Winner for the Columbus Salame Giveaway and a Quick Fall Update

First things first. I have a winner for my salame giveaway courtesy of Columbus Salame. Kate from Snowflake Kitchen was chosen by random.org and will be receiving the selection of salames from Columbus Salame as soon as I get her address. Congratulations Kate and a big thanks to Columbus Salame for offering up such a great selection for my very first giveaway.

Of course other things have been happening around here. Not all of them have been food related either shockingly enough. It's officially fall and besides the leaves starting to put on their grand finale for the year there have been other things we've been noticing as well.

The most interesting of these things was the discovery that after an entire summer of growing the milkweed plant we planted in the spring had finally managed to attract some monarch caterpillars. After seeing a bird fly off with one of the caterpillars I decided that to give the kiddos the best chance at watching the process of metamorphosis in it's entirety I had best bring a couple of those caterpillars inside. After a couple of days munching on leaves the fat little guys crawled to the top of their mason jar and put themselves into their chrysalises. Now we are watching and waiting.

The mammoth sunflowers we planted this spring and shot up to over 12 feet tall are also ready to harvest. So we have been spending time chopping down the heads picking out the seeds and roasting them for snacking on. Our red-bellied parrot Oscar has also been enjoying the harvest.

The garden is making its transition from summer to winter crops. Beds that are not going to be used are being layered up with dried leaves and compost. Beds that are being used are starting to sprout up beets, parsnips, kale, swiss chard, spinach, and the last crop of lettuce for the year.

I love fall, it's my most favorite of seasons. So while we start figuring out Halloween costumes that will be made and start crunching through leaves on our walks I hope you are having a wonderful season as well.