader

|| Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 ||

Anne and Diana took the usual route to school as they did every morning. Both girls were conversing about the basic math assignment they were given as homework the night before. Ruby ran up to the pair from the pathway that led from her newly built home and joined the two girls in their discussion.

“The both of you got 25?” Ruby’s eyes widened slightly, then ducked to the ground in embarrassment, “I got 16...” She had a feeling she had gotten the answer wrong last night, but a piece of her felt confident in her ability in Maths, but seeing Diana and Anne - the two smartest girls in class share the same answer, its was written in stone that she had gotten the problem wrong.

“Oh, the both of you are just so smart! Like Gilbert Blythe…” Ruby sighed with heart eyes. Diana and Anne shared a look with one another, the redhead crossed her eyes in annoyance. Diana snickered.

“Don’t laugh!” Ruby defended. “He is the smartest out of all the boys! He wants to become a doctor, remember?” She stated proudly, now with a skip in her step. 

How her mood could shift so quickly from just the sound of Gilbert’s name amazed Anne. 

“Maybe he could help me with my homework! Oh, it’ll be a date!” Ruby cupped her cheeks, surely her mind wandering to what would occur during their study date. Anne and Diana watched as the blonde haired girl’s cheeks turned a blaring red and she hid her face within her pink knitted scarf, suddenly bashful. 

Diana sighed and changed the conversation, “How is your sister, Anne?”

Anne’s blue eyes sparkled, “She’s spectacular! We write to each other almost everyday - or whenever she has a chance. She’s been increasingly occupied with work, lately. But that’s just like my big sister, always been busy, busy!”

“Sister?!” Ruby gasped, “You have a sister?”

Anne nodded enthusiastically, “Yes! Have I not told you about her?” Her brows furrowed as she tried to rake her head if she ever mentioned her eldest sister.

“No! Oh, how exciting!” Ruby clapped her hands. “Why haven’t you ever mentioned her before?”

Anne played with one of her braids, suddenly bashful.

Diana piped up, “There was an incident with their letters and addresses, but we ran into (Y/n) in Charlottetown while we were visiting my aunt Josephine.” Short and simple. Anne nodded in gratitude. Diana nodded back.

Ruby suddenly sprung in front of the pair, blocking their path momentarily. “What’s she like?!”

Anne smiled, and her eyes grew distant, “Amazing. She’s really tough and knows how to throw a punch! She actually discombobulated a rude customer where she works. She works as a barmaid, but she always jokes about being security.”

“A-a barmaid?” Ruby stuttered. Her imagination drifted off to the cliche images of a barmaid. Tight corsets that supported large...ahem - bosoms, dark red lipstick that accentuated plump lips, hair teased high and tight with dirty curls, and a dark skirt that would be too tight around the bottom.

Could the man she had knocked out trying to be grabbing with her large bosom?? Ruby’s head nearly exploded.

Anne nodded. 

“Anne, you should invite her to Green Gables for tea!” Diana smiled widely. 

Ruby whipped her head to the ravenette with wide eyes, but she went ignored. 

Anne nearly lit up like a firework. “That sounds like a scrumptious idea, Diana! Let’s hurry to class so I can get some paper!” Diana nodded and both girls locked arms and began to scurry to the school house. 

“Come on, Ruby! We’ll be late!” Anne gripped the small girl’s elbow and began to drag her. 

Ruby was quite literally dragged as she felt numb like a wet rag doll as she still tried to grasp the concept that her dear, imaginative friend, Anne, was related to a busty barmaid!

A pair of dirty, brown leather boots stepped onto the wooden platform of Avonlea Station, the passenger took in a breath of the fresh country air, much different than that of musty Charlottetown. They nodded towards the train conductor as their luggage was placed by their feet.

The passenger pulled out a cigarette and lit the end of the paper stick. The tobacco ignited and a puff of smoke drifted from the smoker’s mouth. “So this is Avonlea.” They muttered with a nod of satisfaction. 

The visit to this small town better be worth it. A large hand slammed on the smoker’s shoulder. “Avonlea...the pictures and descriptions do no justice.” The large man sighed with a smile. 

The smoker jerked his shoulder away, “We’re not supposed to be seen together, you moron. You want our plan to fail?”

“Right, sorry.” The large man stepped away from the smoker and put on his bowler hat. He tugged on the front of his jacket and picked up his suitcase. “Meet you at Green Gables then.” He nodded in farewell and walked towards the stables to rent a cab.

