I Am Going To Miss The Fall In NY

It's 0100 hours here in Texas where I am now. It's also 77 degrees outside and here that feels cool. I will certainly miss those cool to chilly and crisp fall mornings in NY, especially those when I got the chance to go upstate for a pre-hunt scouting hike or a small game hunt. Oh well, life goes on and I am pretty sure I will not miss winter in NY very much.

All the best,
Glenn B

Fall Has Befallen Us...

...along with about a ton of leaves. It was pretty warm out today, low 50's, and I had intended on finishing our front door and door frame, then I heard my wife sweeping leaves on our side patio. Oh-oh I thought, I had better get my arse in gear and get the rest of the leaves cleaned up since it had not been done in way too long. I had wanted my son to do it for a few weeks now, but I will admit he works on Sundays, and has been busy at least 4 hours each Saturday in school with SAT preparation and I had let him slide thinking I would do it. Then it was one delay after another. So I figured what the heck, I had better do it, and his turn starts next weekend. So I grabbed my trusty Toro electric leaf blower, and got to ot. I started at 1125, and was gung-ho to get it done, and man oh man after 3 weeks it sure needed it. When I was done, and mind you I only cleaned up the front yard and along the sides of my house, on our very small lot (40x100 I think), I looked at the clock and I had been at it non-stop for 2 hours and 25 minutes. Wow, where did the time go on such a small lot. I guess most of the time went to my using the vacuum function on the leaf blower to pick up virtually all the leaves once I had blown them into 4 nice sized piles. It sort of takes forever using that, and it would have been much quicker just picking them up and putting them in a trash bag, but I like to have them chewed up by the blower/vacuum before I bag em, and the Toro does that pretty well. Uses more electricity, saves on plastic bags - a standoff maybe, then again maybe not. I figure I could have chopped of an hour on my time had I just scooped em up after I had blown em into piles. Oh well. If I decide to use any for my compost pile, and I am pretty sure I'll use at least one of the four 50 gallon bags full of leaf litter for the compost heap, at least it will have been chopped up and start to compost faster because of it. Yep, that was right, I filled four 50 gallon bags with leaves, and a few twigs, today - and out lots is only 40x100 and I did not even touch the back yard. The sad thing is, that the tree out in front of my house still has at least 75% of all its leaves; it usually drops them well after the other trees on the block are bare. I cannot wait, more fun, next time though watching my son do it. As for this time, I did a good enough job to have my wife compliment me on how nice the property looked after I was finished. That made the job worthwhile.

While I have some other odd jobs that need to be done, like the front door and door frame needing finishing, I think they can wait for a later time. Right now I need to clean up, then go out and buy a nice cake for my wife's birthday. It actually falls during this week, but we are having a special dinner today (she is cooking it), so I figured I'd at least buy a nice b'day cake for her. Then I think I'll take some time getting ready for hunting season, cleaning guns, cleaning hunting clothing, packing things so they are ready. Sure hunting season is still two weeks away, but I like to be able to grab and go, without having to pack the night before I leave.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ah The Last Days...

...of summer are upon us, and the tension in the air over the coming of the fall is shall I say almost deafening. The songs of some of the visiting summertime birds have flown off to other climes, the crickets and other songsters of the night have cut back markedly on their incessant but pleasant chirping. So too are the approach of cooler temps mixed with the shorter days crippling in their own natural way. The tomato plants are beginning to yellow, and I am afraid the last tomatoes of the season are on the vines, same for the pepper plants, and the squash. I think too, I have sensed the last of the heavenly aroma of the Honey Suckle until next year (this year we had a treat and about a week or so ago it bloomed again - a first for us that late in the year). The rose bush has let its stem arch over, and last of the rose petals have fallen to ground. It is a time to start preparing for what is inevitably to come, and that probably has no better example than my Hermann's Tortoise which has already found some spot into which to dig itself in during the chilly nights, still coming out though to sun itself when it warms up enough. No it is not Fall yet, but the signs are that it is imminent. In fact, the last full day of Summer is today, and the new season begins tomorrow, though to me it seems as if, for the garden, it started weeks ago.

I must say, I love the fall and all it brings. The festive times and holidays that we will celebrate such as Halloween and Thanksgiving. The harvest of the last of the year's crops is almost upon us. There will be squash, tomatoes and peppers still to come from what is left in my garden. There will be apples a plenty in the markets from upstate NY, some of the finest Macintosh apples I have ever eaten come from NYS. There will be turkey, not a common meal until the fall or winter. There will be some baking of apple pie, and maybe apple strudel, and even some homemade bread by yours truly. There will be things of another nature like extra work raking leaves, but I guess that is part of the harvest too, for the compost pile. of course, there will also be the hunt. The deer season, squirrel season, and most other hunting seasons in NYS are soon to open (gray squirrel is already open). All part of the harvest, all part of living in touch with something people the world around have lost touch with. The harvest time is a good one indeed. When it is upon us through its end, I will enjoy some of the fine brands of brew that offer and Oktoberfest Beer; and I'll be sure to enjoy 1 or three as I watch the leaves lose their green, and display their other vibrant colors that have been hidden throughout the growing season. Yes Autumn is my favorite season, I hope you all enjoy it too.

All the best,
Glenn B