|
|
Guides and Information
 |
By Sheri Williams (WigglyPaw)
What a beautiful glorious day in the fall. My closet is now full of warm sweaters, fuzzy socks and long sleeved T-shirts. No longer do I want to wear peach or pink colors. My palette is rich and full with warm orange, rusty reds, bright touches of gold and mysterious deep purples. My husband has also started to wear long sleeved shirts to work. He keeps a sweater on a hook by the back door, ready to go!
The air in the late afternoon echoes with the loud cries of the Sandhill cranes coming in to roost in great groups. Their colts are with them and trying hard to be as noisy and gregarious as their parents. The huge Canadian geese are queing up and taking a rest stop at some of the larger lakes here. Michigan offers these magnificent birds treats of shelled corn and soybeans after all the harvesting is done.
I walk around my garden now doing a little clean up and extra watering. I see that my roses are trying for a fall bloom flush, but I don't think they have the energy to make a go of it. The summer was hot, dry and long and my roses bloomed like champions all through it. I won't mind a bit if they can't bloom again, they have earned their rest! I make a mental note to dust them with fungicide. Fall is so cool and damp it provides the perfect atmosphere for mildew and blackspot on these beauties. I will miss my roses over the long winter. Their pretty flowers, neon red leaves and heavenly scents will be just a memory then. I use the winter time to regain my energy and enthusiasm for my prima ballerinas. I make huge wish lists of new roses to order for my gardens while the winter winds howl and the snow blankets my rose beds.
I have to cut the lawn again. Fall is the perfect time for putting in a new lawn, or renovating a used up one. I watch while my darling husband goes about refilling a bare spot by the back door. He sprinkles grass seeds and then rakes them in. He knows this is the best time to grow that grass! We are cutting the last crop of hay this week. It is hard to find a few days of sunshine and breeze, so we have to plan carefully around the weather. You know that fall is here when you make bales of hay wearing a warm Carhartt jacket! There aren't that many bales now, but they are lush and fine with fresh clover flowers and tiny little alfalfa leaves. High in nutrients, this is hay to be doled out over the winter months as a treat and energy booster to my draft horses. They will bury their noses into these flakes of hay and inhale the fresh summery smell. The hay smells as good to them as it does to me. I can smell the warm sun and the sweet fragrance of the clover blossoms in it.
I wonder when the flies and the horrid mosquitoes are going to disappear; their departure is another great bonus of the cool fall weather. As I walk around the garden beds, pulling some weeds here and there, the sun is so low in the sky I have to use my hand to shade my eyes to see. Soon enough, the sun will slither along the southern sky, barely lighting up our days and then quickly setting in the horizon. The days are so short is seems the lightbulbs are always on in our house. The golden light of the fall sun shines on our faces and makes us look like gilded statues. All the windows on the house are reflecting the sunlight and look like they are on fire. The air is so thin, so brittle- this is such a short crisp time , and it goes by so fast. I wish I could bottle the smell of fall and bring it out during the summer, or better yet, send it to my family in the South. They don't have a fall season and it would truly be a pleasure to share with them nature's last gift before she sleeps for the winter.
I want to thank all my sources for allowing me to use these wonderful photos in my article;
pictures of fall red leaves Woodstock Vermont-courtesy of FreeFoto.com bird digiscoping.com thanks me for sharing photos of birds firefly forest.net cookies enabled sandhill crane photos common threads farms Icelandic sheep sweater photo knitted yarns wordpress.com allows use of the low sun over the beach outdoors MaineToday.com enabled me to use the lovely fall stream photo White House museum public domain fall rose garden fall hay; static flickr cookie enabled photo uploading snapshotjourneys.com free photos for Canada sightseeing
|
|
[ Home |
About |
Advertise |
Mission |
Featured Companies |
Submit an Article |
Terms of Use |
Tour |
Rules |
Privacy Policy |
Contact Us ]
|
 |