Tulips in October

 It is late October and the air is crisp as the temperature jumps around the low 30s and high 20s. Last week we had around 6 inches of snow, which is unusual for this part of the state so soon. Two weeks ago I planted around 200 spring tulips and wondered whether I was early, as we were still on the warm side of autumn. 

These bulbs are seeds of a Spring to come. They will lie dormant from October through March. Dormant is not a good word, perhaps disguised is better. In the ground of October, they anticipate the cold of December and the thawing of February and March. While the grass is brown and snow covers the soil, down in the earth the cold temps launch a change inside the bulb. Never mind the botanical details. But a change that will cause a stem and flower to push out of the earth in April and May. For now they get no attention from me. No care, no water, no fertilizer. Only neglect and hardship. From this comes growth. Hmmm, a metaphor for something.

In planting tulips I am looking ahead...around the corner, behind the curtain, over the hill, down the street of time, to another spring. Past the laughs of Thanksgiving. Beyond the Gloria of Christmas and the Miracle of the Annunciation, they will be here to celebrate the Hosanna of Easter. 

Tulips are for time travelers. If you envy them in the spring because there are none in your yard, go back in time six months. Go to Home Depot. Buy bulbs. Plant them. 

If you are annoyed by the work involved in the fall, digging 200 holes, it must be because your body is getting old and is stuck in the present day. Your mind has moved on and is seeing beauty in things that will happen in the year to come. Things you are almost certain of. 

Come Winter!! 

The tree down the street

 There is a large old oak tree in my neighbor's yard. It lived to be around a hundred and fifty or so years, and then died. This year. The other old oaks are just starting to shed a few leaves but this one has nary a one, and has not had all year. 

Talk is, the owners have had three arborists out to look at it. I guess in tree world that's the same as getting a second opinion. Yep, it's dead. Or as a Minnesotan would say, It's a goner, ya got that right. They must want to keep it. Though they have only owned that land and tree for about three years, perhaps they feel that such a decision best goes slowly. Or maybe it is something simpler, procrastinating, or not being able to afford the removal, or the hope that maybe next spring it will come back to life. 

Our perspectives differ. Those who live in the house look out the window and see the same huge trunk as the year before. Same same. Those who live down the street see bare branches and death. 

There is this deep thing in us that keeps things in their place. Before Minnesota was a state that tree may have been here. We long for permanence. 

The neighbor should cut down the tree. It's dangerous and is becoming an eyesore. But I understand the reluctance to cut. Just last week I got around to paying someone some money I owed them since 1978. They didn't even know I owed them. It was easy to put off. But I'm getting old. But not like that tree. 

Fall in a flash and the winter onset

In Minnesota we love the fall. Too bad it doesn't last very long. What most folks call autumn starts here in late August, when you first see a leaf or two begin to change and you wake up one morning to temps in the mid-50s instead of 60's.

It was 45 when I woke this morning and the weatherman says we may fall to the high 30s over the weekend.

Other fall things going on....

The boat is off the lake. This weekend it goes into storage until April.

The dock and boat lift are off the lake and are pulled up on the shore. That happened yesterday.

The last hummingbird was spotted last weekend. The smart ones left earlier. The feeders have been washed and are stored until May.

Leaves are falling with every breeze.

Tomato plants are in the trash and the cages are stored under the deck.

Chokeberries have been picked and frozen for some winter recipe

Apple harvest is in full swing and we'll be making apple butter this weekend or next.

We have placed our best on when we first see snow. November 3rd is my date.

The box of Christmas lights are in the garage, ready for their early November hanging.

Mailed the check today to my snow plow guy for his continued service.

Labor Day

Since moving to Minnesota this day always turns my mind toward winter. Labor Day brings the mental checklist of things I have to do between now and the end of October. This year was no different.

• Bring the boat off the lake
• Pull in the dock and lift
• Plow under the garden
• Store the lawn furniture
• Put away the hose
• Get Christmas lights up
• Cut the grass one last time
• Fertilize the lawn
• Plant spring bulbs
• Schedule the snow plow guy
• Store the hammock
• Find the snowshoes
• Get plenty of blue stuff for windshield washers
• Crank up the snowblower
• Set out the jack o' lantern and other fall stuff

It is also the day when I eat my one Cinnabon of the year.

Seasons

We are getting ready for the first snow storm since last winter. The house is ready. The summer tools are all put away. Rakes, shovels, hoe, wheelbarrow and lawnmower are sound asleep in the shed. They'll hibernate until some day in April, perhaps March, they are called to duty again.

Only the smoker is still on duty, our iron sentry in the backyard, awaiting a Thanksgiving rendezvous with a turkey. 

Our first snow is usually a light one, an inch or two. They say this one will be several multiples of that. We'll see.

It has been a good fall. One of the best of our twelve years in Minnesota.

It is 45 days until Christmas.

Charlotte airport, 925pm, gate b14

Four hour layover on a trip home from Houston. Sitting next to a woman reading an article titled "ode to autumn" in Good housekeeping magazine. She may be the only normal person here. Everyone else staring at small glowing rectangles and tapping them,including me

What in the world was i thinking when i picked this flight? After one dish of ice cream, one sudoku, one tasteless barbecue sandwich, and one hour in the famous Charlotte airport rocking chairs i am ready to go home. It snowed today and i missed it.

October at the Lake

This is a pic of the new place in mid October. Leaves gone from most of the trees. Boat docks off the water and on the shore. The evergreens beginning to stand out much more than in the summer. The cars on the road nearby sound louder, now that the sound barrier the leaves create is gone. One last cutting of the grass, and I'll be done with that until Spring. Time to put away lawnmowers and clean the dust off the snow blowers.

Crazy Stuff

Cards march on the NLCS, and play into the hallowed deep weeks of October.

Best quote from the NLDS. From Game 5....

“I think the last three outs are the hardest in baseball,” Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche said. “I don’t know why it’s so much harder than the other eight innings, but something about it. Crazy stuff happens in the ninth inning.”

Christmas lights

Here's the November pic of the house. Leaves gone from the trees and an unseasonably warm Sunday has us out putting up the Christmas lights, wreaths and the Moravian star.

There seems to be a national shortage of the red mini-lights as it took trips to Walmart, Target, Home Depot and another Target before I finally found them. Another neighbor across the street was putting up lights today, while one around the corner fell off his ladder and an ambulance was called.

October

This is my October shot of the house. With the angle of the sun it's hard to see the colors in the back yard but there are a couple of maples back there in full color. Near the peak of color now. Last Saturday we fell below freezing for the first time. Today we hit an all time record high in the mid 80's. Same on tap for tomorrow. Ready for the cold but nice to get these little reminders of summer. Current yard project is the nurturing of the tiny burning bushes in the front and destroying the fungus that is killing parts of the lawn. Weekly grass cutting today, could have waited another week as the growth has really slowed. A boring blog entry on a somewhat boring Friday night.

 

Summer to Autumn

You can't tell it from this picture but it was absolutely a fall day last Sunday afternoon when this was taken. Surprising how the trees look so green, despite all the changing colors that seemed to jump out to the naked eye.  It was 37 that morning, our first temp with a 3 handle since May. As you can tell by the attire, this was autumn, not summer. A nice church picnic to close the summer.