Leaves and wood

I started shredding leaves at 9am this morning. I filled the bed sheet sack twice just from the leaves in my front yard, driveway, and along my side of the street. I've noticed when they are dry, they shred better than when damp or wet. They also blow around more when dry. It's hard to collect leaves moving around the yard in tiny whirlwinds. Both sacks were deposited on the crape myrtle bed. I'm done, I think, with this one for the fall. Still plenty of leaves to fall in the back yard.



I also moved everything inside from the rack in front of the garage door.



No longer a pot ghetto. Okay, there's a couple left, but those go to people at work. Hilda gets a little more than a dozen red spider lilies. I potted them because she's slow about getting things in the ground.



On the light rack, the pineapple sage cuttings I rooted a month ago are putting out new growth.



The white brugs are rooting nicely too. They're really wet from the inch of rain we got yesterday, so I've put the fan on to dry them out a bit. Can't have them rot on me in the basement.



Last year, I set up the hoophouse in late December. I'm trying to wait until then this year too. I'm still not sure which raised bed(s) I will use. I could do two hoophouses using the tomato beds. Or one really long one using the upper bed. Knowing me, I'll use all three.



Mr Lincoln has decided to bloom again. The fragrance is very nice and strong.



It's 52 degrees and overcast. Still no promised sunlight. The clouds aren't as thick as they were when I started this morning. Hopefully, we'll clear up by the time I get to work.



I also chopped up a few more pieces from the dead oak tree. I'm still not sure how I'm going to get rid of the whole thing over the winter, but I've got great plans. I used the wood splitter until it finally stopped pushing. I think the log I was trying to split is just too knotty for the old machine to handle. I've got to pick up a grease gun from the store. Two nights closing then two days off. On Wednesday, I've volunteered for the Lowe's Hero project. We'll be painting the ball room of the Albemarle Senior Citizens' Center.

1:17pm - I've showered and am ready for work. I also cleaned the cloner again and have it normalizing for cuttings I will take tomorrow. One of the pink brug tips actually rooted even though it hasn't produced any new leaves yet. I stuck it in a container of soil and will hope for the best. Tomorrow, I'll be taking cuttings of my white, purple, and Miss Huff lantana. I'm not sure about the hardiness, so I want to make sure I have it for next year. I've scattered Miss Huff seeds all summer as they ripened. I'd like to have a large mound of it next year on the butterfly slope. I'll take other cuttings too as the mood hits. I've got 57 spaces in the cloner. That's a lot of new plants if they all take. I'm running about a 50% success rate. I need a way to turn the air pump on and off every 30 minutes so the cuttings have time to dry out a bit between sprays. There's a timer at the store in the Christmas section that has 48 on/off positions. I may pick one up this evening.