Stages

 Article 3 on my Clear Out the Clutter Series

Stages:

I'm at a stage in my life where I can let go of some of those things I had been holding onto. I was at a tea with some friends recently. We like to do that once every few years where we actually get to use the good China and tea paraphernalia and remember why we're hanging onto all of that stuff. It's nostalgia and good memories. It's a time for making new memories, encouraging and comforting friends.

It's also a time for helping each other to come into the light of reality where we begin to understand that our children are not going to want all our old stuff. Our treasures are just that, our treasures. If we are only holding onto them for our children we need to be realistic. Do we really want to burden them with this stuff, stuff that they think they need to hold onto for their children?



It's something altogether different if we know they have an interest in it. In that case if they are in the position to take it at this time then by all means pass it on. On the other hand, if they are too young and their tastes haven't developed try to narrow it down to a few cherished pieces, a few special photos. That makes me laugh and reminds me I'll need to make a few more passes at the photos before they're whittled down enough for the kids to be able to appreciate. 

That's another way to think of stages. The whittling down is a gentler way of clearing out. It is a way of clearing out that shows us first that it's not as painful as we thought. It's like walking into the lake slowly rather than jumping off the pier. I'm definitely a wader, not a jumper. Then, we can become more bold, when we've felt the exhilaration of victory over accumulation.

Again, it prepares us for the garden tasks that have been aching for a bold hand. That euonymus that has been straggling along year after year under the ever increasing shade of the maple. Do it, cut it off or attempt to move it  but don't keep ignoring it and hoping the plants around it will hide it from sight.

Tackle the jobs because you know how good it feels and looks afterwards. Don't neglect that garden spot because that combination of plants once looked so beautiful, do what it takes to make it beautiful again.

Spillover

Take a bite out of clutter. 

Article 2 on my Clutter Clear Out Series Spill-over:

Confessions of a pack-rats

Oh the horror! My shove-all closet off the
family room. Time to pay the piper for
all the times I saved time hiding clutter
rather than dealing with it.

Let's not only hope for a spill-over of good habits and positive philosophies caused by getting our houses in order, let's live it. Let's tackle the dark corners where we shove clutter to put off until later. Later is now. 

Here's the garden bed I want to start with
in Spring. I remember what it once looked
like before the crab grass, etc.  moved in.

That corner is like that eyesore of a weedy bed under the spotlight of the morning sun. You know, that ray of beautiful light that slips between the branches and highlights a section of garden like center stage. What a shame for that light to highlight thistles when it could show off rich hummus planted with cherished favorites. That beam of light could show through your windows and into simple, peaceful bliss rather than cluttered spaces. Get in the habit and you'll be ready to tackle the tough garden jobs at the start rather than hemming and hawing  until the bugs come out and the heat begins to swelter. 

I'm ready. Are you? I've gone through the linen closet and one file drawer. I've made a bold swipe at the boxes of photos. I chide myself for not "weeding" out more but I have to remember that every little bit helps. It's a start and it emboldens me to conquer more, a box at a time. 

Clearing the Path to Spring

Only the deer are out there gardening now: pruning and fertilizing 

But even the deer would rather be inside where house plants are fresh and green

Sure, looks lovely but we need to move on and get
something done until we can tend the real flowers
of Spring

Here's  what I propose we need to do when it's cold and white under the arbor, on the garden paths, and in not-so-lush places this winter. Yes, the go to answers we see everywhere are to peruse the seed catalogs, plan your projects, and gear up. Right and then what? I say, use your time wisely, get your indoor work done, your affairs in order and your clutter cleared. Work furiously, fearlessly and fervently to alleviate any possible guilt for the amounts of time we plan to spend out of doors this Spring and Summer.  I plan to delve into how we can do this in the next few days. 

Au Revoir Mon Petit Chou Chou

"See you later my little cabbage."
Au Revoir- to see again.
Petit chou chou - a term of endearment.
This is not good bye forever though winter can feel that way.

Gone are the days of flip flops and dirty toes, rinsing off the worst of it with a spray from the hose.
A gradual shift happened in the optimal time for gardening. It shifted from cool mornings to warm afternoons.  At some point the risk to transplants changed from frying to freezing. My tasks transformed from feeding and nurturing to protecting,securing, sheltering. Where have all the flowers gone?

For that matter, where have afternoons gone?

I'm already making lists for next Spring! When did I decide these projects just wouldn't get done this year?

 I know I bemoaned every chilly morning for a while there, sure it  was heralding the coming end to all things green but I adjusted and was glad for warm spells and fall colors.









I must say, the colors have been stunning this year. That's what makes it so hard to say goodbye. However, goodbyes are inevitable and biting winters make for sweet springs.

