Morning Inspection

November days that begin with hard frost covered ground and feature lunchtime temperatures above 70 are rare.  We have experienced several consecutive days like that.  Going into the garden to rescue planting beds seemed like appropriate use of these days.  This wall is facing south and the bed in front of it was a mess.  Our Clara Curtis chrysanthemums had a spectacular year and now seemed like a good time to cut them back.  They prefer to grow on the stone path side of the walkway for reasons that escape us.  Garden soil washes into the stone path supporting the formation of a rich compost filled mixture that many plants prefer.  This path was almost completely blocked when work began.  Many Goldenrod plants still remain with our goal of their complete removal still ahead of us.

Looking in the other direction points out the need for additional work on the other side of the path.  Fuzzy topped Goldenrod plants are numerous.  Complete removal requires a fair amount of force on the spade.  Our goal is to totally remove the wandering root mass of each plant.  Time spent here now will put us in good shape when winter ends.

 Yesterday Ed, Amy and I spent a couple of hours  together happily working to clear goldenrod and other unwanted growth to reveal the planting bed and path on the west and south side of the stone square. 

It was early this morning when I stood in the doorway to the bedroom to admire our work and noticed two female deer in the garden. The smallest of the does  was slowly checking out the newly cleared area on the far side of the stone square.  The large doe was on the grassy area between the house and the garden.  I watched as they inspected everywhere we had working in the garden yesterday.  I don't think they missed a spot.

 The best part was when the large deer stepped up onto the patio and sniffed all around. I have seen a buck sniff the ground, but we all know what he is looking for. I have never seen a doe sniff the ground like this.  The big doe sniffed  every stone. Then I watched her sniff the chair.  She sniffed the legs of the chair and the seat where Amy had been sitting.  I don't know how long she did this but it seemed like a very long time.   Amy did a little smudging with juniper and lavender while sitting in that chair.  I have to wonder if the deer was attracted to that lingering scent or if the scent that the three of us left behind was what she found so captivating.  Perhaps she was just checking out the renovations on the most popular deer dining area in the valley!

Fantastic November Days

Cold wet days have kept me inside for weeks.  Twice snow covered the ground and that is no longer seen as a reason to play outside.  These clear warm days pulled me outside to tend to necessary road work.  Traffic on the path to the mail box created a shallow ditch that drained road runoff following rain.  If left as it was, the channel would be filled with solid ice for most of the winter presenting challenges to both mail pickup and snow removal.  The past three days saw wagon loads of wet fine gravel filling in the waterway.

Any country boy knows that dry sand cannot be packed firm.  Adding water to a load of fine gravel has two benefits.  With the consistency of mortar, it is easy to work the fill into a smooth neat surface.  Driving on the patch packs it down as hard as cement.  Today's fill is in the foreground still holding considerable water.  Given a little time and wheel traffic, it will look as smooth as the previously placed fill.

The last glacier formed interesting features on our acres that were largely useless for farming.  This area is shaped like a cone.  Observation of the mixed deposits here suggests that a stream of water poured over the high edge of the ice and fell into a pool of standing water.  Various visually different deposits lie on a slope rather than in a horizontal bed.  This spot is largely clear of huge rocks but a good sized one can be seen to the left of the tractor.

I have been removing material from here for years.  This area has been a favorite digging spot because its slope is manageable.  Fallen leaves hide the enormity of the hole created here by shoveling by hand.  A substantial slide moved a sizeable chunk held together by small tree roots.  Fortunately this occurred in my absence.  I will remove its edges to reveal the fine deposits now hidden from my shovel.

Becky took this sunset picture.  It captures the remote and private nature of our land.  A careful look will reveal three deer eating close to the house.  They are here much of the time.  This morning one slept close to the kitchen window enabling me to see its frosty breath as it exhaled.  We really enjoy our peaceful existence here living in a nature preserve.