To everything (turn turn turn), there is a season (turn turn turn)...

Ah let's set the stage... because I love me some music from the Forrest Gump soundtrack and we need a little background music, please...

It's definitely a new season... Fall, back to school and all that it brings with it.  This weekend I took a break in studying (read procrastinated on school work) and we went to a nearby pumpkin patch.  It was gorgeous weather and so much fun albeit we were the only people there without kids.

Doesn't that look like fun?  There were lots of activities and it was fun to get lost in all the pumpkins.  I was a little saddened by the fact that I didn't find too many imperfect pumpkins.  I always enjoy picking the "Charlie Brown"s of trees or pumpkins... the ones that aren't as attractive.  But alas, mostly perfection.  So I had to make up for it with some mini gourds, warts and all.

And here they are displayed proudly around our doorstep...

And I must say, even though it was unintended, they go very well with our hold-out flowers that grace the stoop...

Diggin the orange...

I always love the fall.  The chance to get back into things like squash and sweaters.  And drink fun drinks like pumpkin spice lattes.  On that note... I'm not one to plug a product but I must say, Starbuck's ad campaign this year for their version of the pumpkin spice latte is very funny... I'll even go so far as whitty.  This is my favorite commercial...

Oh my lord, too funny.  I just envision doing that myself... opening up the door in the morning and yelling "Pumpkin spice!"  Never gets old.

This quarter I have now embarked on the more serious horticulture classes: drafting, business management and weeds.  I am putting in the building blocks for grad school and will hopefully be heading that direction next year.  While I ponder the differences between Landscape Design and Landscape Architecture and how that will influence my future career, I would like to share a recent experience in my weeds class.  But first let's take a trip down memory lane.

In college I was a youth group leader at a local church which was so much fun.  Every fall we would take the kids on a rock climbing/camping weekend at Mt. Erie.  Each year I would be the good leader and let all the kids get up on the rock and I would support from below.  But in my final year, I decided to take the plunge.  Surprisingly, it wasn't that difficult.  Picture it...

http://www.summitpost.org/mount-erie/153999

I'm not sure what the name of the face we were climbing was called but it did look like this.  Anyway, when I got to the top, it was one of the coolest feelings... you truly felt like Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Titanic where he says "I'm the king of the world!"

On a side note, heading to Mt. Erie (which you can drive up) is defintiely worth it as you have some of the most amazing views...

So, back to the current situation.  In my weeds class, we are supposed to bring in samples of weeds with ID cards we make.  Don't worry, there is a connection to these two stories.  Well I didn't know quite a few weeds in my yard so I took pictures and then asked my teacher.  She gave me hints to help me figure out what they could be.  While that was frustrating at first, it turned out to be a good thing.  With the clue, I was able to figure out what weeds I had which was so exciting, a true feeling of triumph!  It turns out I have wall lettuce and nipplewort growing in my backyard.  If you're worried, these are very common weeds in this area.  Anyway, it was a very exciting accomplishment indeed.

That's it for now, just thought it was time for an update.