Sun, 30 Nov 2008
Leaves
This morning I was able to get out in the backyard and rake some of the leaves. I left most of the leaves on the lawn. It needs some help and the leaves will enrich the soil for the spring growth. The rest of the leaves were raked up from the deck and patio. I spread them on my vegetable garden, as I do most every year. Then the sky turned very gray and the rain came; a typical November day. A great day to make soup, which is what I did.
posted at: 16:52 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Thu, 27 Nov 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
Please take a minute to hope for the safety of our military and to be thankful for all our abundance!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
posted at: 09:23 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Wed, 26 Nov 2008
Snow Balls
It's garbage day in my neighborhood. Not that it has much to do with gardening, but I tell you this because this morning, as I was taking out the garbage for pick-up, there was a sudden burst of snow balls. Not the type you scoop up and shape in your hands and then pelt your best friend with. These snow balls are teeny-tiny drops from the sky. Like rain, only balls of snow. The snow ball explosion lasted for about three minutes - the entire time I was outside placing the garbage for pick-up and taking some kitchen scraps to the composter. The sound the snow balls made on the leaves that are still on the trees and the leaves on the ground was great! I wish I could have recorded it to share with you.
posted at: 09:57 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Mon, 24 Nov 2008
Leaves
I always wait to rake my leaves until the weekend of Thanksgiving. Right now, it looks as though I won't be able to rake. Everything is frozen. There isn't a lot of snow, although some friends who live east have 14 inches - yes, that's right. Count 'em - 14 inches on the ground. Anyway, I usually rake all my leaves back to my vegetable garden and use them as a winter mulch. It's very effective. I don't know what the weather forecast is, but if I'm lucky, it may warm enough to get the raking done. Have you noticed how alarming the weather forecasters have become? Maybe they are alarming only in this area. I don't know, but I'm tired of being made to feel afraid because we might get some rain. OMG! It's going to RAIN! Every time there is a change in the weather, it seems like they expect us to run to the store to get provisions in preparation for a catastrophe. It's hard to tell when the situation might be serious. Not only that, but the weather in northern Ohio changes frequently. We have all types of weather: balmy, tropical, blizzard, fog, windy, etc. It's quite interesting. Oh, wait, too much about the weather forecasters. Sorry. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is about leaves. Don't throw them away. Use them. They are worth their weight in gold. Well, the price of gold is pretty high right now, so maybe not gold, but leaves are wonderful for your garden and compost heap. Use them.
posted at: 09:54 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sun, 16 Nov 2008
Windy
My next door neighbor's light post is flat on the ground. The wind knocked it over. It's been and still is windy. I can see some bright red amaranth in my vegetable garden from my office window as I write this. It's quite beautiful! The photo shows one of my silver maple trees putting on a wonderful show.
posted at: 12:49 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Fri, 14 Nov 2008
Balmy
We've had a couple of days of balmy weather. Great weather to rake leaves. Please, do not throw away your leaves. Compost them. Chop them up with your lawn mower and use them as a protective winter mulch on your planting beds. Turn them into the soil in the spring. It is well worth the effort.
posted at: 08:56 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Wed, 12 Nov 2008
More Color!
Warm, bright yellow!
posted at: 09:31 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Tue, 11 Nov 2008
Orange
How pretty is this tree!! It's a sassafrass tree. The tree with four different shaped leaves. I've always been fascinated by it and the fall color is amazing. I was able to cut some chives and thyme yesterday so I made my vinegars. Yipee!
posted at: 08:58 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Mon, 10 Nov 2008
Frost On The Pumpkin
My picnic table has snow on it. Actually, it's more like teeny-tiny ice balls. Brrr. The colors in the photo of my white maple and oak tree warm me up just looking at them. It's a bit nippy outside. I plan to cut some herbs today to infuse into vinegar. I hope they are not too frozen.
posted at: 09:21 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Fri, 07 Nov 2008
Oak Tree
I took this photo about 30 minutes ago - morning sun - quite lovely. My oak tree is in full, spectacular color. I'm quite sure the photo doesn't do it justice. The tree is ablaze with color.
posted at: 09:08 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Thu, 06 Nov 2008
More Color
My oak tree just beginning to color!
posted at: 08:24 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Wed, 05 Nov 2008
More Color
More fall color to enjoy! My oak tree is spectacular - peak color! This photo is a vibarant maple - warm and cheerful.
posted at: 09:13 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Tue, 04 Nov 2008
Silver Maples
I have two huge silver maples in my backyard. They must be about 70 years old. The leaves turn yellow, then red. It is a spectacular autumn show!
