Never Enough Time

I've never seen this fellow in my woods...I just liked the picture. I think he owns the woods.

I was out checking on the yard this morning, after Mass. Our new maple in the front yard has lost all of it's leaves....only to surprise me with a beautiful hummingbird nest. It is tightly woven into the clutch of one of the higher up... tender branches. I never saw this until now. I can see the oriole nest now too. It is back in the woods. I can see the track (tunnel) of our resident vole. I don't really like what he does to the lawn, but we have to coexist here on earth. If I examine the trees in the woods...I find fungus growing on one of them. It is white...and shelf shaped. I can find seeds hidden in the bark of some trees. The work of our resident nuthatches. Someone took a nap in our grasses along the front of the woods....deer, raccoon? This is a new season and if we look...we can find new things of interest that didn't show up until now. Since I have this journal to keep, I will be more diligent about watching during the winter.

Here are some things that we can be doing now that it is November.
Make sure that the canes of your climbing roses and other vining plants are securely fastened to their supports. Winter winds can whip and severely damage unprotected plants. Don't tie them so tightly that the string or twist-tie cuts into the stem. I recommend using a length of an old nylon stocking because it will stretch as the plant grows, rather than cutting into the stem, as string will do.

Mound five to six inches of soil around the bases of your hardy plants...especially roses. Use soil from another part of the garden, rather than risking damage to the roots by digging around the base of the plant. I don't really like the styro cones...I have seen people using them already.Way too early.

Cut Mum stems to 2-3 inches from the soil once they have begun to die back. I planted new Belgium Mums and they will need mulching according to the directions.
You can continue to transplant your perennials throughout the fall and winter, as long as they remain dormant. I haven't ever moved them in the winter....the ground is hard and usually snowy here.

Tulips can still be planted in the early part of the month.

Tender bulbs should be dug up and stored in a cool, dark area after first frost.
Be sure that your tender plants are protected from the frost. Mulching with bark, sawdust or straw will help create a blanket of protection over the root system.

Well, that's about all we can do to insure that our precious babies come back next spring. I will continue checking on things and keeping my fingers crossed that our winter is not too severe.

Balisha