Odds and Ends

These days, it is difficult to describe a focus of initiatives that we are involved in. We seem to be all over the map.

We continue to harvest from the Garden, which I find surprising. After all, it is mid-November and almost Thanksgiving at that. All those years in North Dakota on the edge between Gardening Zones 3 and 4 etched deeply into my Psyche what to expect. Settling into Zone 5 here in Northeast Missouri is a great surprise and a real gift with the greatly expanded growing season. So what is happening?

The Greens are in abundance. They seem to like the Frosts. They are just about the best ever. I wonder what is going on in those Plants. Their Green is deep and beautiful. Their quality seems quite different from earlier in the Summer.

We still have Lettuce too. Since we let some Plants go to Seed, we have quite a bit of Lettuce. That decision was a Great Call. We are hopeful to have some Lettuces among the early growing season next Spring from those same Seeds. They should be perking right a long, even if the Garden is too wet to plant. That's the Human Plan, anyway.

Melanie is still processing Seeds. I think all my Seeds are now complete with the Coleus and the Snap Dragons that I put in envelopes today. The 2 Bins of Seeds are now positioned at the top of the Stairs. They soon will be heading to their Basement Winter Home.

I am potting House Plants, although Pots and Saucers are in short supply. Most of the Plants seem tightly fitting in their Pots which means they are over grown. They are mostly old varieties.

I potted the cutting from Ilse's Rubber Tree. That Plant could get huge. Maybe we will use it for an inside Tree House. Of course, we live in a Little House. I can just see us setting up some Hammocks between its Branches.

I have repotted the Airplane Plants from Mother. I started to re-pot Shamrocks today. The Mother Plant in 1 Pot became 4 Pots. I have 3 more Pots left to re-pot, but all are smaller. The Shamrocks are from our former neighbor Mary Morken. The Hibiscus from Melanie, Jade Plant from Sarah Cummins and the Plant with no Name (like Aunt Lu's) are all waiting in Cue. Others don't seem to need the attention now.

Next Spring, we will have House Plants in abundance. I hope to be giving some away in the Spring.

We are starting to putter away at the House. We are slowly but surely putting it back in order. During the Frenzy of Fall Activity, it has been patiently awaiting its turn. We look forward to a few days to clean the Kitchen in a good way. We should almost get down on our Knees and thank this Beloved Partner for all her loyal contributions these last few months. Soon, we will begin to finish up painting. That will be a big project, but it will really feel good when it is complete.

A few books outside Gardening are starting to appear on the Coffee Table. For a long time, we were not reading, unless it related to an urgent call from the Garden in the moment.

We are also starting to envision what might happen ahead. Just a few weeks ago, we seldom thought beyond the Fresh Produce of the moment. Now, we are beginning to dream about some things we might be doing ahead.

For me, I want to learn to make Sausage, but won't be doing it this year. That gives me time to read ahead for new initiatives of the coming year. My Ancestors from my Croatian and German Heritages seem to be putting out a call for some Sausage Making Traditions that need to be returned.

Naps and rest periods are more frequent. That feels really good.

Overall, I think you could call this season one of Odds and Ends. We are picking up loose ends that need completion. We knew this season would come, but we just couldn't quite envision what it might feel like. It feels good.