It's raining.

It started just a few minutes ago. I had gone outside to get the last pictures of fall color in the backyard. We've got three days of rain, sometimes heavy, in the forecast. At one time they were calling for 3-4 inches just today. There won't be a single leaf left if that forecast holds true. My plans to shovel horse poo have been dashed. It's 57 degrees and obviously cloudy.



What ever will I do today? I haven't decided.

11:07am - I'm on my fourth cup of coffee. I took some pictures outside.

From the back, back yard. The meadow garden is in the foreground.



A dogwood, a maple, and the China fir near the neighbor's corner.



One of my 10 cent asters is blooming again.



Mr. Lincoln is not having a good day. He's almost done.



The "Orange Rose" is blooming again. Pink buds are at the top of the bush, but have not opened yet. This one needs some serious attention to pruning in the spring.



I'm still in my pajamas.

Problem Child

Under the dining room window, on the front of the house, there's a bed that gets little sun. Any rain that falls runs off the soil and into the "lawn" area in the front yard. This bed is a very dry, shady spot where little grows well. Not even the privet seedlings can take hold here.

Last winter, I amended the soil with leaf mulch and wood bark from the landfill. This morning, I mulched around my two rooted gardenias, the single rooted Aucuba, and the tea olive I planted. Nandinas have always (and will forever) be here. The camellia was one I chopped down in the spring of 2008, as I didn't know what it was then. It's been recovering since then, but it's being slow. It's a sasanqua, I believe.



I still need to do something with the front steps.



The coleus and impatiens were getting ragged. The cold mornings have taken their toll. They came out. I need two more bags of mulch for this bed. The tiny hostas I wintersowed and planted out in July are still very small. I don't expect them to come back next year, but I have been wrong before, once.





With rain in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, I raked and collected another sack of leaves for the upper potager. I'll spread horse manure over this bed on Thursday if the rain stops by then. If not, it will be another week or more before I have a chance to get out there.



I've already started spreading wood ashes on the lower potager. There'll be lots more over the winter for all the beds. I noticed last year that I had fewer slugs where I had spread ashes too.



I resprayed the periwinkle on the front slope.



Much of it seems to be dying.



Not a foot away, other plants are rebounding happily.



In the basement, the confederate rose cuttings are doing well. The brugs are doing better. I'll pot the brugs sometime this week. The CR will remain in water a bit longer.



Lots of leaves still to fall in the backyard. I think I want the fence to be purple, like the shutters and doors.



It's 63 degrees and overcast. The high today should be in the mid 70s again. Wednesday, we'll be lucky to break the 50s. Three more wheelbarrows of wood have been moved into the basement. I need to spend some time very soon splitting more of the cut pieces for the rest of the winter. The low last night was 39 according to AccuWeather.com.

Waiting

It's 34 degrees this morning. There was no frost in the yard or on Larry's roof. Last night, while the outside temperature was 41, the fire in the basement stove kept the house a balmy 69 degrees for several hours. The electric heat was set to kick on at 62. It's 66 inside this morning. The basement is still warmer than the upstairs. A high today of 69 should warm things up inside.

Out in the yard, the impatiens and coleus are counting the days.



It's Sunday.



I've got 4 broken bags of mulch on the truck that I'll spread Monday morning in the front bed under the dining room window. There are two broken bags of dirt on the truck too. I'll bring them inside. I'll probably rake and collect more leaves from the yard. On Tuesday, my day off, I'm trying to arrange it so that I can get a couple loads of horse poo from a coworker to spread on the veggie beds. Ashes from the wood stove will be mixed in to reduce the acidity in the soil.

12:27pm - They lied. It's already 70 degrees with a new high of 84 for today. It feels like summer.