How To Get A Man To Work In The Garden

This was actually easier than I thought, though I had some unexpected help:

I should mention in advance that I saw two main problems that yearned for a solution:

a) The leaves that were everywhere (we have quite a lot of trees here, now all almost bare, most of them maple and beech trees, plus some apple and cherry trees and a prominent oak), and

 b) The withered aconite that needed a good cutting. And no, it really didn't look like this anymore. It was a rather sad view..

Problem was, I had to work all day and nowadays, it gets dark pretty early, around 4:30 in the afternoon. This was the only day we had without rain this week, and we're supposed to get the first snow this weekend.

Things really needed to get done.

My Mom, creative as she can be if she only wants to, came up with an idea: Why don't you guys attach the snow shovel to the riding mower and drag the leaves into piles? She mentioned this to my father-in-law, and what happened?

THIS:

Father-in-law loves using the riding mower, and I can see why. It's kind of Zen moving around in circles. Some people doodle, others take a bath or do yoga. Father-in-law mowes the lawn.

Am I the only one who thinks: "Can't Buy Me Love was so unrealistic!"? 

But I don't want to sound ungrateful. I'm really glad that he has both the time and the patience to do it. And the garden looks so much better now!

As for the aconite: My significant other has a penchant for knives though I don't think he has many opportunities to use them. But here I found him one... What can I say? He acted like he had to clear his way through the jungle with a machete. And took some pain relievers for his back afterwards.

Had I just know earlier... but I guess I'll remember this principle from now on:

Make it fun and it will get done!

Fall Impressions

10 reasons why I love it here.

November Colors

Can you actually believe we're only two months away from New Year's Day?

Seriously!

As I'm still dealing with the remnants of a terrible cold that bothered me the past two and a half weeks, I had planned to spend the afternoon on the sofa, snuggled up with various blankets, reading one or two novels and sipping hot tea. But then... even a couch potato like me can't resist to get some fresh air on a beautiful autumn day like this!

And thinking ahead - I still had some crocus and tulip bulbs that needed planting. In our garden, there's this old zinc bathtub that we found when we moved in here. It held Sweet Annie until a few days ago (well, at least a part of it did), and so I set out, my delicate neck wrapped in several thick scarves, to do some planting while breathing some incredibly clear air.

I thought it would look cute to set the bulbs in not a 100 % straight rows, smallest in front. So (looking at the picture) from top to bottom I planted

Leek Allium Purple Sensation

Tulip Blushing Apeldoorn

Tulip Seadov Triumph

Mixed Triumph Tulips

and 

Crocus Ruby Giant (Tommassinianus). 

Keep your fingers crossed they'll make it though the winter and bloom next sping. I'm not really famous for my green thumb... But maybe it helps that the soil I used comes from our composter. 

I decided to leave the right hand part of the bathtub just as it was. The still green leaves between the maple foliage belong to what's left of the summer flowers I had out this and also last year - their seeds were a free sample, so I have no idea what sorts they are. I got them as a gift when I suddenly got in the mood for a very girly Oilily perfume a while ago. Let's just hope they'll survive another winter. If they don't... well, a very nice garden center is located only about two or three miles from here...

Finally, I thought it may be a good idea to put a net above the at least the part of the tub where I set the bulbs - we have a trio of nasty magpies here and I wouldn't like them to have a ball picking out their treasures. Still I don't have a clue how to actually secure the net, but if I come up with a solution I'll let you know. Ideas are welcome!

As you can see, I didn't bother to gather all the leaves out of the tub - it would have been a Sisyphean task anyway. The leaves these days are falling faster than you can say "foliage" properly anyway. If you need proof:

This is our driveway. Last swept not even 48 hours ago.

Sisyphean.

We'll get to it again tomorrow. I guess. Though I like the idea of hiding the concrete.

When I got back into the house, the sun prepared to set.

November colors. Gray isn't one of them. 
At least not yet.