It's been a bitter-sweet week in the garden. After a week of really cool weather and the fear of early frost, we've had a week of beautiful, sunny fall weather. It's time for us to winterize here, and I'm just so not ready. I still have flowers in bloom, green tomatoes on the vine - and can't bring myself to tear out annuals still blooming. I love being outside and looking at the small changes that happen every day. But...we will be leaving for the winter - very soon - and everything has to be winterized before we go. The last thing we do is shut off our motion detector sprinklers and have all our waterlines blown out, outside and inside the house.
I've covered my potting bench, my green house, and the chairs and decorations from the front porch. The plants in front of the house and on the sides, the ones that aren't protected by the motion detector sprinklers - are pretty munched up from the deer. They are so hungry right now, with everything so dry, they are come right up to the house. And they eat things this time of the year, that they normally wouldn't eat. I cut down everything in the garden that I'm going to now. The rest can end up as mulch!
All the plants in the pond are cut down, too, and I took out the floating water cover - which makes it easy to see my koi. Too easy for the blue heron!
Terry made this cover for the pond, you can't tell from the picture, but it is covered with a fine nylon netting. We cover the pond every winter, not only to protect the koi from overhead attacks while they are so visable, but to stop the zillion leaves that fall off the humongus silver maple - from ending up in the pond! The cover has to be strong enough to hold the turkeys. They stay out of the yard because of the sprinklers - but as soon as we shut the water/sprinklers off and leave - the turkeys take over the front yard, too.
I have always loved living where there are definite four seasons. But now that I'm at a different time in my life - not working, no kids at home to take care of - I've noticed I'm beginning to hate the summers end. It means an end to my garden and flowers. Oh well, there's next year, God willing. And I do have about a million pictures, which I'll look at over and over all winter!! LOL
14 comments:
That cover for the pond is a stroke of genious! Every year I'm out there freezing to death trying to get the leaves and pine needles out. Thanks for the tip!
I concur with Kat. That Terry is a pretty smart fellow. The cover not only provides protection, but a faster, easier clean up, too.
Kat - you're welcome. We always cover the pond because besides the mess the leaves make in it when they decompose, they release an acid. We have to run the waterfall all winter too, for oxygen for koi. My sister (not Quilldancer, but Caryl) has a small pond with no fish in it, and I've cleaned that mess out for two years - this year I told her to throw a tarp over the over the whole thing. Beats cleaning out that 'sludge'!
Cindra Jo, I miss YOU. Every day. I love you.
Quilly-Sister, don't give T a swelled head! I usually lay 2X4's over the pond before I net it - but he likes things neat...so drilled all these holes in the boards to put the pipes through and made this neat one we'll reuse every year. He's okay, I guess! xoxoxo
Well, I know he's intelligent, he married my sister. Come to think of it, that probably also means he's thick skinned and somewhat masochistic.
Okay, okay, Quilly-Sister, why couldn't you quit while you were ahead?? No need to go on and on. LOL
Hey, now I know a good place to go ice fishing this winter! Thanks for saving them for the derby I'm now planning!
I promise not to use dynamite.
Tom - that's cute, honey, but they won't be biting. Once the water goes below 50 degrees, they go to the bottom of the deep end and go into a dormat stage...they are not eating or anything! xoxoxo
P.S. Haven't got at that homework for your blog yet - I can barely keep up with this! But I'll get it done!
P.P.S. It's nice to see your bro on here too!
Tom, you are funny-evil.
Just what is the dormat stage? Or did you mean doormat stage. No, that's a stage a man goes through in marriage. Hmm, I'll keep looking though my dictionaries.
Love ya. Imp-in-law
Oh,God, you are funny, Tom. Can't blame you - had to read that over to see what I did! If I'd spelled it correctly - as in "dormant", you might have known what I meant!
No, you'd probably still be a wise guy! And that remark? I think we have to send you for sensitivity
training! LOL
Sorry ma, I've been impish lately all over the blogosphere and I think QD thought it was time to smack me back into shape. We've been parrying over word things, but on your side of the family in general, words are a strong suit. Wasn't your mom a school teacher or something. seems like that's what C told me. she said you were always careful to teach good grammar. Good for you.
And yeah, there's really no need to use the F-word. My post was just for fun.
Love ya. TM
Tom, it was Gram that was the teacher. Just teasing you about your blog. You are certainly diverse, though - from the deep end to the most shallow. LOL
Love you.
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