The smoked rolled his eyes and drew out another breath of nicotine. Then he dropped the cigarette onto the ground and stubbed it out. He ran a hand through his gelled hair and carried his luggage sack over his shoulder as he walked off. “So you’re here to surprise your sister?” A dark skinned conductor asked as he handled the redhead’s luggage. 

(Y/n) nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, sir!” She saw him bend over to place her luggage down, but she insisted she just take the case from his hands. He accepted and placed the heavy luggage into her hands. “Been working extra hard to save up some money to come to Avonlea. Speaking of, if you ever need a good place for good ale go to Emilio’s! Just say your a friend of mine and you’ll be treated like a king!” She was bouncing on her feet in excitement. (Emilio’s tavern was welcome to all genders of all races - after all, Emilio himself was a natural born Spaniard that happened to fall in love with Canadian woman and the country itself!) 

The conductor laughed and nodded. Never had he met such a white skinned individual who conversed with him like an equal. It was refreshing. “I wish you and your sister the best of luck, miss (Y/n).”

“Thank you, Maxwell!” She smiled at him and practically sprinted towards the stables to catch a ride. 

The conductor snickered and shook his head at the exuberant girl and hopped back onto the steps of a scarlet train cabin. He waved his hand towards the engine, giving the engineer the signal to depart. 

The train whistled cried and then the scarlet train chugged back to Charlottetown.

“Anne, you have a sister!”

“That’s marvelous!”

“When can we meet her, Anne?” Cole asked with a small smile. 

Anne smiled widely at the small crowd that surrounded her and Diana’s table. 

“An older sister, yes! And she’s amazing! We just recently found each other again due to a mishap with our addresses, but we haven’t stopped talking to each other since!”

“I bet she was actively ignoring you.” Billy snickered from the other side of the schoolhouse. “Tell us about your sister, orphan. Is she just as ugly as you?” His band of boys snickered as well and began to throw in their own two cents.

“Dotted with freckles!”

“Same pumpkin hair.”

“A motormouth know-it-all?” 

At each insult Anne grew more sour, and then anger filled her being. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Hell runs in terror when its a redheaded woman scoured.

“You take all that back, Billy Andrews!” She jumped to her feet and slammed her palms on the desktop. “I may not be the prettiest one here, but my sister is absolutely breathtaking. And you better watch your mouth or she’ll knock you to the ground!”

Diana nodded in all seriousness. But a part of her would happily pay to see (Y/n) put Billy Andrews in his place.  

The blonde boy stood from his desk and squared his shoulders. “Is that a threat, mutt?”

“Let us just say that when she does come to visit, you better watch yourself.” She crossed her arms in defiance. If her dear, older sister can knock out a drunk with one kick, then perhaps it was high time Anne learned how to step up for herself! (Plus the fact, that Anne now had an older sister to hide behind, made her a little more reckless - but she would never admit that.)

Billy scoffed, “Whatever, orphan. Bet she’s as scrawny as you.” He cracked his knuckles as he sat back down in his chair.

The girls couldn’t help but gawk at Anne. As common as it was for the redhead to lose her temper, never before had she seemed so...confident in her argument? Yes, confident sounded like a good word. 

“Sooo, when can we meet her?” Tillie asked. Bringing the conversation bacl to Anne’s current favorite topic.

Anne tapped her chin, “I’m not too sure. Soon hopefully! She’s just been really busy with her job in Charlottetown.”

“Oh? What does she do?” Josie Pye asked. 

“Tailor dresses?”

“A nanny?”

“A waitress?”

“Close,” Anne answered to the last suggestion. “She’s-

“A barmaid!” Ruby squeaked out in sheer embarrassment. Her cheeks pink like her dress and hair ribbon.

All conversations halted in the schoolhouse as all the students stared at Anne with unreadable expressions. Some of the girls’ eyes widened and some of the boy’s cheeks heated up. Even Billy was silent. Guess everyone in Avonlea had the same image of a barmaid as Ruby had...

Anne picked up on the silence and rose a brow, “Yes, and?”

