A NOVEMBER DAY

There's a skim of snow on everything. The little ponds are frozen over. The river has ice collars around all the stones, and where the water flow is really slow, there's even ice on the river. Winter is here.
It's time to move from the ground to the air above it and begin to fill feeders and encourage the birds to come to our yard. The bear, hopefully, is tucked away in his cave..or wherever it is s/he spends the winter. There are deer everywhere and woodland birds are lurking about.
It's time for me to spend more time on the book I'm working on. Hopefully a publisher will find it attractive.
My husband is asleep in his recliner, in front of the TV watching (I use that term loosely) football. I always feel sorry for all the bench warming players. They must be frozen!
I won't be posting to this blog as frequently as usual now. It's just not gardening time! I will post the monthly jobs to do around the garden. They continue even in winter. If there's anything that I find especially interesting, I'll post that as well.
Anyway, come visit when you have a minute. Maybe you'll find something fun or useful!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving where-ever you celebrate it!

BULBS AND THEIR CARE

I just talked with my daughter who had been out planting bulbs with her 5 year old son. What fun! Can't you just imagine his joy in the spring when his bulbs come up and bloom? I can just imagine him bringing in a bouquet for his Mom!
That brings up a good point about bulbs. This is the time when the bulbs in the ground are building up strength to last through the winter AND bulk up for spring bloom! If there is a bit of time you can give to your bulbs, now is it! Get out there and broadcast some slow acting fertilizer on the area where you have bulbs. You'll be very happy you did come spring!

CHORES FOR NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER

Now's the time to plant paperweight narcissus, hyacinths and amaryllis (indoors) for beautiful color and aroma on New Year's Day!

If you've had enough freezing days to render the ground hard,
begin to mulch roses and other shrubs, etc.

Putting wire guards on the bases of tree trunks will prevent mouse
damage.

Wrap plants in burlap for winter protection. Do NOT use plastic!
They can't breathe any better inside plastic than you can.

If you haven't fertilized your lawn or garden yet, now's the time!

Use anti-desiccant to prevent loss of water during the long winter if you haven't already.

It's a good idea to be sure your power equipment works properly. Now is the best time to take them to the shop for repairs and upkeep.

Wrap the trunks of smaller trees with plastic wrap, or wire mesh to protect them from rodents.

Add leaves and the last bits of cut grass to the compost.

Cover your compost heap or bin with plastic to keep the nutrients from being leached out from winter rain and snow.

Water your trees and shrubs until the ground freezes.

As you do that, check them for diseased foliage and remove it. Remember anything diseased should go into the garbage, NOT the compost.

If you have any left over bulbs, for goodness sake PLANT THEM NOW!!!

Are you going to have a live Christmas Tree? Dig the hole now, then cover the hole and the dirt you removed, so you can easily plant it whenthe time comes.