Hello Fall…I love you! Today I’m linking up to a party at Rhoda’s of Southern Hospitality...it’s all about fall — outside the house! Please go look at Rhoda’s site and see all of the fall pretties she and others have put together.

When you live in the country, it’s easy to get foddershocks. Yep..these used to be corn and now they are showing off in the front yard! We’ve eaten corn, the animals have eaten corn, and the foddershocks are the corn’s last hurrah! I put the bow on just before it got dark.

Since I live in a rural area called Mendota, Virginia, I use things that reflect our country life. Simple things…like plain field pumpkins. This pumpkin has a story. Three pumpkins per year is the payment we receive from Mr. Faust who cuts and uses our hay. Works for me!

The grape cart has been with me since my house was built in 1998.   I ordered it from an ad in a magazine. I called the 1.800 number about 2 am one night when I could not sleep. I thought I’d get a recording or a call center. What I got was the sleepy wife of the man who made it. It’s just the right size for summer squash and gourds from our garden along with a couple of mums from Lowe’s.

Here it is from a step back…a very traditional fall look. I wanted some white pumpkins, and I grew two, but they came in early and already have started to rot. Just my luck! That’s Sammy…my cat. If you live in the country, you seldom get to pick out a kitten. People from other places drive out here and throw them away…and sometimes, if the kitty is very, very lucky, it may find a home. Sammy did and he looks pretty in the picture. He is one mean cat!

This little wooden pumpkin is too primitive for inside the house, but it is sweet looking hanging off the grape cart. I believe after the picture was taken above, however, Sam the Cat peed on it. Not only is he mean, he has bad manners. Yuck Sam!

The mums in the grape cart will be transferred to the ground when they start looking bad. I’ll put compost over them and next year, with a little luck, they’ll be back. Here’s former years’ “mums in a pot” enjoying their annual return…they are much bigger and better!

Here’s more pumpkins…including my homemade fabric pumpkins. I made the fabric pumpkins last year, and they are right back at work this year. They are stuffed with Walmart bags and pinto beans. I was so excited when I made them that I was jumping up and down. Gleeful! I thought I’d discovered something totally unique and felt brilliant. I then found that making fabric pumpkins is something everyone does! Oh well!

I don’t go over the top on the door but I do like a wreath, and this one works just fine. It’s not new, but it still has some life. Honestly, when you’ve reached a certain age (I’m 57), new and shiny is not always better. There is a comfort seeing an old friend again — even an old wreath friend!

Thank you for stopping by RiverCliff Cottage! Please come back! If you are visiting from the Linky Party, I would love it if you would leave a comment…you have to sort of “hunt it” like an Easter Egg. My comment section is going to be reworked…it seems like it disappears… but if you scroll just a little further down, you can find it.