Tagged List: [Open]: angel-in-the-roses 

[coffeeandvampirebiscuits]

She loves the fall. She loves it for the wind, for the cool gusts that blow her hair into her face and whip the clouds into horses’ tails, that shake the leaves off the tree and make the wildflowers dance in the breeze. She loves it for the clear, blue sky, how it feels like the high ceiling of a grand castle, a vast sea of cobalt that stretches on and on and on. She loves it for the night, when the air chills and the moon emerges and the stars hang in the sky like a rich blue-black tapestry filled with small pinpricks of light, almost close enough to reach out and touch. She loves it for the smell of the ripe wild grapes, their fragrance intoxicating as they dangle, round and perfect and just brushed with the season’s first frost, on the long, curling grapevine that creeps up the oak tree. She loves it for the harvest, for the round, green pears wet with morning dew, for the crisp, honey sweet apples and the flaming pumpkins large as wheelbarrows. She loves it for the dragonflies that flit about on warm afternoons, soaking up the sunshine as their wings flash and glitter; she loves it for the monarchs on the spotted joe-pye-weed, opening and closing their wings gently as they rest before their journey south; she loves it for the ladybugs that emerge in droves, crawling on her hand and clad in ruby and tangerine and beautiful amber gold. She loves it for the hawk who flies high above her, soaring endlessly on steady wings as the drafts of cool fall breezes ruffle its warm brown coverts, letting out a piercing shriek that hangs forever in the air, like the thrill she always feels as she watches it. She loves it for the fox in the meadow that comes out when the day wanes and evening comes, rustling the tall grass as it disappears with a flick of its thick, bushy tail, a smear of brown in the golden field. She loves it for the hikes into the mountain, the tranquility of the leaf strewn trail as she climbs higher, higher, higher still, and the view from the top when she feels like she is the only person in the world. She loves it for the leaves and the colors they turn as the weather grows cool, as though they have been painted with an artist’s brush dipped in fire, filled with dark browns and sunny yellows, flaming scarlets and tiger oranges, and the feeling that they’ve done it just for her, just so she can stand in wonder and drink it all in. She loves it for the last burst of fall flowers, for the hillsides covered in purple asters and yellow goldenrods, for the old stone bridge engulfed by red honeysuckle and palatinate purple pokeweed, as though they have put all their energy into this moment, this wonderful burst of sight and smell. She loves it for the way the wheat turns golden yellow and rustles when she walks through it and the hum of the tractor as it treads slowly through the dirt and the vibrancy of the hills and the twisting vines turning brown and gold and the red-purple grass and the dancing white wildflowers, and for all the vivid colors and scents and sounds that intoxicate her with their beauty.

