Fall is Here

Now that fall is here, the weather got on board immediately.  We had a couple gorgeous cool days in a row where the temperatures were between 55 and 60 with both breeze and sun.  I reveled in the cool breeze even when it blew in short rainstorms to drive me in the house.  We lit a campfire and sat out.  We washed the tractor and cars.  We did odd jobs in the garden and prepared for this stretch of rainy days which is now upon us.

Yesterday we dumped the potato grow bags.  This is one chore that is fun if your soil is dry.  I have been robbing potatoes for months and we still got a good harvest.  This compost screen goes on top of the wheelbarrow and one person pours out the bag as the other person grabs potatoes.  Then the used soil goes into the bin and the spuds sit in the shade to dry.

You don't want to wash potatoes that you are going to store.  I just put on gloves and roll each one in my hand as I sort knocking off the worst of it.  I got a mere handful of tiny spuds that are too small even to cook.  These small potatoes will be used first.  The rest go to the basement,

It was about time that I transplanted the last three strawberry plants into a pot to get them out of the bed.  So I had to empty another carrot pot.  These are Sugarsnax.

One thing I always do before any forecasted rain is deadhead the Dahlias because any heavy blooms will bend then break with the weight, and any old blooms will make a mess with petals.  I have really been enjoying this Gitt's Crazy plant.  Hard to believe this was a single tuber with a single growth eye.  It has been pumping out multiple blooms for almost two months now.  It is right on the corner next to the walkway where I enjoy it all day.

Both coming and going....

When I know I am going to be indoors for a few days I will pick a bouquet.  I am not a patient flower arranger, but I did at least put a flower frog in this one.

Those blooms are absolute stunners in the house in different lights.  I enjoy walking past the blooms all day just as I would if I were outdoors.

Another stunner in this cooler, overcast weather is the color of the Strawberry Blonde Marigolds.  The red is very intense and much rosier in person than I was able to capture with my camera.

Today I will make some chili in the crockpot and watch football.  When the weather dries out again later this week we will start our last push to cut perennials.  When you first start it is hard to let go of summer, but as the landscape begins to take on the clean fall look the things you left behind begin to look out of place and it spurs you on to get things done.  Then we will be putting out wire cages for the evergreens and dealing with leaves.

In the garden I still have sweet potatoes, parsnips and horseradish to harvest.  All those hinge on the first frost.  Once the frost comes I will be storing Dahlias.  But today we rest.