Get on with it girl!!

October 28, 2012
Time's a wastin' and I'm keepin' up!! (NOT!!) It is 30 degrees this morning!

I guess when the summer heat finally started to fade into memory, I took a siesta.
This is my favorite time of year.  This is a picture of last fall.

The heat and struggles are done, I have more energy (no, really I do) to get out and dream of "next" year.  That is what gardeners do.  When it is too hot to "do".....we look at magazines and catalogs and even garden shows (if we can find them anymore) on TV.
My new love for viewing?  Garden blogs of every stripe and interest.  There are more gardeners blogging out there than I could ever follow.  Some are so professional looking (obviously with a better camera than mine) and written (obviously with a better brain than mine) it makes me wonder at my nerve to ever begin this journey.

I feel as if I can breath and not be in a panic mode of must get out before the temp rises.  I can eat a leisurely breakfast, have that second cup of coffee and amble through the garden, instead of feeling driven to pull that weed and "where are the rabbits?" and what needs to be watered . Just slow down and enjoy the fruits of my labors.

This is also the time of year hawks are migrating through.  The birds are not on the feeder much in the mornings and skittish in the evenings.  I saw one of the reasons in my ambling the garden yesterday.  I am pretty sure it is a Broad-winged Hawk.  However, it might have been a bit larger..............

Fall!! Yeah!!

Friday Oct 19
The temperature is 45 this morning.  Chilly and a good sign .  The nights have been cool enough for the most part and slow to rise through out the day .  This keeps the soil from drying out so badly.

Sort of catching up; the bunny invasion has calmed down.  Have only seen 1 or 2 lately.  One individual sees me and runs like mad to hide :)
However, the pest issue is not gone.  We have an armadillo (I thought it was the resident skunk) digging holes EVERYWHERE.
Between the mole tunnels and the holes, we'd better keep our home owners insurance up to date in case a visitor steps in one and breaks something!!

On top of the digging pests, the bumper crop of acorns has made the yard a huge mess.  Still haven't cut down the tree closest to the house. That one is going for sure.  I am too old to climb the step ladder numerous times a year to clear the rain gutters!!!

Things have slowed down and not as frantic feeling.  There is really a lot of work just maintaining a garden of this size.  

I have purchased a few flowers and plants that are settling in and will add pictures later

Fall officially here?

I'm going to assume that the weather will be cooler from now on.  In the 40's this morning and a high of 50.  Since it has been overcast for the whole day, my kind of weather.

The main focus today was tilling in the compost and getting beds ready for some fall plantings.  Have to visit the nurseries and see what is available.   So far, all I have seen is potted mums; large expensive pots, mid sized pots and 4 inchers.............

Mums are not really my favorite, but if that is all that is available right now, thats what it will be.

It is  amazing the amount of energy I have had today.  I guess the heat is not really my friend.

The things I potted a week or so ago survived our being gone for 7 days.  The first day we were gone, there was a nice soaking rain and then more the second day.   So, being cooler and rainy, the potted plants look like they are taking hold.

One pleasant surprise was the lavender bush I thought was dead.  When I started pruning back the branches, I found some sprouting green!  I salvaged what I could of these gifts and stuck them in pots.  It would be so great if they sprout roots!

There is one plant that is missing from my summer/fall garden. It is the orange Zexmenia. This is one I have usually had somewhere in my plantings.

 The other plant that has been missing is the Blackfoot daisy. Both of these plants are drouth hardy and perennial if kept in a southern exposure.  They will be in next years' gardens.  They both thrive in pots or tucked away in a forgotten area. They both have  "leggy" branching stems and drape over the sides of a pot.
The daisy more so than the Zexmenia. This is a "stock" photo.

So, I think the best thing I can do is make a plant list for spring.  This is a good habit to get into.  I have been lax in the past year or so since I was caught up in the physical work of keeping things alive and weeding, and watering.

Speaking of watering, I think the main problem with my mums is the fact I may have over watered.  Some of the stems are brown with the tops green leaves and buds.  Probably won't be as showy this year, but I did make cuttings of them as well.  In searching for a good 'stock" photo, I did find that these plants need to be pinched back just like the other mums.  That information too, will be on my spring shopping list.

