National Pumpkin Day!

Outdoor Pumpkin 2026

Baking Pumpkin 2026

 Happy National Pumpkin Day

Plant identification

Update: Frost Aster

Thanks to Nicole of DVArtist, beadwright.blogspot.com

I went to the website she suggests,

www.identifyany.com

Upload the plant photo and Whala! In seconds  the name appears. It feels like magic. I’m giggling happy.

An autumn blooming small cluster of purple aster appears to have been replaced with a white flowering variety that looks very similar (except for the color). I’ve read that other flower types can revert back to an ancestor color. A gladiola comes to mind as being like that. 

This tall 4 foot weed looking plant is not easy to search for the name online. Habit wise, the shape adds a wispy element to a garden.

Daisy? Weed?  Aster? What?

Online plant identification websites, many of them, have flower close up photos without showing enough leaf and stems for a good look. The daisy like flower close up looks like a daisy close up. Scale doesn’t seem to be on plant ID website’s radar. 

Does anyone know the name of the plant in the photo?

Thank you

Hunter’s Moon

6 PM EDT  25 October 2026
Waxing Gibbous
100% Illumination
Over Vermont

Hunter’s Moon
100% Full 26 October 2026

 

Halloween is a week away

Do you dress up in a costume?

Go to a party?

Hand out candy to treat or treaters?

Join a trunk or treat?

Decorate your yard?

Visit a haunted house?

The thing about Halloween that’s the best to me is being in a group celebrating, having fun. A fond memory is of a Halloween party when I was three years old. The place is a barn in the Connecticut countryside complete with bobbing for apples. An atmosphere with that solid New England vibe is easy to achieve with the right people, in the right place. I was a guest there when mother was recuperating from surgery.

The contrast to my at home regular door to door trick or treat Halloweens makes that Halloween stand out. The gathering of people in a community  is a healthy experience. If you have a chance, then try during this holiday season to have family and friends over, attend a festival or go out to the movies. Have a gathering of people experience.

Day 296 Week 43 October 2026

Here we are in October celebrating the last full weekend of this peak autumn month. The Halloween festivities carry the joys of fall right into November. 

Ovens are at the ready to begin the baking season. For October’s last week, roasting a pumpkin is on the list. 

Have a baking good weekend

Draw & label a group of leaves

Browse stylish gloves online

Visit an antique shop

Shop for winter faux greenery

Tell a pineapple a funny story

Have pineapple shortcake

Sing a hymn

Go for a stroll with friends