Friday - 217th

It's amazing how one degree can transform a garden. We went down to 33F (1C) last night. Had we dipped to 32F (0C), most of the annuals would have done an instant and irrevocable wilt. But we didn't quite hit freezing and so I was granted one more day to save whatever I deem savable. 

I'd already carried in the orchids, herbs and big geranium. What else might survive in a very mildly sunny windowsill inside the farmhouse? I dig out and pot a couple of more geraniums. That's it. I don't have space for more and besides, most annuals do not like the home environment. I can almost hear them complaining: this is it? You've taken away the gentle breezes, the bees, the cool night air and you've given us this? Forget it! We'd rather fold up and call it a day.

 But it is hard to say good bye to all those potted plants outside and the cosmos and the nasturtium and the alyssum that carried me through the growing season with their colorful and often fragrant faces.

 

The cold morning air does not keep me indoors. Yes, there's the farmette walk, under brilliantly blue skies.

And after, I stay out and return to digging weeds in the new bed. Ed joins me and we shovel away until it is nearly noon and I get very hungry for my morning coffee and breakfast. And because we had been working hard, breakfast on the porch does not feel too cold at all, even though it iss barely 41F (5C).

Afterwards, we continue to work. I build a couple of paths into the new flower bed, Ed chips the soil. It's the kind of work that makes you feel so good! The brisk wind, that persistent sunshine, and the prospect of finishing a job that just two days ago seemed impossibly difficult.

 

(Path, leading out to the new bed)

 
 

 

 

And speaking of finishing a job, our mason guy and his sidekick finished building the front steps to the farmhouse. Now, this may be a ho hum feat in your eyes, but to me, it's huge! Since I've lived here, I'd been wanting to fix that horrible ugly mess out front, but we just could not come up with a design idea that would please the both of us. He wanted something simple but fitting. Farmhouse compatible. Not suburban. After a few years I stopped coming up with ideas because I was convinced that he simply did not want to find a solution. It's as if something about that crumbling unfinished mess appealed to him. But, this year he finally agreed to move forward and after much discussion (so much discussion!), we got our ideas to merge into one beautiful whole, and that whole is finally done! Well, Ed still has to fill in dirt and build a platform at the foot of the stairs, but hey, we have ourselves a proper front entrance!

Lunch is late. Like, close to dinner time. But the satisfaction from this week's outdoor work is tremendous. 

We are ready for winter! I think.