It must be that we miss the outdoors when we spend much more time indoors. We put trees up indoors, and then we put decorations and lights on them to add cheer. Nothing can even come close to God’s creation of trees with birds (and squirrels) and light shining through, but it does help to brighten the short amount of daylight.
Last night, on the eve of Thanksgiving, we had a beautiful full moon.
Today we had a visit from both of the white squirrels. Here’s one.
On the start of what is so often a buying frenzy and fraught with obligations, we hope there is (also) time to enjoy simple things 😍
Happy Thanksgiving!
It was only a few weeks ago that a friend and I went to Stillwater (MN) to do some late season leaf peeping.
The river was so high!
We did some walking around by the shops and then we wrapped up with dinner at a cafe on the river. It was a full moon and made for a great view!
This past Friday, after a pretty decent snow, brisk winds and cool temps gave us a “feels like” temperature of 6° F. There’s not going to be much sitting outside on the patio for a while 😉
The scarecrow picks froze into the ground. One of them is so solidly frozen that I just left it out there. The wooden pumpkins are now in, as is the concrete bird bath. The sedum are frozen. Good luck to the birds in harvesting those seeds. I’m sure they will find a way.
But there is a serenity about the landscape when it is snow covered, and I really enjoy that.
I don’t right now, and probably won’t for months, have lots to post from the garden. But when I catch something special, or if we get a particularly pretty snow like this past Friday, I will share.
Yes, that chair still needs to come in.
The last garden chore of the season is always pulling in all the garden decorations – the spinners, the funny little statues, things like that. I bring them inside and let them get acclimated to the indoor temperature, and then I put them away in a tote for the winter. That is now done. Everything always fits in one bin – as long as I simultaneously put the winter lanterns out on one of the shepherd’s hooks. Eventually the scarecrow picks and door hanger will go in that same bin, as long as they aren’t too beat up by the wind and rain – and the lawn crew – lol!
As I mentioned in a previous post, we live in a townhome. Sometimes the lawn service crew gets a little over-zealous with the blowers. Unfortunately they pretty much destroyed two of the 5 sedums this past week. Not quite sure why, as there were no leaves to blow out of there, but nevertheless, it looked like a giant storm had come through that area alone. Oh well. Stuff happens. I will still leave the now blown over sedums for the birds, and cut them back in the spring. Unless, of course, they really start to bother me this week 😕
I had a change of heart on the bird bath warmer and put my “use what you have” ideas to work. I took an old (mauve of all colors) plant pot, and weighted it inside with an old terra cotta plant pot. Then I put an empty dish garden on top of that, put the bird bath warmer in the dish garden and plugged it in. Within 15 min the birds came! But we haven’t had a freezing night this weekend so I can’t report on whether or not the warmer is working. And it’s been raining so I don’t have good pics … Stay tuned for updates.
The hibiscus has had 14 (maybe more) blooms since we brought it in, but is now resting. There are a few more buds, so I won’t trim it yet.
The shamrocks started looking shaggy this week. They will soon die back for the most part, and, like the hibiscus, rest.
Saturday I used up the last dozen of the tomatoes that were green last weekend and finally ripened.
So the outdoor garden is done and resting, and the plants we over-winter are also beginning to rest. But I have envelopes of seeds just ready for May. And I can’t wait to see what the daylily seedlings from this year might bring in 2019. I suppose up I could head to the garden store and get something blooming, but more than likely I’ll just enjoy pictures – of our garden, and of other’s. Maybe this winter I will do another garden album. It’s been years!
To round out this weekend, here’s a pic of today’s squirrel antics. When our guest in the garden noticed them, he let them know he did not like that one bit!
It’s been a pretty nice few days here – cool at night, but high 40s/low 50s during the day, and some sun! Tonight we got a nice walk in, and then started chicken going on the grill. Yum! And if you make a bunch, there’s leftovers 😁
They sunsets, although chilly, have also been nice.
Our Guest in the (cut back) Garden is also here tonight.
