Fall Is in the Air

Unbelievably, I can see that autumn is just around the corner. I can actually smell it, especially in the early morning. It's that hint of frost in the air, not quite enough to actually cause glinting ice crystals on the lawn, but getting close enough that the dew is turning white.

My veggie garden has been a resounding...experiment! Well that is what I intended from the start, although my emotions did get carried away with visions of bountiful produce that I would be giving away by the bagful and having to learn how to can all the excess. You know, a vision of the productive housewife, engaged in preserving food for the winter...okay, maybe I've been reading "Blueberries for Sal" a bit too often to DD, but hey, I want to be a Proverbs 31 type of gal...profiting from my field and seeing that my trading is profitable, all of that. You know, add to the bottom line for our household. So maybe I thought I would get lots of tomatoes, corn, and the like from the garden.

Such is not the case. My poor cornstalks are just bumping at 3 feet high, and are tasseling out. I think we will get SOME corn out of them, but not as much as I had hoped. Of course this summer in the Pacific NW has been a disaster--not nearly enough hot weather or sunshine to really make everything take off. My poor excuses for watermelon vines are about 6" high and there is no possible way I will see any watermelons from them. Oh well. We will add a ton of compost this fall and maybe go so far as to build a raised bed, and hope for a better summer next year. And, *ahem*, it would probably be beneficial next year to actually, you know, WEED the garden more than once. *ahem*

I have noticed the cedars are starting to brown up--drying out the old leaves and getting ready to drop the whole acidic mess onto all my beds under them in about 6 weeks, ready for me to rake off and burn. I would compost it but it takes forever for that stuff to break down, and it's really acidic too. Instead I'll burn most of it, compost a tiny bit, and use the ash from burning to amend the compost pile. Evening out the pH, that's what we are aiming for. And of course the maples will start to change color soon too.

Everything is pointing to an early fall. It was below 50F when I woke up this morning! Brrr! Time to call the chimney service to get the chimneys cleaned for the wintertime! And get all the wood stacked & tarped! On the plus side, fall means cozy smells (mmmmmmm, apple cider) and cool days, just enough for light sweaters and still fun with walks and outside play. Yep, fall is just around the corner...get ready, peeps.