I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Autumn Chores
Autumn has arrived and the leaves are changing colors, although they aren’t yet as beautiful as they will be in a few weeks. Even though we’ve had some warmish days, they feel cooler. The nights are definitely cooler–some nights the temperature has dipped into the 30s. It was so cool one evening that we built a small fire in the wood stove–and then it got so hot inside that we turned on the fan. EJ had placed bricks behind the wood stove for thermal mass and it really held the heat. I think EJ said it was 89 degrees. We are going to be toasty warm this winter.
We have been busy trying to prepare for winter. Over the weekend, EJ harvested most of the veggies in the garden. I cut back some of the berry bushes. I also brought in the plants from the front porch. I could have kept them outside for a bit longer, but I couldn’t resist bringing them in on a cool evening. I feel like doing autumn chores. I have more plants to bring into the house this year than previous years–two Rosemary plants, a Bay, a Lilac, two Ginger, horseradish, two cacti, and my spider plant, which my cat Tessla slept in so it’s looking quite pathetic. I also dug up a little bit of mint today and hope it will grow in a pot over the winter. I’d like to find some parsley to grow inside because I just discovered that mine died in the garden over the summer. I don’t know if I will find any at this late date, however.
Most of our windows are quite narrow, but our window sills are very wide–perfect for window plants. However this year the plants are in big pots so I can fit only a few in each window. The others will be on stands near the windows. The cats love to sleep on the wide window sills also so I have to leave space for them or they will sleep in my plants and squash them. I happily keep moving the heavy plants to find the best place for them all. Once the window air conditioner is taken out, I can put some plants in that window as well.
Sunday afternoon we visited EJ’s friend. RB has a place in the country about five miles from us. He has some old trees that he took down and he is going to give us the wood–maybe about 6 face cords. He even cut it all up. We just have to find the time to go get it. In previous years we got wood during the week and then EJ could drive the car to work while JJ and I unloaded the truck. However, with JJ driving the car, it’s harder to find the time to get wood because we’d have to get it all unloaded in the mornings before EJ goes to work. He can hardly drive a truck full of wood to work. Really, the only day we can get it is Sunday, and often Sundays are busy too. But I think RB has a wagon so maybe we can tow it to our place and then unhitch it and I can spend the afternoon unloading it.
RB also gave us three dozen eggs from his chickens, and said we could have more. His chickens are free range and they followed us as we walked around RB’s place. I thought the chickens were very beautifully colored. They made me feel sort of wistful. If we had a place in the country, I’d raise beautiful chickens too. And I’d have fruit trees and a big garden and maybe a cow or steer. And maybe I’d have bees so I could have my own honey. <Wistful Sigh> Maybe someday…
This morning EJ and I had to go to the store in a town about 30 minutes from us. It is the only local store that sells the delicious grape juice we use for Shabbat. The hospice stores are in the same town and EJ remembered that the last time we were there he saw a couple of glass doors that might work for the book cases EJ is planning to build in our living room. We love books and have a room upstairs filled to overflowing with books. I can’t wait to have floor-to-ceiling shelves downstairs where they are more accessible.
Anyway, since we were in the same town, we stopped in at the hospice store to check out the doors. They were two glass doors for $15, but we decided that they wouldn’t be suitable. They were actually exterior doors and too thick for a bookcase. However, while we were at the store, we wandered around through the rooms and we saw the perfect Lazyboy recliner chair for EJ. His current chair is shabby and falling apart so we had been planning to buy him a new one as soon as a suitable one showed up at the store. We didn’t expect it to happen so soon. It was only $35.
We also found a very nice sturdy, well-built, four-drawer Steelcase file cabinet. I have been wanting to find a four-drawer file cabinet for a long time because my two two-drawer file cabinets take up too much floor space. Our house is smaller inside than it looks like from the outside so we are always trying to be more organized and space-saving. At first I told EJ that we probably shouldn’t get it–maybe wait until he got paid again. The file cabinet was so inexpensive, however, that EJ insisted on getting it also. A bargain like that doesn’t happen every day and there’s no guarantee that it would still be there in a couple of weeks. I think that if we bought it new it would cost about $200. EJ will use the old file cabinets in his shop in the basement.
EJ and I had so much fun together today. We are very blessed in that we are best friends who enjoy hanging out together.
I Love To Go A Gardening 
We just went up to a sculpture garden in an orchard and they had chickens wandering around. My boy was so intrigued and liked watching them more than the art.
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I thought the chickens were interesting to watch as well. 🙂
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I have always enjoyed chickens too! I especially like the little Old English bantams since they are tough little buggers!
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GREAT POST! You are lucky to have such a good friend!
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🙂
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