A Real Freeze

Another frost this morning, this time it was serious.  Some plants have obviously been hit.  And the water in the bird bath was frozen.

Today was sunny, even though it was only in the low 40s.  So we finished putting up the bamboo fence along the back. It looks pretty good.  I don't feel such a need to put in large shrubs back there now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had our first frost this morning.  It wasn't much, just a little on the deck and roof.

Today is Thanksgiving, and we're spending it alone.  I cooked several things from the garden.  I picked the last petite zucchinis.  They ere tasty, what there was of them.

I made my harvest medley, with squash, sweet potatoes, and apples from the garden.  It looked better in real life than in this photo.

I bought some roasted turkey but cooked everything else from scratch.

The table decoration was from the front yard.

Garlic, Finally

We've had several days of really nasty weather -- lots of rain and wind.  But today there was a brief break, even with some sun, so I got a few things done.

I finally got my garlic planted in one of the raised beds.  It's not the ideal place, but because my new beds are not ready yet I had to put them somewhere.

We also cut a lot of long branches off the cotoneaster in the front yard.  It is so loaded with berries that the branches are all touching the ground, as well as blocking our front window.  So we cut it way back with our amazing little $30 electric chain saw.  It's still hanging in there.

Doing Some Cleanup

Today was overcast but no rain, so I did a few chores outdoors.  I straightened out the raspberries in the front yard and moved a couple of stragglers to fill out the row.  I still need to put compost on them.  Amazingly enough, they are still producing.

Then I removed all the tomato plants and turned the straw under.  There are still some chard plants at one end, and I sowed some mache and arugula there.

I also pulled out the aubergines.  I found lots of lady bugs on them, including this foursome.

I picked the leaf and set it on the ground under the apple tree.

Except for a little loss of privacy, which we'll remedy soon, I'm really happy we decided to remove the larger of the two fir trees.    We now have a nice new view.  We couldn't see the beautiful gingko tree before.

 

Last week, when we walked at Minto Brown park, I found this big-leaf maple leaf.  

Threat of Frost

We've had a threat of frost, but so far everything is still o.k.  The zucchini, especially, the yellow one, continue to produce.

Today I dug up one of the basil plants, trimmed it back (it had lots of dead blossom stalks), and put it in a pot.  I'm not sure where I'll put it, because it probably needs some sun.

Update:  The basil plant did not do well, so it's history.  Maybe I should have dug it up sooner, while it was still healthy.

Winding Down

We just returned from Tucson.  We've been gone for a week and a half, getting our park model ready to sell.

The tomatoes are pretty much done.  The few ripe ones have split from all the rain while we were gone.  There are a couple of green ones, but I'll probably just toss them.  There are a few aubergines, which is good, because I'd really like to make the gratin again.

The zucchinis are still producing.  I even saw a honeybee this afternoon, so I'll let them stay for now, even though the plants look terrible.

The broccoli and cauliflower are finished, so out they came.  But the cabbages and Brussels sprouts are looking great.  There are six really nice heads of cabbage.

The tat soi is looking good, so it may be stir fry time.  The chard looks good but small.  Next year I'll start it a little earlier.