So, Au Revoir! 

'Til we meet again...

Dear friend.....

A Noisy Pet Peeve of Mine

Fall, the vibrant colors, the urgent scurry and flitting of animals and birds preparing for winter, the satisfying crunch of leaves underfoot and the whining buzz of leaf blowers all around me? 

I may ruffle a few feathers when I say that I believe anyone under the age of 60, without physical disabilities should be out there raking, not blowing their leaves from one end of their property to the other. This neighbor, actually took two hours to blow the leaves from the south side of his property to the north side, as the wall of leaves got higher and higher. We raked ours onto a tarp and made a couple piles in our wooded area, my husband went for a run, I put away our patio furniture and the guy was still at it! And all the while the whirring noise was assaulting my ears. 

I have a bulging disc in my lower back. Most gardeners have back problems or bad knees or something that plagues them, throughout the growing season but we keep going. I've found that my back feels better with moderate exercise and I've learned to do things carefully or I'll be paying the price later. I think it makes me appreciate everything more.

 I use all my senses in the garden, during every season. Fall is no exception, in fact it's as if the foliage is going out in a blaze of glory. The colors, the drastic temperature changes, the smells of soil and decomposition, and taste of the last cherry tomatoes on the vine or coffee on the patio amidst rustling leaves. It's a last chance before the snow flurries and frigid temperatures make gardening a dream for next spring. 
The ubiquitous leaf blower shatters all that for me. Well, that's my pet peeve rant for the morning. What's yours?

Searching for Silver Linings

Choosing to search for silver linings 
amongst the dark clouds

There is no better proof that the economy has been on the upswing these past few years than the amount of construction, major renovation and general ruckus going on all around my house! The noise drives me insane. Early morning coffee walks through the garden before the roar of engines and generators rev up for the day have been restful and restorative.

no dark clouds

Landscapes can change in an instant, due to a sudden loss of a tree or the drastic deforestation done by new neighbors. Beyond these trees used to be a densely wooded lot. Were we ridiculous to assume a property buyer would purchase this lot because  it was wooded? Yes, we knew there were buckthorns out there but we seldom thought of that as we watched the fawns take their first steps, the foxes darting after mice, a rafter of 19, turkeys (yes, I counted) scouring the dirt, or an occasional daytime coyote venture out of "the woods."

I mourn the loss of the wildlife that used to make its home in the wooded area. 

So, I've embraced the new light shining through, where before was only darkness and mystery.  

We get the occasional visitor but they don't stay long. I'm one of the few that actually welcome deer. I've planted my whole garden with them in mind. Many of my perennials are straight off the deer resistant plant list, while others are hardy and resilient, taking deer "prunings" in stride.

Any green in the photo is most likely a buckthorn, an invasive tree that grows quickly from seeds in berries dispersed by wildlife. I intend to take out every one of them and replace them with beautiful shrubs and trees, I've taken out hundreds, ranging from seedlings to 30 footers. I'm working to improve the soil, depleted by these landscape scourges. In the end it will prove to be a good thing, right?







Work done on our own homes is at times necessary and often out of our control. Roofers break branches, smash perennials and even their clean up methods are destructive.  That said, I choose to search for those silver linings. I know they're out there. I ran out and got this picture of the mums before the roofers crushed this darling profusion of blooms. They absolutely leveled everything from hostas to ferns, from delphiniums to tall anemone. I asked them to please protect my golden spirea and my giant Red Bud, both of which were battered and broken.

The geraniums in the wooded area, however, were well out of reach and put on a beautiful show.

It has been a spectacular Autumn in our area. I have appreciated every colorful leaf and warm sunny morning, as well as the rain and wind that make for healthy, strong trees and shrubs. The perennials may be done for now and potted annuals can be dragged in from the frost only so many times but those boughs and branches are just gearing up for showing off their wintery white sparkled garments. New seasons, new surprises!

When Big Beans Happen to Good People

If you've grown any kind of vegetable you most likely know exactly what I'm talking about  You start out in spring with the best intentions, checking on everything often, from babying the new seedlings to taking pictures of your first harvest. I can't be the only one.

Then... well then, you've eaten zucchini in every form possible: stir fries, grilled, muffins, cakes... You've hidden it in many dishes, hoping not to see the rolling of eyes from your family. You've given away tomatoes and peppers to your enthusiastic, non-gardening friends. But now its to the point at which you almost dread looking under the leaves. Oh no, another monster summer squash,  a woody beet that has gone to flower and of course the big, lumpy beans! They're hard and stringy. Do you put them in the compost or cut them up small and hope they go unnoticed in the casserole? It happens to all of us. It makes it easier to say good bye to Summer and hello to brisk Fall days.