posted at: 08:53 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Mon, 03 Nov 2008
Fall Color
We are very lucky in northern Ohio to have such a long season of fall color. My yard is reaching peak color this week. I took a variety of photos to share with you and I'll try to post one each day this week, if possible, schedule permitting. Many areas don't have a season of fall color, so I thought it would be nice to share my yard. I'm not sure the photos do justice to the beauty of the trees. There's nothing like standing amid the trees while they are in color and their leaves are sailing down to the ground. The trees I've photographed are silver maple, white maple, sassafras and oak (not sure what type of oak). This photo is of the oak leaves.
posted at: 16:17 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Birds
This afternoon as I went to take some kitchen waste to the compost pile, I heard hundreds of birds tweeting away. They were very close by. I walked out to my front yard to see and hear hundreds of grackels squacking away, many sitting on my walnut tree. It seemed as if they were gathering to coordinate the long flight south. Right now, we are having a nice thunderstorm, so the birds have flown to cover.
posted at: 16:12 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sun, 02 Nov 2008
Indian Summer
We've had a string of wonderful weather here in norhtern Ohio that we refer to as "Indian Summer". Warm, sunny, breezy days with crisp, cool nights and lots of color on the trees. My oak tree in my backyard is starting to turn bronze, then red. Spectacular. I cut the grass this afternoon, hopefully for the last time until next spring. The temperature was cool, so I really enjoyed being out and working in the yard. Even though the days are short and the air cool, there is still plenty to do in the yard and garden: raking leaves, getting the perennials ready for winter, getting all the planting beds ready for winter, etc. My little cosmos flower is still going strong!
posted at: 17:26 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Mon, 27 Oct 2008
Fall Color
See this little maple leaf - how pretty it is! I have two silver maple trees in my yard, each covered with little leaves like the one in the photo. Right now, most of the leaves are still green. The leaves closest to the outer edge of the leaf spread are coloring. It's a daily progression that is lovely. All the trees in my yard color this way. I'm currently watching an oak go bronze and some sasafrass turn bright yellow and orange. How lucky am I?
posted at: 10:55 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sun, 26 Oct 2008
Fall Color
Look at the photo and try to ignore the wires criss-crossing in front of these two trees. They are located in a neighbor's front yard and I look forward to seeing them every fall. The large orange tree is a mighty oak. The purple leafed tree is a maple. What a beautiful contrast!!! This autumn at its best. Today, I took apart the vegetable garden, harvested the last few tomatoes, cut the last of the basil, cleaned up a bit and emptied all my annual pots. I always hate doing this job, but it is needed as the forecasters are predicting snow in the next couple of days. It was a great day to do the job. Cool, breezy and sunny - sweater weather. I worked hard, but didn't overheat. This is my favorite time of year!!!
posted at: 16:05 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Mon, 20 Oct 2008
Oh My!
I love garden ornaments but this is an example of garden ornamentation gone wrong. If you want a stump in your front yard, get a piece of a tree when you see one being taken down. I have several wood pieces in my backyard, remnants from a large box elder tree. They are woodsy and nice. This is something different. Someone had to make this out of ceramic material, glaze it and fire it in a kiln. Why? If you want this in your yard, then make sure it is planted with nice flowers and hebs. Well, there is not accounting for taste.
posted at: 11:11 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sat, 11 Oct 2008
Indian Summer
Indian Summer has arrived. It is my favorite time of year. The days are warm and the nights brisk. Halloween is coming. It does mean the end of this year's vegetable and annual flower garden. My cosmos are hanging tough. This flower was a volunteer in my garden this year. Volunteers hold a special place in my heart. They are eager to please.
posted at: 21:29 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Wed, 08 Oct 2008
Ahhhh.
This morning we are experiencing a soft, warm rain. It's quite lovely. It's not often that we have a soft and warm rain. The temperature has been cooling down so the the warmth of the rain is special. My impatients are still going strong. They are cheerful little blooms. A strange thing happened the other evening as I was knitting and watching TV. I heard a loud clunk on my front porch right outside my living room window. I went out to see what happened. I figured someone threw something on the porch or some little critter knocked over a candle or something. Well, I have three large asparagus ferns in pots hanging from the porch ceiling. One of the hooks used to hang one of the pots came out of the ceiling and the pot dropped. It didn't spill. It actually landed on the porch railing and stayed there, balanced, centered on the railing as if set there on purpose. I was very lucky it didn't tip over the side of the railing into the bushes.
