Rosey Morning

 

It looks warm and rosey but its cold on the nosey

Winter is Here

 It is snowing here in Western NY.  It was pretty slick out this morning, but we are not getting the heavy lake effect snows they were warning us about.  Just about six inches and still snowing lightly.  It was enough to get me in a holiday mood.

Yesterday we got the Christmas decorations down from the attic.  I combined and purged and reduced by four containers.  My stash is getting more manageable every year.  But still, you keep things that you are not really in the mood for so that maybe next year you can enjoy them.  We haven't had a tree since 2019.  I really intended to do one or both last year, but I ran out of steam.

This year I decided to concentrate on the dining room tree first and just put out a few other touches as the mood strikes me.  I had forgotten how much work it can be.  This tree has lights already on it.  A few years ago they conked out and I carefully replaced them.  I had left myself a note that it really needed 50 more lights along the bottom.  Instead, I added a string of 300 little pinpoint LEDs wound into the whole tree which give it a nice sparkle from the inside.  Then I put on some gold and red glass bead garland.  At that point I was whooped.  And I still had to reach behind the pie safe and plug in the extension cord!  We have too much furniture!  I long for a bare, empty wall!  So I can cover it up...

In the past this tree has been much a much creamier tone overall.  But this year I wanted to bring out some warmer tones to go with the drapes I hung last year.  And just the burgundy balls in the glass garland was enough.

The ornaments on this tree lean toward natural materials.  There are bleached pine cones, Swedish straw stars, string snowflakes and blown out poulet eggs.

It has a light, lacey appearance.

This is going to be the bulk of my Christmas decorating.  I always rearrange things on my Hoosier, and will put out a few special items and some candles in the entryway windows.  But for the most part I am done, and pleased with how it turned out.

USDA Zone Update

 Hello Global Warming.  I've moved from a 5b to 6a?  Jeeze this getting old thing makes all the numbers go up!   The USDA has released the 2023 revised Zone Hardiness Map based on the thirty year average of lowest annual winter temperatures.  Historically we have been in zone 5.  If I zoomed in real close on our neighborhood, we were a 5b and some properties on my side of town were in zone 4.  This is probably due to elevation above sea level.  You get cold pockets and warm spots.  

Gardeners know that you have to take this hardiness zone thing with a grain of salt.  Many places in the country have recently experienced winter storms that kill off a lot of established plants.  In your own garden you might find microclimates near buildings or behind wind breaks where plants would do better in a severe winter.  If you are planting perennials or evergreens in containers, it is wise to plant for two zones colder because the roots are more likely to freeze when they are in a container as opposed to in the ground.  When choosing perennials I would compare hardiness zones of the cultivars I was considering and favor those which were hardy to a zone 4 or even 3, especially when planting evergreen or winter blooming plants such as Primrose, Heuchera or Hellebores.

Well the rules of the game have changed again.  Over time, this will certainly shift what sort of plants we are seeing sold in the local garden centers.  Just because the USDA says so, does not mean I will shift my gardening habits just yet.  But it may mean that I will try some plants that I've shied away from in the past.

Frost and Fire

 This morning was the hardest frost we've had so far this year.  The weatherman at 6 said that we were at 29F but by the time I got out to the garden at 8:30 the garden thermometer was registering 34.

The lettuce was heavily frosted, but this isn't really cold enough to kill it.

Everything was sugar coated.

The leaves are still hanging on to the Butterfly Bushes.

The day was warm and pretty with a light breeze.  Perfect for sitting out.  When I finished my morning walk I noticed that a nearby neighbor had built himself a little campfire in the backyard.

That seemed like a good idea.

Mesmerizing.

We enjoy getting outside whenever the weather allows.

Harvesting Deer

Today we turned this...

Into this...

 

This year we have harvested two deer, one buck and one doe, from the back woods. Today we are working on a 10# batch of Slim Jim snack sticks.  It is in the dehydrator on the side porch right now.  We have gotten our system pretty well refined, and are well equipped, but the amount of dirty dishes that the process creates is still staggering.   Those daylily and Hosta buds sure do season it nicely.

In honor of our awesome sausage stuffer, we are having Korv for supper.

Puttering About... and Peonies

 This November is nowhere near as mild and lovely as last November was.  There have been a lot fewer days of puttering about outside.  I have gone back to recaning the dining chairs, but there are still garden related activities to be done. This week I have dug and prepared horseradish and made apple butter.  The horseradish was absolute weapons grade HOT radish.  When I first opened up the chopper lid it about blinded me.  I was so impressed that I took it out the garage to share the experience with my husband.  Thankfully when the vinegar was added it tamed it down to regular fresh, home made strength.  I think the chopper may have to be isolated for radish only use from now on so it doesn't taint things like apple butter!

