Wednesday, October 28, 2009

All The Leaves Are Gone



Leaves

"How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,

Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow."
- Elsie N. Brady-


Well maybe not all of them are gone but they are sure
getting there.
All that seem to remain are the mighty Oak leaves
and a few stragglers hanging on.
I spent four hours raking and mowing Monday
and got about half done. With the rain yesterday and
last night the rest of the leaves fell and you cannot tell
I was even in the yard. ;-)
Oh, well I need the exercise anyway and what better
thing to do on a mild sunny day.

All of the little spooks and goblins will be coming Thursday
evening. I tried to make the kitten that grew in my flower
beds to look scary for a Halloween posting but it was just no use.
Who could call this
one scary with those little eyes peering up at you.


Dwarf Iris bulbs have arrived to force this Winter and
some tulip bulbs are already in the fridge to get their cooling
down period. A fellow blogger said that the Iris reticulata did not
have to have a cold period so I had to get some 'Blue Harmony'
to give it a try at least once.
See what you started ----. You will remain nameless but you
know who you are. ;-)
After throwing out the Paper Whites last Winter because of the
strong smell I won't be trying to force those again.
Also as a winter project some more Gloxinia seeds
were sown and some new variegated African Violet leaves
are coming to start some new plants. (That is my hope anyway)
The Poinsettia was brought in and I am trying to get it to set
on some red color which I am told is very hard to accomplish. It
will no doubt be thrown out then as another fail experiment.
The osteospermum was raided for some branch ends to start.
I was shocked, but now I do not know why it surprised me, that
the deers had finally got up the nerve to come right up to the house
and munch on it and my anemones. Good thing I got those
pictures before they went on an eating frenzy.
I thought they were deer proof !
They are eating everything now that shows the color green.

All deer hunters please come to my house this November.

The new Gardening and seed catalogs are starting to come in
the mail now already to tempt me for gardening this
Winter and next Spring. They will come in handy on a rainy,
cold day.
" The house is clean". ;-)




Happy Gardening and Have a Safe
Halloween Everyone!




16 comments:

Chloe m said...

It looks like you are going to keep yourself busy with all these indoor forced bulbs, I bet they are going to be lovely! My hubby hates the smell of paperwhites too. They are strong!
Happy Halloween to you too!
Rosey

Anonymous said...

Oh I just adore those old postcards! The leaves are falling here too. I usually try to break it down into several small clean ups, but there are still many on the trees so it seems better to wait. Your little kitty is so scary, NOT! What a sweet face, I love it! :-)
Frances

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful poem. The kitten is an adorable little spook, but you're right -- not that scary. :)

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Autumn colors are so beautiful on your picture. As for the kitty, I would say there is something ghostly in his eyes... You are brave to experiment with poinsettia! Have a very spooky Halloween, Lona! Be sure you are ready (check my checklist).

Anonymous said...

It's so sad how quickly the trees become bare, because that only means that the dreaded winter will be here soon. Yuck! I still have some flowers hanging on, but they are fading fast.

janie said...

Haha,Lona. A lady complained once, on a garden forum, that a heron was after her koi fish. She was wondering what she could do to keep this bird from eating all her fishes.

I teasingly said "Well, a .410 works real good", and every birder in the country was immediately on that forum giving me fits for wanting to harm the poor heron. I hope PITA doesn't show up on your invitation to the deer hunters...LOL.

We still have leaves on most of the oaks, but the pecans are loosing their leaves quickly. Come Thanksgiving, they will be bare.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lona~~ You're not supposed to say things like, "My house is clean." It makes the rest of us look bad. LOL ... I got my Thompson and Morgan seed catelog a few days ago. Temptation comes early. I hope the deer find food elsewhere and leave your babies alone. ... Your kitten is much too cute and sweet to be even remotely scary. I hope you have a plan B.

Adrienne Zwart said...

Hi, Lona.
I enjoy raking the first time or two. But I do get weary of more leaves falling after I've cleared a spot. :) The kids are enjoying jumping in the leaves. (That's a great way to enlist their help. They rake and rake trying to make their pile really big so they can jump into it.)

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I see the "house is clean" so it must've been raining :) It sounds like you managed to get a lot of work done outside too.
I hope the deer read your blog and find somewhere else to eat soon :)

Unknown said...

The fall colours are gorgeous!! As for your kitten, it's the sweetest...no, not scary! I didn't think deer could actually come and munch away (until I saw them on blogposts)! That must be terrible!

Loved the poem...have a great Halloween!

VW said...

I tried paperwhites last year and couldn't wait for them to die so I could throw them away! Like you, I won't be doing them again this year. But I have 6 amaryllis - 3 salmon and 3 pink - newly potted up.

Deb W said...

I just found your blog and will be adding it to my 'favorites!' Even though my interests run a bit more toward 'farm' and animals (I am a handspinner) than only gardens, this is so lovely!!

I live in another state now, but I am originally from Lancaster, and my mother was born in Logan, so I know the area very well!

Anonymous said...

There will be no paperwhites forced at our house either this winter. Peuw! But I'm going to do amaryllis bulbs again, they are lovely! I'm sure you guys get bombarded with leaf peepers. I would have been among them if it wasn't for our vacation and out-of-town wedding. I hate to miss autumn in Hocking Hills!

lynn'sgarden said...

Pretty view of the trees! I've noticed our colors here have lasted longer this year ;)
You've got alot accomplished, Lona!
Yes, poinsettias are tricky to 'turn' red...placing them in dark closets and then forgetting about them was my problem...lol!
Ugh..those deer! Gotta love them...NOT!
Lynn

Pat said...

The hills are alive with color. Do enjoy this time of year.
I think if I do any direct seed sowing it would be in December.
Still need to clean the yard. ha

Joseph said...

Why do I have to remain nameless? I hope the Iris works! And I'm with you on paperwhites... they stink! I always thought I was the only one who didn't like them.

By the way, most variegated african violets can't be propagated from leaves -- they'll come up all green.
The variegated varieties are chimeras -- they're actually a combination of two genetically different cell types, one white, one green. But when you grow from leaf cuttings, the new plants develop from just one single cell -- if that cell is the white type, they die (no green, can't photosynthesize) and if it is a green type, they're solid green.