Fall has officially arrived

Fall has officially arrived
                        

Now that fall is upon us, we can no longer ignore winter is the next season in line. Our house would rather ignore that future and pretend warmish weather will continue indefinitely.

Our gardens are a bit wiser and have already begun to prepare themselves for the cold that is to come. One plant in particular has started to die back. It has bloomed faithfully since June but now produces only faded leaves and no blooms.

The distant trees are changing their leaf color and look magnificent. Either the lack of recent rain or perhaps the season, grass has reduced its need for cutting dramatically. That is not a complaint, just an observation. Mother Earth is preparing herself for her long winter nap.

Unfortunately houses can’t do a lot to prepare themselves for cold weather. We humans have to help them. In years gone by, our houses were fitted with storm windows when cool weather threatened. As a child we knew when those windows went up, winter was imminent. Those cold winds inveritably arrived right on time for Halloween. It’s difficult to look scary when your costume is buried under a heavy jacket.

Now is the time when vulnerable plants must seek shelter inside their houses. Finding a place for those plants is a challenge. All of them need at least some sun, so window areas are prime locations.

Because space is rather limited at our house, some of our less than cold-hardy plants must make do with life in a winter shed. That is not ideal, of course, but it beats freezing. Our house would love for us to add a green house extension, but that is just a bit expensive. So come the cold, we will share living space with a variety of vegetation.

That vegetation must be insect-free or our house will have a hissy fit. Offering a warm winter home to the likes of stink bugs is not appreciated by any house or human. Spiders, too, have a way of hiding inside our wintering plants.

This year I have promised my Taller Half no bugs will gain entrance to our house via our plants. Now I just have to remember to get some insect spray to treat those incoming plants of any undesirable infestation, particularly stink bugs.


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