Fall Clean-up

Well, the weather is getting cooler here in Duluth. Last fall we weren't here for fall-cleanup, which is why I think our grass looked a little tattered this summer. Fall-cleanup consists of raking leaves, trimming back perennials, putting away garden accessories, etc.

As for the grass, we hadn't mowed in about a month, so it really needed it. And the leaves were starting to pile up. The bonus of mowing in the fall is you can mow right over the leaves and avoid the seemingly useless task of raking. Because we have so much yard area, I felt it would be more environmentally sound to mulch the leaves instead of putting them inside of bags. So I found some extension sites that talked about mowing over the leaves. It was a little windy, so it didn't work perfectly, but the lawn looks great, and now the leaves are broken up into small enough pieces they will just provide nutrients to the grass.

While Clay mowed/mulched, I worked in the gardens around the house. I basically got some of the leaves that were left over from last fall. Then I lost my mind and started to chop away at a day-lily. Clay pulled up and asked me what I was doing. After I determined I didn't know, I went back to just cleaning up the dead things. I guess I was so excited about cleaning up the garden I forgot I was only supposed to clean out the dead things. Oops.

Then it was time to move in the animals...the stone ornamental ones that came with the house. Last winter they were left out in the snow and cold and suffered the consequences. We lost one of our birdbaths (in fact we had so much snow I didn't even know we had two birdbaths). The small deer that Bates used to bark at when he first got here has numerous cracks. We moved them all into the small garage, along with the bench by the pond and all our concrete planters. We also took down the swings and took down all the hanging planters that never had anything in them (hmmm..project next year).

The patio was next. Now we have a tropical themed reading and radio listening room in the basement (thanks to our patio furniture moving inside). We completely emptied out the porch, except for the BBQ (can we use it during the winter?).

We are ready for winter, so let it come. I was getting anxious about all the things that needed to be done, but now that they are mostly done, I can sit by the fire and relax.