Prelude To Butchery

I suppose the good news is the DOT and EMC are in sync with their tree hacking schedules. I won't have to be offended on two widely separate occasions. I came home this evening to see the DOT had used their hydraulic arm chopping machine to hack back the trees from the byway.

I had been impressed with what a nice job they were doing coming up the mountain. By the time they got to me the blade was obviously a whole lot duller. No more clean chops. They left me with shredded ends.

They chopped from the east end of the roadside vegetable garden, past the old chimney, to Bulbarella's driveway and beyond. Then they tossed all manner of ten foot long branches down the hill into the wild cultivated gardens. I have spent the last nine years tidying up that kind of debris.

All I have to say is the EMC better not be getting any notions that this is not a regularly maintained area due to the recent rubbish additions and they can now just chop it and leave their rubbish too. If I see the DOT in the morning we may just have to have a little talk. The hydraulic armed chopper is parked right below me.

I like my forest tidy. That is no easy task with the regular dead fall alone. Additional chopping without cleanup only makes matters worse.

There was no evidence of chopping directly above me along the byway. I don't know if that means they decided it did not need chopping or if they just haven't done it yet. I will say this is the slowest paced push back of the forest I have ever seen. They have been managing a couple hundred yards a day at best.

I will definitely have to stop and chat with them if I see them in the morning. I do not want to come home to piles of chopped limbs tossed down the slope into the garden.

I have begun my own chop and drop of the Lush in preparation for the utility easement tree trimmers. Bright orange tape adorns the baby shrubberies in the danger zone. It is my hope they will make an effort to be careful when they pick all that crap up. I did it last time all by myself nine years ago. I'm not getting shafted again.

This is a regularly maintained garden now.

There are pluses and minuses to living along the scenic byway with a utility easement running through the property. Sometimes the minuses pile up. The pluses always win out.

Oh What A Beautiful Morning

There was no reason to move fast.

Items on the agenda were limited. I could putter.

An absolutely perfect fall morning was meant to be savored.

And it was.

Mowing season is over for me. The weed whacker was prepared for storage. The blower got new oil.

Yesterday I did some early chop and drop. Today baby trees and shrubberies in the danger zone from tree trimmers were tagged with bright orange tape.

The house next door was turned off.

We lounged.

It was a most perfect day.

There was a bit of a breeze and the leaves were falling fast. This peak of perfection will have passed by the time I wake up in the morning.

I give my peak two more days. There are a lot of mountains and valleys out there. Fall will linger yet in the nooks and crannies.

I'm ready for the tree trimming barbarians.

I plan to call tomorrow to again request a walk of the property before they start chopping.

I managed to hold them off long enough to get through a late fall.

I'll have to remember to say thank you again as I make a case for conscientious work.

The barren time is near, but that is no excuse for butchery.

Oh what a beautiful day.

It almost makes me forget my front end load washing machine broke.

We wait for freeze and frost, but beginning tomorrow the chop down of client's gardens will begin. I have a lot to do before winter arrives.

I only began to move when the sun made it over the mountain top. I love those kind of days.

This Is Autumn

A very enjoyable week with the Sisters has ended. They came. They saw peak autumn which is oddly running a bit late this year. They took Bulbarella south on their return.

There were many fine home cooked meals. Squash was a featured item all week. Potatoes, tomato, pepper and beets from the roadside vegetable garden were slipped in.

We went for a walk in the glowing woods

All the way to a pasture were a certain loose herd of cattle emanate.

The color was excellent.

The temperatures were a tad warm.

The drought continues. I am pleased to know fall still works close to normal during a drought.

This is autumn.

Because I was busy visiting, blogging was impaired.

These pictures were taken over the entire week.

This is pretty much what it looks like today.

This is unusual. Normally this close to November 1st, the barren time is well under way.

The absence of wind and rain is a likely factor.

I will just have to suffer with autumn for a while longer.

On the day they left I began the process of closing down the other house for the winter and preparing the garden for the return of the tree trimmers. Sections of the Lush are getting an early chop and drop. My baby trees and shrubberies will be plainly visible.

Miss Dinah has joined us for the winter ...... if it ever comes.

The Sisters Are Here

And so are some fall blooming crocus. They have a bit of trouble with the still standing Lush, the bulbs not the Sisters. It is hard for small things to stand out in all that fading vegetation.

I probably don't have to worry about the grasses getting freeze dried before an early heavy snow can crush them this year. The drought has started that process already.

There was a blessed bit of rain with the cold front that came through on Friday. Not much. Again it was only enough to take the edge off. The drought continues.

Autumn moves along. The week ahead is scheduled to be sunny, dry and cool, perfect weather for the Sisters visit. Perhaps it will begin to rain when they leave

A nice sumac I saw in my travels for work. They really do have great fall color. I've been wanting to try the Staghorn Sumac, Rhus typhina.

See. There was some rain. And wind. And the leaves came tumbling down.

Plenty leaves left though. I am always a bit shocked every fall by the massive quantities of leaves that spend the summer up there in the trees. Here I can ignore them. In a client's proper garden that is another matter.

The Yellie Mum blooms while the leaves turn and I spend quality time visiting with the Sisters.

Images May Contain Fall Color

Wolfpen mountain isn't quite there yet.

The Mountain Magnolia in its drying tobacco phase.

Hebo Mountain up above.

The color has almost made it down to me.

The Tall Flower Meadow fades away. First frost may come this Sunday. The under garden will soon be revealed.

Red.

The leaf peepers are about. The ladybugs are swarming the cozy cabin. The Sisters are coming to take Bulbarella south. The time of vegetation is near done.