She loves the fall, because it feels like a celebration.

~~~

Feedback is welcome and appreciated! <3

Seasons: summer

[inthecityofgoodabode]

September 2023: In The Final Days Of September

Seen while walking:

Around the house:

Just in case you've never seen a sweet potato blossom:

Backyard garden harvest:

Plot 419 & 420 harvest:

This is at least round three of the swallowtail caterpillars. I keep rooting for them to survive but the birds have to eat & they are very efficient:

Our compost bins... here there be dragons:

My queen found this little fellow while picking beans. I moved it to the Joe Pye weed temporarily so it wasn't in the way:

Our pumpkin-on-a-stick eggplant (Solanum integrifolium) is starting to ripen:

Imho, jumping spiders are the French bulldog of spiders:

[eternalsterekrecs]

To start 2018 in the best way, we bring you some of our favorite New Year’s Eve fics and ficlets. 

We hope this next year brings more awesome works and that this fandom stays a safe place for every single Sterek shipper, filled with love and friendship.

Now, onto the fics!

Resolutions by mikkimouse

Tonight’s the night. Stiles is starting his New Year’s resolutions early, and by that he means he’s going to tell Derek how he feels.

Champagne And Suspenders by BroodingSoul

It's New Year's Eve in Beacon Hills and Derek is a little drunk.

Now There’s Your Pickup Line by Leslie_Knope

Prompted from the screenshot of that cop on Tinder with the bio: “Ever shouted Fuck the Police? Well, here’s your chance.”

a year in sleepovers by sarcasticfishes

The first time Stiles ended up in Derek’s bed was New Year’s Eve. He was seventeen, a little drunk, and he begged.

But In Case I Stand One Little Chance by mikkimouse

Stiles's Jeep breaks down in the middle of the snowstorm. He's rescued by his high school crush, and as the cherry on top, is trapped in a cabin with said crush until the roads clear.

Fuck his life.

Blue Moon by Idday

The first time they meet, they hate each other (Stiles is the guy that thinks that people of 'compatible sexualities' can't be friends, whatever that means. Derek thinks he's full of shit, and tells him so. With his eyebrows).

The second time they meet, Stiles doesn't even remember him (or so Derek thinks).

The third time they meet... the third time, they become friends.

OR

The When Harry Met Sally AU that nobody asked for.

In the New Year by pyes

In Beacon Hills they don't say "Happy Holidays." Instead they say "Yo, Derek," which translates to "I'm pretty sure I soul-bound my sorry ass to the floor of your loft, four years ago, while reading spells off the internet." I think that's beautiful.

on the right track by HalfFizzbin

Stiles is stuck on a broken-down train instead of dancing with Lydia at a swanky New Year's Eve party, which sucks. OR DOES IT?

Imagine Me And You by callunavulgari

“My name,” the kid tells Derek, sounding amused. “It’s Stiles. I figure if I’m going to wrestle a complete stranger for a pumpkin the least I can do is offer my name afterwards.”

“Stiles,” Derek tries, testing the way the name sits on his tongue. “I’m Derek.”

“Derek,” Stiles breathes, like he’s testing the weight of the name too. He grins, bright and blinding, which Derek guesses means that he likes the sound of it. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but since we almost got to second base a minute ago, I’d say we’re past that point.”

Sweeter Than a Cherry Pie by kitsunequeen

When Cora asks Stiles to be her pretend boyfriend for a New Year's family dinner, he figures he can do a friend a favor. When he hooks up with an incredible guy, Derek, the night before, only to wake up alone in the morning, he supposes he can handle that too. But when he shows up at Cora's house and Derek turns out to be her brother, well... that's a bit of a bigger problem.

Starving by Obsessivecompulsivereadr

Derek hates clubs.

He rubs a hand roughly across his beard and scratches at his chin before he takes a sip of beer. Clubs make him antsy, especially on New Year’s Eve.

One Piece at a Time by rosieeexox

Scott is a mechanic who never answers his phone. Derek is also a mechanic who never leaves the shop. Stiles has a low alcohol tolerance and lots of car problems. Everyone knows except Stiles and Derek. This also turns into a holiday fic halfway through, so if you were here for the car stuff, I'm sorry!

Jump (let's build our wings on the way down) by pollitt

“Derek, your house is held together by sheer will and I have no idea how it still has electricity, it’s New Year’s Eve, and I realized I’d rather be here with you than drinking and dancing in a structurally-stable house with everyone else.”

[itsaboutnothing]

fuck pumpkin pye is god’s gift to the earthe shit !

[gethealthy18-blog]

Bee-Friendly Plants for Your Yard or Garden

New Post has been published on https://healingawerness.com/news/bee-friendly-plants-for-your-yard-or-garden/

Bee-Friendly Plants for Your Yard or Garden

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]

What would happen if one day 80% of flowering plants disappeared? If bees and pollinators die out, that’s exactly what would happen. Bee-friendly garden plants are a simple way to save the honey bees and make the world a better (and more beautiful) place.

Why Are Bees So Important?

In recent years there’s been more awareness to save the dying bee populations. But how important are bees really? Although they’re tiny, bees play a big role in our ecosystem.

