More tribute to autumn (Part II)

P. D. James said, "It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life."

I know I'm guilty of looking back on events through a romantic, rose colored haze. When I remember the autumn just passed, I will think about the crisp air, the gentle warmth of the sun, and incredible color everywhere. I will remember the last tomatoes and the first sweet apples, the pungent scent of leaf smoke and the impossible colors of an autumn sunrise. I will relive the cautious hopefulness I felt when we elected a new president, and enjoy the remaining days left to my much beloved old cat, Voodoo.

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
with the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; There thou may'st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my Fresh pipe;
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruit and flowers.
~ William Blake

The Sussex lanes were very lovely in the autumn...spendthrift gold and glory of the year-end...earth scents and the sky winds and all the magic of the countryside which is ordained for the healing of the soul.
~ Monica Baldwin

Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance. What man can stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see the span of his world and the meaning of the rolling hills that reach to the far horizon?
~ Hal Borland

I'm glad I prepared this post a few days ahead. My 'photography' computer is going into intensive care tomorrow. Not sure when I'll have it back.

Chores

Saturday dawned bright and brisk. The perfect autumn day to spend in the garden. With a chilly wind blowing but the sun warm on my back I took down all my wren houses. Time to bring them in and do some repairs and touch up painting before storing them over the winter. The wrens will be back next May and expect the houses to be clean and neat for their new families. Several larger birdhouses will be left up all winter. Birds like chickadees will be grateful to huddle inside them on cold winter nights.

The favorite and the first wren house occupied every year is the white one with the decorative cutouts. I guess birds have a sense of style too.

I decided to enlarge three flower beds so I spent a couple hours cutting out sod and re-edging. Today I'm feeling a few muscles I don't remember having. This is my favorite spade. I bought it probably 15 years ago. Perfect for edging borders, removing strips of sod, and especially moving perennials in and out of tight places. It keeps a very sharp edge all season.

Now that I've given myself a little extra space, I can get busy planting some spring bulbs.

My friend is giving me a toothy grin for the camera;)


Sunday blew in with a vengeance. I dug out the warm down vest and braved the 60-mile per hour winds to fill the bird feeders. As I watched the leaves swirling madly around me I felt the first ominous splat--a large wet snowflake on my face. The season's first snow. It didn't amount to much and lasted only about 10-minutes. Still, a reminder that good weather is to be treasured late in October.

In the afternoon, I took a scenic drive out to one of our local apple orchards. They have the best apple cider donuts served fresh and hot with glasses of fresh pressed cider. Brought back a dozen donuts and several gallons of cider to enjoy later.