frost and freeze

If you have an overnight frost, many of your annuals will disappear then. Wilt and perish. Many, but not all. Some will waffle -- hanging in by a thread, ultimately letting go. Or not. Some will survive by a thread. It takes a deep freeze to wipe everything out. We had frost (down to 30F/-1C), but not a freeze. Moreover, the next days are all above freezing, day and night. In other words, we are still slogging along. Wounded, but not demolished.

And we are still very very dry. I've not ever seen such a dry late summer and early fall. Will we get pounded by snow to make up for it? For us snow lovers that wouldn't be a terrible winter outcome, though I speak cautiously, because with snow you can easily have too much. Catastrophically so.

But I'm running way ahead. For now, I wake up to a cloudless, cold October morning. With some (just a few!) plants still showing their stuff.

And once again, I have morning appointments, this time quite appropriate ones -- with lung docs, and of course, I under-perform on all their tests because, well, I had this bout of pneumonia. I'm told to come back again in a few months. Which means -- write in more appointments, more reminders, more time fillers into my calendar. 

Well, no matter. For now, I am good to go. Or at least to return to the farmhouse for breakfast. Which again is very late, but all's forgiven because I have this again for my morning meal!

Not much left to the first half of the day. Just enough to put in the first bunch of tulip bulbs. 25 of them. The ones that will likely be eaten by a groundhog and/or deer before they ever bloom. One can but try!

In the afternoon, I pick up the kids.

(she's still into purple clothes)

(he loves those purple pansies... which survived!)

(her first few minutes? pounding away...)

(his? well, the current love is to mess with the tiny reject lego pieces...)

In the evening, Ed bikes, I put away the chickens, feed the cats. There should be a dinner plan in place, but it's one of those days when nothing, absolutely nothing seems like it's worth the effort. Those are the evenings when a big salad and a couple of eggs will do. 

We do always have the eggs.  Fewer now each day. The hens take a pause. They dont need a deep freeze to slow down in their laying. Ed reminds me, too, that they're getting old. Well now, aren't we all!