The Last of Fall as Winter Approaches

Winter is just around the corner so I have kept busy trying to get done all the yard work before the snow comes including getting the garden all harvested and ready for winter. 

With a few days of snow then rain and bad weather
it has been hard to get out and work the beds as they were so wet.  But we did manage to get 3 beds of potatoes harvested along with carrots, onions and still have a bit of lettuce under cover.  I have been busy racking leaves every few days and using them to mulch the garden plots that I have spread chicken manure with straw and wood chips then hand turned the plots.  As we no longer cut our hay I don’t have bales to use for covering the garden in the winter like I use to.  Also here is a little view of the garden and our fields and creek from the rock bluff above us.

But now with all the ornamental trees that have matured over the years that we planted I have so many leaves to rack everywhere.

These trees and bushes are now providing
such beautiful fall color in and around our yard.

On even a dull day when I look out the window
they can bring a ray of light.

 

We had just a week of below freezing weather early in October but it has been above freezing for almost 2 weeks now
extending the color in the yard.  However the rain has now taken most the leafs from the trees.

 

Yes we have had our share of rain, but was much needed in the ground as we hadn’t had rain for 2 months before.

But the day before the rains hit, the weather was like a summer day on October 11 so we went for a bike ride.  Our first together in almost 2 years as hubby had given his bike away.  I finally just bought a new one for him.  I had to walk a lot as my back had been soar from the extra digging in the garden, but it was well worth it to have gone anyway to experience this beautiful trail near my town.

I also had a plum dandy day
with canning the many plums we harvested

Of course this is the time of the year for getting firewood.  While out a couple of weeks ago hubby and I were pulling logs from the forest.  I had felt pretty good with my back so I went to help. I always do all the log chocking.  That is running the cables to the logs and getting them wrapped around the ends so hubby can pull them out with the tractor.   The cables seemed so much heavier to me this year.  As usual many logs were very difficult to pull out to where they could be cut to 12 foot lengths and loaded with tractor on to the back of our flat deck truck.  We would sometimes spend an hour to get one log out through other standing trees, over stump and rocks.   There were still about 2 or 3 logs left further in the forest away from the road when we were done for the day.  Hubby said he would have to think about how we would get them out.  I finally spoke up and said if you have to think about it, then we are leaving the trees and just let them rot.  We have so many dead standing tree that are easy to get to, but for years he has always gotten every single one no matter how difficult.  Well those days are over.  Nature can now have some dead trees to replenish the ground with.

On a bad note just the next day the clutch went in the tractor.  It was on hubbies list to fix this past summer just never got around to it.  Makes getting firewood more difficult as everything has to be cut right away into small pieces and walked to the truck and thrown in.  Some of these logs are almost 2 feet across and very heavy.  Hubby is now experiencing back and neck problems as well.  So now instead of spending the whole day on fire wood he only spend a couple hours.  It’s not easy for him to slow down, I have to be after him all the time.  We had the tractor taken into town to be fixed.  Hubby did the job 15 years ago, but I said better have someone else do it then him hurt himself trying or the weather turning bad and only have outside to work in.  Better no money and be healthy.

And what better way to stay healthy then with a new batch of my rhubarb wine I have just started.

Well we finally got ourselves a new snow plow.  After hubby insisted the new front hitch that was purchased for it didn't fit and left to go get firewood, I had a look at the instructions and figured out what had to be removed to get it on.  In less then an hour I had the front hitch all installed.  Hubby was shocked to see what I had done.  Later hubby got the rest of the snow plow put together and it is now on the truck and ready to try out.  I only hope it works.  This will be the first proper snow removal equipment we have ever had for our driveway.  We have struggled for over 20 years trying different ways with no spending money.  Another expense, but it gives me so much piece of mind.

In between all this I have tried to get visits in to all my fellow bloggers.  I also finally completed a book of Volume 1 of my blog God’s Garden of Nature through blurb.com.  It required so much formatting that took a lot of concentration.  I also did a quick other book through shutterfly.com as I had a special for a free 8X8 book.  It is called Expressions of Nature with just photos.  Anyway these projects and more that I have going have been taking up more of my computer time.  I will share my books with you soon. 

Until then one last blow of a puff ball

And have a
Good Morning…  Good Afternoon…  Good Night…
Whatever it is to you.

Photo & Words
byHere I Am/Carrie