The apple butter (basically apple freezer jam) was made with the last of the Northern Spy apples.  They do not store well and must be used.  We are about pied out, so I made jam instead.  Recipe Link.  It turned out real well, and was very easy in the Crockpot.  I think next time I would used about half the sugar with sweet apples, then add to taste at the end.  These Spies had been sitting around and were getting quite sweet as they aged. 

There is still some green out in the garden.  The peonies are usually last to lose their leaves.  I won't cut them down early when we start clean out, but later in the fall I give them a trim.  This one, an Itoh, is looking pretty windblown and the deer have started nibbling on it.  Since I don't like to encourage that, and provide them incentive, I will either cover or cut anything they are interested in.

You can see all of the pink growth points close to the crown.

My other Itoh puts tips out along the stems pretty high up, so I trim it high.  Depending on the severity of the winter weather, these stems and buds will probably die back.  But if we get a mild winter they will form branches, so I leave them.  The leaves are dropping off the stems anyway, and don't provide any winter protection.

Below is my Sorbet herbaceous peony that I relocated the end of August.  I only saw one new growth point at the time I dug it, and that is still alive.  I expect this to be set back significantly next year because of the move, but it was getting so huge that I don't feel too bad for it.  I hope it adapts to its new location.  Its less than twenty feet from its old spot.

I make sure to monitor other things like the Heuchera.  These here against the chicken coop are still a nice little woodland garden.  I clipped a square of bird netting to the hardware cloth to protect the plants on the ends from munching.  The net is up off the ground in deference to Mr. Toad who lives under the log.

The Heuchera in the whiskey barrels are doing well.  The covers have proven secure through some pretty good winds.  The plants are fine and the soil is moist.

There is still lettuce in the garden.  I consider this "emergency lettuce" as it can be a little bitter at this age.  I buy iceberg at the store whenever they have a nice selection at a reasonable price but if we don't happen to have any good iceberg in the fridge, I can always find enough in the garden to dress a sandwich.

We have plenty of Parsley, both flat and curly in the butterfly bed.  Mr (or Mrs) Frog lives in there.

I have both Rosemary and Sage tucked under a butterfly bush by the apple tree.  Some winters sage or rosemary might actually survive even here in our 5b climate.  But even if they don't they are still usually good until Christmas.

Bush Whacking

 We have a couple of strips along the wooded areas that used to be landscape beds but have been taken over by golden rod, aster, blackberry, rose bushes, you name it.  What a mess.  I don't mind it during the summer, because the flowers are actually quite nice. But if I don't do something about it now, all of those tall weeds will break down and lay in the drive and be miserable to clean up in the spring.

Last year I left it, but I'm not falling for that again.  And I am tired of everything laying over my topsoil box and into the compost pile.  Its not like we don't have many hundreds of feet of the same thing.  I just can't wrestle with this section anymore.  I got out the big Stihl Kombi brush cutter and gave it a good trim.

There are still some blackberries and Virginia Creeper but they will be easier to cut with a hand pruner now that they aren't all entangled.  When I got done I was covered in golden rod seed and dust and I smelled of mold.  I will need Zyrtec tonight!

I didn't cut it all, just what would lay over the drive.  Hard to believe there was once myrtle and ajuga and day lilies in there.  They've pretty much given up.

The myrtle is still holding out here but the deer will eat it down now.

And away it goes to the burn pile.

Misc Fall Chores

 It has been cold for a few days.  Light snow.  Some sunshine.  I am adapting to a more indoor routine, but still need to get outside a play a little every day.  When the sun is shining I am enticed out to button up some random odds and ends.

I put a frost cover over the two whiskey barrels full of Heuchera.  Heuchera are evergreen and do not like to be cut back.  And that makes them vulnerable to bored and hungry deer in the winter.  The deer had already begun to munch on some of the longer leaves that they could get to around the edges of the grid that I have suspended over them, so I went ahead and covered them.  The frost cover is well ventilated and will allow moisture through.  

The Heuchera in Summer.
Yup, that looks like a tasty salad.

I had finished shoveling the compost pile from right to left.  Now I am half way through shoveling it back from left to right.  The center of the left hand pile is still quite dense, so every day or two I use a fork to break up and aerate a portion and then use a shovel to tidy up and move the loose material to the pile on the right.

I sprayed the Alberta Spruce with Wilt Stop and wrapped it in burlap.  This is to block the wind and help keep the bush from drying out and browning.  These are not big jobs I just want to get them done before the weather gets too cold.  It gives me a reason to go out and get some fresh air a few times a week.