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Well, it's a nice clear morning... that's the good news. The bad news is that it's 9:30am, and the temp out on the porch is 31.7F. Who knows how cold it was last night. There is a skiff of ice on the water in the wheelbarrow from the last few days of rain. I am so glad I brought in all the begonias and dahlias yesterday.
Like most places, our seasonal changes are all different, but all pretty much the same. It's rather like divorce, all different, but pretty much the same. Each fall, I begin to panic with first layer of leaves in my yard. I check the thermometer each morning, apprehensive. I begin preparing plants for winter, but it is still too early. I can't cut back plants that still have seeds to ripen and harvest. Some of the annuals are putting out that last wonderful show, struggling to pump out seeds and procreate.
After a week or so, I begin to realize I have more time. I can slow the pace. I have at least a month before all must be done... well, three weeks or so... I think. Along the way, we get a chilly night or two, but the plants seem untouched and the weather warms again. I have time... at least a week or two...I think.
Living in cooler climes, you become resigned to the fact that in September and October, warm days are wet days and clear days are cold. Much of the fall work must be done in the rain or in the cold with coat, gloves and hat. By evening, I am usually ready for a hot bath, and I am exhausted. I always ask myself why I wait so long to prepare for winter, but the fact is that the season is ready to change at its leisure, not mine.
Gardening is my vice. Nature would be just as happy to freeze those plants standing where they are, then smash them to earth with a few feet of snow. Next year, she'll just germinate the seeds they dropped and allow them to grow up through their parent plants' remains. Nature keeps it simple, while we Northern Gardeners 'tilt windmills' trying to outsmart the elements. Maybe one day, I'll learn. Meanwhile, I've got to don my cold weather gear, knock the ice out of the wheelbarrow and get to work!
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