According to the USDA Forest Service, over 80% of flowering plants need bees and pollinators to reproduce. This includes flowers, fruit trees, and many other fruits and vegetables. Bees also help pollinate flowers and plants other animals rely on for food.

Basically without bees… there is no us!

The Time to Act Is Yesterday

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service releases their honeybee surveys and reports every year. They’ve found bee colonies took a nosedive in the early 90s, but there’s been a slow uphill climb the past few years. While bees are still at risk of becoming endangered, it seems more people are addressing the issue. We need a whole lot more though!

We’re losing about 30% of bee colonies every single year. There’s only so much time before the clock runs out and we’ve lost our most important pollinators for good.

Build a Bee-Friendly Yard

One of the biggest changes we can make is to create a bee-friendly environment in our own backyards (and front yard, and side yard…). It may not seem like much, but the more people chip in the more of a difference we can make.

Here are some simple ways to create a haven for bees:

Get Lazy with the Lawnmower

Flowering “weeds” like dandelion and clover are food for hungry pollinators. A picture-perfect patch of green grass may look good in a magazine, but for a bee it’s like an empty buffet. Keeping grass higher and ditching the weed killer means more flowers and wild plants have a chance to grow.

Filling your yard with bee-friendly plants and not mowing wildflowers is a big first step. When a neighbor makes a comment about the “weeds,” that’s a golden opportunity to spread the bee-saving message.

Variety Show

Just like we don’t want to eat only broccoli all day every day, bees also need a variety of foods. Diverse plant life also makes for healthier soil and attracts beneficial insects that feed on the bad bugs.

GMO monocrops, like corn and soy, rely on pesticides that kill wildflowers and decimate friendly insects. Other farms rely on bees to pollinate, but unfortunately many of them still use bee damaging/killing pesticides. Almond groves are a prime example.

We can advocate for better forms of bug control by voting with our dollars and supporting organic farms. Some small farmers don’t use pesticides but aren’t certified organic. It’s worth asking around at the local farmer’s market!

We can also use natural, pollinator-friendly pest control methods in our home gardens.

Not All Plants Are Created Equal

There’s more to making a pollinator garden than setting out some flowers. Certain bees prefer certain plants, and some colors are more attractive than others. Bright colored flowers, especially purple, are more likely to bring bees.

Avoid Neonics

Aka neonicotinoids, this class of pesticides was developed in the 1990s and is widely used. Unfortunately there’s evidence neonics are harming our eco-system, including the bee population. Seeds are coated in the neonicotinoids and as the plant grows the pesticide becomes part of the plant. The pollen and nectar are then poisonous to bees and other pollinators.

Plants and seeds treated with neonics should be clearly marked, so be sure to carefully read any labels before purchase.

A Pollinator Garden for Every Season

While dandelions and purple dead nettle are great for spring and early summer bee food, there’s the rest of the year to think about. It helps to plant different flowers that will be in bloom throughout the summer and into the fall.

In the plant lists below, many are marked with when they’re in bloom. By planting a variety, bees can eat throughout the seasons before they go dormant in winter.

Plant by Zone

Many plants work in most growing zones, but if possible, native plants are the way to go. This website has details on native species for pollinators tailored to each area of the US.

Best Plants for Bees and Other Pollinators

Flowers usually come to mind when we think about food for bees. However, flowering trees are the biggest food source for pollinators. The Arbor Day Foundation recommends the following trees for a pollinator garden.

Trees

Maple

Serviceberry – prefers areas with cold winters

Koelreuteria – a popular variety is the goldenraintree

Fruit trees – plums, apples, crabapples, peaches, cherries, and pears are good options.

Crapemyrtle – Flowers late spring through summer

Liquidamber – a popular variety is American Sweetgum

Black tumelo – Native to eastern states and yields especially good honey for honey bees.

Sourwood – native to eastern states and produces seed capsules into winter.

Linden – Silver linden and littleleaf linden are popular species

Hawthorn

Tulip trees

Southern magnolia

Privets

Pollinator Garden Flowers

Here are some flowers bees, butterflies, and other pollinators rely on. Not every plant will grow in every area. Be sure to check which growing conditions a plant prefers before planting.

Columbine – blooms mid spring to early summer

Lupine – spring

Dandelion – spring through fall.

Clover – early spring through summer, depending on the variety

Irises – early summer

Milkweed – blooms throughout the summer

Marigold  –   blooms throughout the summer

Rocky mountain iris – summer

Aspen fleabane – summer through fall

Gentian – mid summer to fall

Sunflowers – summer and into fall

Wild bergamot (also known as bee balm) – blooms late summer through early fall

Rose – begins blooming in May. Depending on the variety it may only bloom once per season.

Goldenrod – end of summer through fall

Joe pye weed – blooms late summer through fall

Fruits and Vegetables

Blueberry

Eggplant

