Hello Falling Leaves and Cozy Nights: Putting Summer Away

 We spent Sunday putting summer away. This wasn’t the plan, it just sort of happened. I headed out to the front of the house to trim the bushes so the trick-or-treaters had a nice clean path. T came out and helped me clean up the branches and sweep the sidewalk. We weeded and sadly pulled up flowers that weren’t going to make it through the impending frost. When we were done there we moved to the back. This is part of preparing for an Unhurried Christmas.

The back of the house is another story altogether. Our house backs onto a narrow swath of forest with a little stream. Idyllic, huh? It is, until fall rolls around and we are under an all-out assault from the oak trees. When the wind blows it sounds we are being pelted by hundreds golf balls. It sounds like those angry trees from the Wizard of Oz have taken root in our backyard. T has been known to flinch and shout: “INCOMING!” from the living room. Surveying the impact on the deck, we found this everywhere we looked:

Acorns Hiding Everywhere

We used our mighty new leaf blower to send the leaves back to the forest as I cut back plants and emptied pots. This tomato plant (Juliet Roma) has had no concept of size or season the whole time she has been growing. We haven’t been able to reach the top of it since July. It is easily 9 feet tall. There are still THIRTY-TWO tomatoes on the vines. Far be it from me to get in the way of her overachievement; I gave it a big drink of water and left it right where it was.

October Tomatoes!

Post Summer Harvest

Racing to Beat the Frost

                And just before we swept the acorns, I saw this:

A Handful of Future Trees

Those little nuts were trying their hardest to become trees. T looked at me like I was the little nut when I said I couldn’t kill the little trees. You have to honor something that is trying that hard to fulfill their purpose. They had already survived squirrels and chipmunks and a harrowing journey from the tree tops to the ground. I couldn’t just uproot them.

So I planted 36 of them in this pot. That is all of the acorns already rooting in my other plants and between the slats of the deck. My plan is to plant any of them that become saplings in the spring. Now I am kind of rooting for them to grow.

A Pot Full of Trees

In the end, the deck was clean, the planters were set to rest, our birdfeeder was full, the woodpile was covered and you know what?  We are ready.

We are ready to settle in, slow down and enjoy another Unhurried Christmas.

I really hope you will join us!

PS: After all of the yardwork, here is what I made for dinner to welcome fall:

Roasted Delicata Squash

(Did YOU know that there is a squash that doesn’t need to be peeled? Me either!)

• Cut the squash in half
• Seed
• Slice into one inch or so slices
• Toss with olive oil, a squirt of lemon, and a tablespoon of Herbs de Provence (I get mine at World Market for $3.99 http://www.worldmarket.com/product/world-marketreg-organic-herbes-de-provence.do)
• Roast at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve!

You can flip the squash midway through, but I didn’t. We couldn’t get enough!

Happy Fall!!