Happy First Day of Fall!

Celebrate Fall – today is the Autumnal Equinox

Fall decorations with pumpkins and flint corn
Seasonal Pumpkins and Flint Corn

Fall is here and it’s the first day of the Autumnal Equinox. The weather is starting to change with cooler weather coming this weekend. Pumpkins and gourds are appearing at farm stands (and Halloween costumes have been in the stores for a month now – that is truly frightening!)

Celebrate the changing seasons with some cider and doughnuts, a walk in the woods to see the changing leaves or just soaking up the last rays of warm sunshine.

Check out my selection of Fall and Pumpkin images to find the perfect image for your graphic design needs.

See more Pumpkin images here

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

A Healthy Snack You Can Make At Home

Stock Image: Orange Pumpkins With Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Toasted pumpkin seeds surrounded by tiny pumpkins and colorful Autumn leaves have been a favorite theme in my images over the past few years. I’ve found my pumpkin seed images used in a variety of online articles covering a variety of topics from the health benefits of pumpkin seeds to tasty health snacks.  I decided this year to update my portfolio with some fresh new photos.  Seen here is one of my favorites from a recent shoot.  More of my new images and old favorites in my Autumn portfolio can be found here.

Pumpkin seeds are high in calories but they are packed full of health benefits too.  They are an excellent source of protein and bring along vitamins and essential minerals to contribute to a healthy diet.  Here’s an easy recipe if you’d like to try making your own toasted pumpkin seeds at home.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Rinse the pumpkin seeds, removing any excess pulp.  Dry seeds on a paper towel until completely dry.

When dry, place the seeds in a bowl and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil. 

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or lightly oil with olive oil.

Spread pumpkin seeds on the baking pan in a single layer and sprinkle with salt if desired

Place in oven and roast for about 20 – 25 minutes.  Stir and turn pumpkin seeds every 10 minutes.  Remove when seeds are a light golden brown.

For a flavorful twist, coat with a variety of spices and toppings.  Drop the salt and coat with cinnamon and sugar or brown sugar and nutmeg for a bit of sweetness.  Add garlic powder, curry powder or cumin for a spicy treat or try a savory blend of Italian seasonings, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Eeeekkk! Halloween Is Here

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is right around the corner and  here in my neck of the woods it seems like more and more homeowners are going all out with lights, cobwebs, giant spiders and ghouls decorating their homes for Halloween.  Of course you need some traditional Jack-O-Lanterns to greet the young children that will be coming around to trick or treat on Halloween.

Check out my latest Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns and autumn pumpkin images here

Last of the Autumn Harvest

Homegrown Tomatoes Are The Best!

You can’t beat the flavor of vine ripened homegrown tomatoes.  This year I had a bumper crop with plenty of heirloom slicing tomatoes (perfect for sandwiches or salads) and my favorite Super Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes.  I look forward to the ripening of the Super Sweets all summer long and take delight in snacking on them when they begin to ripen in late August.

My Plum Tomatoes thrived in a new garden area prepped with organic mulch from the compost pile.  I’m coming down to the last of the autumn harvest on these tasty fruit, or vegetable, depending on where you side in the fruit / vegetable debate.  Botanically, tomatoes are a fruit but for culinary purposes they are generally considered to be a vegetable.

Several years ago I was fortunate to learn the secrets of making fresh tomato sauce from my husband’s Italian grandmother.  Today, at 96 years old, she still makes a pot of sauce every Sunday.  I’ll be trying to squeeze out one more small batch from the harvest this year if the remaining tomatoes cooperate by ripening together, otherwise we’ll be having tomato, mozzarella and basil salad for dinner – either way a culinary delight.

Of course I couldn’t let the opportunity to photograph a few of the tomatoes and some fresh Thyme pass me by.  Search out some of my other pictures of plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beans and cucumbers from the garden in the Food / Drink category of my portfolio.

Pumpkins Are Ready For Harvest

Harvest autumn profits with seasonal images

Pumpkins in the field are still growing on the vine but it’s not too early to make plans for harvesting profits with seasonal images of pumpkins, gourds, squash and pumpkin seeds.  Early July showed a marked increase in downloads on my top selling pumpkin photos as designers fulfilled needs for autumn themed projects.  You’ll find a selection of autumn images in traditional colors of red, yellow and orange in our Autumn gallery.  More images to come, so keep checking back to see what’s new.