Legumes

Watermelon

Tomatoes

Pumpkin

Strawberry

Edible and Medicinal Herbs

Where to Buy Pollinator Plants

Check your local garden store, neighborhood plant swap, or grow them from seed!

Our pollinator friends still may be in danger, but there’s plenty we can do to help them out! You can read lots more about gardening and get tons of tips for how to grow and maintain a garden here. 

Sources:

Anderson, C. (2020, April, 21). 7 Flowering Herbs for Bees. Carolina Honey Bees. https://carolinahoneybees.com/best-herbs-for-bees-and-homesteading/

Arbor Day Foundation. (N.D.). Trees for Bees and Other Pollinators. Arbor Day. https://www.arborday.org/trees/health/pests/article-trees-for-bees.cfm

Kaplan, K. (2020, March 13). Fact Sheet: Survey of Bee Losses During Winter of 2012/2013. USDA. https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/br/beelosses/index/

Pollinator Partnership. (N.D.). List of Pollinated Food. Pollinator. https://pollinator.org/list-of-pollinated-food

USDA. (2020, April, 4). Surveys. United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Bee_and_Honey/

Source: https://wellnessmama.com/426197/bee-friendly-plants/

[coachdog96-blog]

Tales from the Archives:

I am a homesick Canadian in the UK at this time of year. This coming weekend is Thanksgiving and I’ll be thinking about my family feasting on turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Our modified family tradition in the UK is to go out for a roast dinner on the Sunday–which has its benefits (turkey without the dishes), as well as drawbacks (no pumpkin pie). For those of you who want to try your hand at making a historical pumpkin pie, I offer you Colleen Kennedy’s ‘Baking a Pumpion Pye‘ from the archives.

Last year, I was invited to a Thanksgiving potluck and I thought this might be the ideal time to try out a 17th century pumpkin pie recipe. I read early modern perfume and aromatic recipes often for my own research, but had not tried my hand at reconstructing a recipe. Inspired by the many recreated recipes of Rebecca Laroche (amongst others, especially Hillary Nunn, Amy Tigner, and Amanda Herbert‘s use of recipe reconstruction in the college classroom), I thought this might be the perfect time to try my hand at making a pie from scratch following a Renaissance recipe. I began with a recipe from Hannah Woolley’s The Gentlewoman’s Companion (c. 1670) “To Make a Pumpion Pye” (the steps are embedded in the pictures below), and rolled up my sleeves.

I had a few reasons for attempting this project: I hope to recreate some early modern perfumes and thought this might be a good practice round. My classroom assignments are experiential, whether having students operate an old printing press to make broadsides or blocking scenes from a Shakespeare play in an outdoor ampitheatre. So, I thought I should try my hand at this same sort of praxis, especially if I hoped to one day assign recreating perfumes and cosmetics in the classroom. Finally, and most pressing at the time, I needed to bring a dish to the potluck.

A few caveats: Despite my interest in the idea of early modern recipes, I don’t do much recipe-dependent baking at home. I cook on-the-stovetop meals that I make by following my nose and adding a dash more of this or that.

STEP 1: “TAke a pound of pumpion and slice it, a handful of time, a little rosemary, and sweet marjoram stripped off the stalks, chop them small, then take cinamon, nutmeg, pepper, and a few cloves all beaten,…”

Two medium pumpkins added up to around one pound. Because the very first step states to “slice it,” I cut the lid off of the pumpkin, hollowed it, and extracted as much of the pulp from the rind as possible.  From this first step, I realized that unlike the measurements of modern recipes, early modern recipe measurements is often intuitive (also see Kayla Perkins’ recent post on “Quantities in Recipes“). Less surprising, there are no indicated temperatures or bake times.

STEP 2: “…also ten eggs and beat them, then mix and beat them all together, with as much sugar as you think fit, then fry them like a froise, after it is fryed let it stand till it is cold,…”

My second issue was encountering several unfamiliar terms: froise and caudle. Using EEBO, I  discovered that “froise” was listed in several “dictionaries of difficult terms” with variant meanings as either a “Pancake of Eggs,” “a Pancake [with bacon intermixt],” or an “omlet.” With these definitions in mind, I created a crepe/omelet/pancake hybrid (and added currants based on a modern “Welsh froise” recipe I looked at online). 

STEP 3: …then fill your pye after this manner. Take sliced apples sliced thin round wayes, and lay a layer of the froise, and a layer of apples, with currans betwixt the layers. While your pye is fitted, put in a good deal of sweet butter before you close it….

The next step called for “filling the pie.” Yet, I couldn’t figure out exactly what this meant. If I was supposed to prepare a traditional piecrust, there was no recipe throughout Woolley’s other pie recipes in the Gentlewoman’s Companion. (Ken Albala, noted food historian, offers some yummy early modern coffin (pie crust) recipes.)

If I was supposed to repurpose the pumpkin shell for the pie, that was also unclear. I did have a large clear casserole dish which allows us to nicely see the layers.  I interpreted that the froise and some sliced apples could serve as the bottom layer/crust.

STEP 4: “…When the pye is baked, take six yolks of eggs, some white wine or verjuyce, and make a caudle of this, but not too thick, cut up the lid, put it in, and stir them well together whilest the eggs and pumpion be not perceived, and so serve it up.”