If he’s really good (and I have a feeling he will be) he might get some cut up chicken 😍
We used to be really into getting pumpkins and carving them. It’s a thing you do with your kids for sure. But after a few days the pumpkins start to shrivel and get moldy … Uck.
Our children are long grown. Nowadays we do – candles in the windows. Yup – starting not after Thanksgiving, but mid-October. It’s just perfect. The days are getting shorter, and it is quite nice to pull up and see them lit.
Eventually the snow will draw attention in the landscape, but for now the sedum are showing their beautiful color during the day, and the candles show just a bit of warmth as the night begins.
2018 fall garden trimming is done. Whew! That’s enough work for me! I made the last 2018 trip to compost yesterday. Yeay! The last ninebark got trimmed, the remaining hostas got trimmed, and some sedum got trimmed.
All that’s left to do now is pull in the garden “pretties” like the funny hunting and hiking bears, the toad and turtle playing checkers … I was going to do that today but ach! … it can wait another week.
Today I can rest and enjoy our guest in the (indoor) garden. He got groomed yesterday so he thinks he’s pretty snazzy. After a long walk in the leaves (LOTS of sniffing involved), he settled in for a nap. He deserves that oversized blankie you know 😁
Updates on previous posts:
I decided to cut back the sedums that were falling over, and keep those that are staying upright. That left 5 sedum plants for the birds to enjoy this winter.
The bird bath heater is too big for my little bird bath, and I don’t want a new bird bath, so back that goes.
Inside the hibiscus continues to bloom.
The orchid blooms failed this week, after 4 months of blooming. That will rest now too.
And the tomatoe plant wrapped up (indoors) last week. Today I am making chili with the last of the tomatoes. Yum! A good pot of warm food in the Lodge dutch oven. Now that’s fall!
Over the past week or so I noticed that the bird bath has turned into a water bowl. We are even seeing robins there, and we thought they were long gone. This poor robin was late to the game and was left with slim pickins.
Dark eyed junkos, chickadees, bluejays, cardinals, and of course squirrels are coming for a drink. But if I put water in at night, it freezes. So, I ordered a bird bath heater. Crazy, but I hear they attract birds all winter.
It will come in the next few days so I will do a follow-up.
I have a week or so to decide, but I have another “experiment” in mind. I’m thinking of leaving at least some of the sedum stand through the winter this year. I hear the birds might enjoy them.
An article I read said it’s great to put out feeders, but it’s also important to have things for birds to forage. A concern I have though is that dropped seeds will enable dozens and dozens of volunteers in the spring. There’s already enough volunteers that I pluck by hand from the trees and the clematis.
I’m still deciding.
If we do that, is the next step a heated bird bath? I read they like that too!
This morning the water in the birdbath was frozen.
Yesterday at 4pm the wind was a bit calmer. The “feels like” temperature was still in the mid 30s so it was a bit brisk, but I put on my red flannel thick lined shirt as a jacket and headed out to accomplish the very sad task of cutting the hostas back. 3 big piles later it was done and then I had to bag all those gorgeous leaves and set them aside for compost drop off next weekend. Very sad, and I won’t even include pics, but now it’s done. All that’s left are Dad’s two hostas in back (they’re still green) and two Rainforest Sunrise hostas in front (I might cut them back today).
Soon we will send snow pics from the garden. But for now the fall garden clean-up is wrapping up. Next is bringing in all the garden decorations, and changing out the garden flag. And then the candles will go in the windows.
The gardens, minus the sedum, are all done. The cold and the wind are starting to feel winter-like. We did have a couple gorgeous (high 60s/low 70s) days but this morning the wind is very brisk, the “feels like” temperature is 26° F, and we have snow flurries.
Our guest in the garden doesn’t care at all to be out in the garden this morning so we’ve got the fireplace going and I’m enjoying the hibiscus.
Hopefully the wind will calm a bit this afternoon and I can get out and cut back at least the Aureomarginatas and the Blue Mouse Ears.
Susan's Daily Garden 