ALL THREE OF THESE PLANTS ARE ATTRACTIVE TO BUTTERFLIES, BEES AND HUMMINGBIRDS.

Just a note

October 5,
 I am back from a trip to New Mexico to visit our son.  I try to time my visits for the Aspen "show".  This year was THE year.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  The "haze" that usually hides fine detailing of the wonderful mountains was not there.  It was very noticeable.

My "eyes" are still full.  It is hard to describe.  We were at an overlook parking area and visited with a British couple.  The woman said it best: why take pictures? They cannot capture this.
We, with camera in hand, try though.

My son (who lives in New Mexico) gave me a Bloggie (Sony) camera. So, I trudged behind him with my 2 light weight cameras, compared to his high falootin SLRdigital cameras, and took pictures like a person with a mission.

 A lot of the photos are not super good, just for memory sake.  His, on the other hand, are the things calenders  are made of.  So beautiful it takes your breath away.  I am so pleased with the majority of photos I took and will share some when I figure out which I want to keep and which not.

So, with cooler in the offing, I will get back to gardening and blogging.

"tune in" later for more................................

Fall weather here for good?

Sept 16, 2012
This morning and yesterday give me hope that cooler weather is finally here.  It is 64 degrees and raining a nice straight down rain. Has been for several hours.
I am glad to have a reason to stay inside.  The house work has not been attended to in a couple of months.  My 45 year old vacuum cleaner (Hoover) is finally repaired. It needed a new switch. 15 dollars and good to go.

Yesterday, I trimmed back tree branches that keep on trying to cover the house and the street.  Never, Never, NEVER!! plant live oaks in the front yard.  They are 30 feet away from the house and not nearly far enough!!! Talk about live and learn.  They are about 15 to 20 years old now and just getting started.

With the hot, hot weather, the trimming had to wait.  Now, there are wet piles of branches here and there that will have to be moved.  My lovely green garden cart is standing out there in the rain and I am not fretting that the bottom will get soggy and rot the way the wooden carts did (do).  The cart/wagon has a mesh type bottom with openings about 2 inches.  The nice surprise? The wheels (just like wheels on little kids wagons have) are narrow enough to pull through my gravel pathways. This is the last gasp for the wooden one as it is falling apart.  I will use it to haul branches to the burn pile and might pull the tires off and add it to the pile.

I failed to mention before that this is from TSC Farm Store; the brand is Ground Work utility cart.

Fall,sort of

Ok, so two mornings were "fall like". I actually wore a sweat shirt for a while.  The temps were low 60's and highs mid 80's. Still dry however.
I took advantage of the cooler morning and redid the fencing around the cone flower bed. Doesn't look very good, but should keep the little buggers out. I really can't tell if anything has been nibbling on the plants.  The leaves get ragged looking.  It could be caterpillars even?
The reason for redoing the fencing was that in my frantic rush to "do "something!!" when I discovered rabbits had gotten inside the fence. I slapped up the landscape fabric and borders without too much planning. So, the make shift "gate" was such a pain to get opened and closed that I let the weeds get the upper hand.

My "fixing" the gate is not pretty since I used what was at hand.  I can at least get inside and tend to things.

Labor day 2012

Saturday September 3, 2012 Labor Day (joke) I worked harder  

I have solved the mystery of the mummified peaches.  It is brown rot, which is a fungus.  My suspicion all along.  The "stab" marks of many is from the oriental fruit moth.  The description of the small puncture and then turning brown bruises and finally mummified.  Whether the rot/fungus is a result of the moth I don't know.

I heard the weather forecast for the week will be in the 100's with "cooling" this weekend.  Could this be the beginning of cooler weather????

My husband and I took down a tree (sort of) this AM..  He hates, hates to take down a tree with green leaves on it. I, on the other hand can see next year and this tree needed to be gone.  It was the graft host of the Ranger peach tree that was so abundant this year.  The fruit of the "host" is about the size of a large plum.
When it ripened, there were hundreds and hundreds of small peaches on the ground.  I spent hours cleaning them up.

Never again!!!

The rest of this week will be in the 100's and no rain.  The weekend promises a break in the heat..................I can only hope that fall is officially on its way.!!