I simmered “some white wine” on the stove and added egg yolks to make a caudle. They immediately poached and smelled horrible. I tried to modify my mistake by consulting Woolley’s own “almond caudle recipe” and replaced the wine with almond milk in my second attempt. My caudle still smelled was rancid and I had to toss it. Lesson Learned: Trust your nose.

Overall, I learned a lot through this experiential process about ingredients and measurements, baking vocabulary, pre-prepared foods, and following all steps. The end result was rather tasty. Because of the heavy spices of nutmeg and cloves, and the general weight of the dish due to the eggs, it tasted much more like a savory pumpkin quiche-stuffing hybrid than a dessert. The casserole pan returned home empty (always a promising sign). I would try this recipe again (after conquering caudle!).

Fresh from the oven Pumpion Pie!

Source: https://recipes.hypotheses.org/12158

[kittythecatdemon]

pyes pumpkin you have a seer

Oh um what group are they a part of it makes a difference

[gardeninghowto-blog]

How to start vegetable garden?

Growing your own vegetables is both fun and rewarding. All you really need to get started is some decent soil and a few plants. But to be a really successful vegetable gardener — and to do it organically — you'll need to understand what it takes to keep your plants healthy and vigorous. Here are the basics.

"Feed the soil" is like a mantra for organic gardeners, and with good reason. In conventional chemical agriculture, crop plants are indeed "fed" directly using synthetic fertilizers.

When taken to extremes, this kind of chemical force-feeding can gradually impoverish the soil. And turn it from a rich entity teeming with microorganisms insects and other life forms, into an inert growing medium that exists mainly to anchor the plants' roots, and that provides little or no nutrition in its own right. Related Article : https://www.justhomegardening.com

Although various fertilizers and mineral nutrients (agricultural lime, rock phosphate, greensand, etc.) should be added periodically to the organic garden, by far the most useful substance for building and maintaining a healthy, well-balanced soil is organic matter.You can add organic matter to your soil many different ways, such as compost, shredded leaves, animal manures or cover crops.

Organic matter improves the fertility, the structure and the tilth of all kinds of soils. In particular, organic matter provides a continuous source of nitrogen and other nutrients that plants need to grow. It also provides a rich food source for soil microbes. As organisms in the soil carry out the processes of decay and decomposition, they make these nutrients available to plants. For more on this subject, read Building Healthy Soil.

Make Efficient Use of Space

The location of your garden (the amount of sunlight it receives, proximity to a source of water, and protection from frost and wind) is important. Yet just as crucial for growing vegetables is making the most of your garden space.

Lots of people dream of having a huge vegetable garden, a sprawling site that will be big enough to grow everything they want, including space-hungry crops, such as corn, dried beans, pumpkins and winter squash, melons, cucumbers and watermelons. If you have the room and, even more importantly, the time and energy needed to grow a huge garden well, go for it. But vegetable gardens that make efficient use of growing space are much easier to care for, whether you're talking about a few containers on the patio or a 50-by-100-foot plot in the backyard. Raised beds are a good choice for beginners because they make the garden more manageable. How to Revive An Air Plant https://www.justhomegardening.com/how-to-revive-an-air-plant

Get Rid of Your Rows

The first way to maximize space in the garden is to convert from traditional row planting to 3- or 4-foot-wide raised beds. Single rows of crops, while they might be efficient on farms that use large machines for planting, cultivating, and harvesting, are often not the best way to go in the backyard vegetable garden. In a home-sized garden, the fewer rows you have, the fewer paths between rows you will need, and the more square footage you will have available for growing crops. If you are already producing the amount of food you want in your existing row garden, then by switching to raised beds or open beds you will actually be able to downsize the garden. By freeing up this existing garden space, you can plant green-manure crops on the part of the garden that is not currently raising vegetables and/or rotate growing areas more easily from year to year. Or you might find that you now have room for planting new crops — rhubarb, asparagus, berries, or flowers for cutting — in the newly available space.

Other good reasons to convert from rows to an intensive garden system:

Less effort. When vegetables are planted intensively they shade and cool the ground below and require less watering, less weeding, less mulching — in other words, less drudgery for the gardener. Less soil compaction. The more access you have between rows or beds, the more you and others will be compacting the soil by walking in them. By increasing the width of the growing beds and reducing the number of paths, you will have more growing area that you won't be walking on, and this untrammeled soil will be fluffier and better for plants' roots. How To Get Rid Of Bugs In Houseplants Soil https://www.justhomegardening.com/how-to-get-rid-of-bugs-in-houseplants-soil