posted at: 09:42 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sun, 05 Oct 2008
Pajama Day
I'm taking a pajama day today. A pajama day is a day when you stay in your pajamas all day and relax, or at least try to relax. The outdoors are calling me today. It is the type of weather I love. Cool, sunny, a little breeze. I should be out cleaning up the garden or mowing the lawn, but I'm a little run down so I need to listen to my body and relax a bit today. Everyone should have a pajama day once in a while. I will go into the kitchen and make a pot of stuffed cabbage rolls - yummy. Last night, I baked some apple tarts with apples a wonderful yarn store customer gave me. She'll get a couple of tarts for her good deed. She is also the provider of the lovely peppers shown in the photo. I strung them up to dry in my kitchen. I've already used one in a pot of chili I made last week. It was super. I notice teh silver maple tree outside my home office window is just starting to show signs of color change as if each leaf edge was dipped into red-orange paint. My walnut tree has been dropping its leaves for the past two weeks or so. It is the first tree to drop leaves in the fall and the last tree to leaf out in the spring.
posted at: 14:48 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Fri, 03 Oct 2008
Deck
I'm very lucky to have a nice deck with much shade cover. I don't use it as much as I should. I always think how nice it is to sit out on the deck and have breakfast, but I don't think about that until after I'm putting my cereal bowl into the dishwasher. Maybe if I write it down as an appointment in my planner I'll remember to enjoy a relaxing breakfast outdoors.
posted at: 09:49 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Tue, 30 Sep 2008
Are We Having Fun Yet?
O'kay. So the wall street bail out didn't pass. What does this mean? It means we all better start gardening a lot because food prices will keep rising. Oye! What's the average citizen to do? I say garden (and knit and crochet). It helps take your mind off all the frightening news. We've been getting some much needed rain today. Good thing. My rain barrell was nearly empty again. I love to sleep when it is raining outside but morning rain interfers with my walking schedule although I don't really mind. I'll just walk another day. My vegetable garden is almost done for the year. A few tomatoes remain along with some herbs and zucchini plants. I may be able to get a few more items. I picked some basil yesterday. There is nothing like the scent of freshly picked basil - ahhh - wonderful.
posted at: 09:27 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sun, 28 Sep 2008
Lion Feet
My strawberry pot, which is filled with impatients instead of strawberries, is supported by lion feet. These are not attached to the pot. They are pot rests, if you will. I love them. They are regal and somewhat funny all at the same time. My yard and garden are very still right now as I write this. The sky is overcast and there is little breeze. I can't tell if this means rain is near, which we really need, or if it is just an overcast, still day. I'm hoping for rain because I want to avoid cutting the grass today.
posted at: 12:13 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Wed, 24 Sep 2008
Fantastic
We've been on a string of fantastic weather days here in northern Ohio. Cool evenings and mornings, warm afternoons, breezy and sunny - very Indian Summer but without the leaves changing colors. It's lovely. My impatients seem to have brightened up recently. I'm not sure if it is because of the cooler weather or because of being watered with rain barrell water. Perhaps a combination of the two. The photo shows a corner of my patio with my chrome ball and a pot of impatients.
posted at: 22:13 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sun, 21 Sep 2008
Canning Day
I was presented with some lovely fruit yesterday, so I decided today would be canning day. The peaches were enourmous - the largest I've ever seen. They were a bit on the overripe side, so it was a good thing I decided to can them today. The pears were lovely, although I would have liked to have had a peck to put up. As it is, I was able to can three quarts of peaches, one quart of pears and one quart of mixed. I wanted to can tomatoes, also, but between my eating the harvest and the inferanl chipmunks eating the lovely fruits, I didn't have enough to can. So, I sliced up a bunch and am in the process of drying them in the oven. I love dried tomatoes in the winter. It's like a burst of summer.
posted at: 15:39 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sun, 14 Sep 2008
Yikes
Well, Ike is on his way. The wind has really kicked up. We are fortunate in northern Ohio that we only get the tail ends of these enormous storms. Our thoughts go out to all in Galvaston, Houston and surrounding areas.
posted at: 15:57 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Sat, 06 Sep 2008
Red Peppers
Look at these fantastic red peppers. One of my yarn store customers was nice enough to give them to me. When she brought them to me (actually her husband broght them to the store) they were a pale yellow-green color. Very pretty. They are a hot variety, so I decided to hang them to dry. Over the past couple of weeks they have been changing from their original color to pretty shades of orange until now - the red hot color! Now they will begin to shrivel and reduce in size a bit. They will be super in chili during the winter!
posted at: 20:15 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry
Fri, 05 Sep 2008
Gustav Has Left The Building
Actuall, Gustav has arrived bringing little wind and some much needed rain. We are lucky in northern Ohio to only experience the tail end left overs of hurricanes. We needed the rain. In fact, a bit more rain would be welcome. The photo is of my back steps from my patio to my deck and back door. I love the cut sandstone the steps and patio are made of. I almost always grow pots of impatients on the steps, on the deck and around the patio. I have so much shade, not much else will grow and the impatient flowers are bright and cheery and lovely.
posted at: 14:14 | path: /peggy2008 | link for this entry