I hope everyone is well into enjoying the fall weather. Leaves are falling rapidly and will be complete very shortly. We here in Nebraska just had yet another killing frost last night. The day time temperatures are ranging in the 40s and 50s now and the trend will only be downward. Along with the dropping temperatures another round of sniffles is raging through the household. The grandson started it with a virus from school. Then it run through my daughter and now me. My motto is to kill and destroy any evil virus, germ, or bacteria. It was the wrong decision to invade my body because they are going to die die die.
Here’s my little friend in Terra Nova Gardens. I’m not sure if it is a he or a she so I’ll just call it a he. I think I’m going to call him Nebraska Phil after the famous Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania. So now I can predict when winter will end right in my own Terra Nova Gardens. Groundhogs are vegetarians and eat almost anything in the garden. As you can see, he’s been well fed. He’s watching me from the entrance to his den. I understand that groundhogs can have an extensive tunnel system with many exits. It should be a real challenge trying to grow a garden right next to his door. I got within 20 feet of him before he decided that was close enough and disappeared into the safety of his den. I did have a nice chat with this guy while I was taking pictures. I told him it as OK for him to eat some of the garden but just don’t get greedy. I hope he heard me because right after that discussion, he turned his back and disappeared into his den. I think it’s a boy because when boys hear something they don’t particularly want to hear they just turn their heads and pretend they didn’t hear it. :0)
Spreading the foraged mulch from the neighbor yards continues. So far I have dumped 233 bags of leaf/grass yard waste on Terra Nova Gardens with another two weeks to go. I pulled another five loads out of the neighborhood last Thursday and am in process of hauling them to the garden. I don’t have a count on them but I haul about 20 bags to a load so I’m estimating it will be another 100 bags. My plan is to keep plugging away at the mulching until the yard is season is over. Maybe if I can get about a foot of mulch on the ground by next spring I’ll have a good inch of cover to keep the weeds at bay and feed the garden plants. The plans for the Terra Nova Gardens 2013 have been tentatively made. Of course with all garden plans, they can be changed while the seeds are still in the package.
It’s a little difficult to see but this is the garden layout for 2013. Hopefully, it will be a good plan. It’s all subject to change until the seeds actually go into the ground.
From my house to yours. A very joyful Thanksgiving season to everyone in your family.