Grow Up, Not Out

Next to intensive planting, trellising represents the most efficient way to use space in the garden. People who have tiny gardens will want to grow as many crops as possible on vertical supports, and gardeners who have a lot of space will still need to lend physical support to some of their vegetables, such as climbing varieties of peas and pole beans. Other vegetables that are commonly trellised include vining crops, such as cucumbers and tomatoes.

The fence surrounding your garden may well do double-duty as a trellis, so long as the crops grown on the fence can be rotated in different years. Other kinds of vegetable supports are generally constructed from either wood or metal. However, no matter which design or materials you use, be sure to have your trellis up and in place well before the plants require its support — preferably even before you plant the crop. With some vegetables, such as tomatoes or melons, you may also have to tie the plants gently to the support, or carefully weave them through the trellis as they grow.

Keep Crops Moving

Crop rotation within the vegetable garden means planting the same crop in the same place only once every three years. This policy ensures that the same garden vegetables will not deplete the same nutrients year after year. It can also help foil any insect pests or disease pathogens that might be lurking in the soil after the crop is harvested. To use a three-year crop rotation system, make a plan of the garden on paper during each growing season, showing the location of all crops. If, like most people, you grow a lot of different vegetables, these garden plans are invaluable, because it can be difficult to remember exactly what you were growing where even last season, much less two years ago. Saving garden plans for the past two or three years means that you don't have to rely on memory alone.

A Continuous Harvest

Planting crops in succession is yet another way to maximize growing area in the garden. All too often, though, gardeners will prepare their seedbeds and plant or transplant all their crops on only one or two days in the spring, usually after the last frost date for their location. While there is nothing wrong with planting a garden this way, wouldn't it be easier to plant a few seeds or transplants at a time, throughout the course of the whole growing season, rather than facing the herculean task of "getting in the garden" all at one time?

After all, a job almost always becomes easier the more you divide it up. Plan to plant something new in the garden almost every week of the season, from the first cold-hardy greens and peas in late winter or early spring, to heat-loving transplants such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant once the weather becomes warm and settled.

Then start all over again, sowing frost-hardy crops from midsummer through mid-fall, depending on your climate. Keep cleaning out beds as you harvest crops to make room for new vegetables that will take their place. You can even interplant crops that grow quickly (radishes) alongside other vegetables that require a long season (carrots or parsnips), sowing their seeds together. This makes thinning out the bed easier later on, since you will have already harvested the quick-growing crop and given the long-season vegetables that remain some much-needed elbow room.

Another benefit of succession planting, of course, is that your harvest season lasts longer for every crop. This means that, instead of getting buried in snap beans or summer squash as your plants mature all at once, you can stagger plantings to ensure a steady, but more manageable supply of fresh vegetables.

Print Your Plans

If you use our Kitchen Garden Planner, you can print your plans, make notes and save them for future seasons. dr pye's scanmask https://www.justhomegardening.com/how-to-get-rid-of-bugs-in-houseplants-soil

Keep Good Records

Finally, we end up where we started — with the realization that, although vegetable gardening can be rewarding even for beginners, there is an art to doing it well. There is also a mountain of good information and advice from other gardeners available to you. Yet one of the most important ways of improving your garden from year to year is to pay close attention to how plants grow, and note your successes and failures in a garden notebook or journal.

Just as drawing a garden plan each year helps you remember where things were growing, taking notes can help you avoid making the same mistakes again, or ensure that your good results can be reproduced in future years. For instance, write down all the names of different vegetable varieties, and compare them from year to year, so you will know which ones have done well in your garden.

Many people keep a book in their car to record when they change their oil and perform other routine maintenance. In the same way, get in the habit of jotting it down whenever you apply organic matter or fertilizer to the garden, or the dates on which you plant or begin to harvest a crop.

Over time this kind of careful observation and record-keeping will probably teach you more about growing vegetables than any single book or authority. That’s because the notes you make will be based on your own personal experience and observations, and will reflect what works best for you in the unique conditions of your own garden. As in so many other pursuits, so it is in the art of vegetable gardening: practice does make perfect.