Happy Thankgiving and other observations in Nature...

Well a month has gone by and so much is still in my head.  Technically speaking, my time in the garden will surely be restricted to days above 45 degrees for extended gardening outside.  Under 45 degrees is for walking through the woods and kicking some leaves.  It is nice to observe all of the noticeable things now that we can visibly see as the trees are in their near naked state.  I absolutely love the nakedness of nature in the winter.

Yesterday as I was walking my dog, Aminia, I simply enjoyed the smells in the warm, almost humid air.  There was a certain stillness and we walked and crunched on the fallen leaves.  The huge Oak and Elm trees, still begrudgingly not wanting to part with their leaves...but they slowly flutter along the path and crunch beneath our feet, as they silently grace the ground.  Earlier in the morning I had to smile as I imagined the frost fairy dusting the cars on my street with a light smattering of frost.  A gentle sign that the winter weather is quickly approaching for a brief stay. 

I felt like raking leaves today.  After work I found myself raking the leaves that have fallen from the huge Oak tree that buffers the winter winds from my house.  There is something special about raking leaves.  Yes, I have a blower as well, but it is so noisy.  Raking leaves takes me back to my childhood and fall lawn maintenance.  My Dad had a "method" for raking the leaves and we needed to watch and learn.  The only thing I really took away from those leaf raking sessions was that the Pin Oak has leaves that flutter and keep going......minimal raking involved.  Oh one other thing...Maple tree roots will seek water and head towards the foundation of the house and this was not a good thing.  I dreamt about tree roots tapping on my windows for a drink of water!!!

I raked not only my leaves but the leaves from the Oak had also fallen in my neighbor Jackie's yard....so I raked her front yard, parking spot and walkway as well.  In my world, it was the neighborly thing to do.  The physical movement of raking is awesome.  I call it the leaf waltz as it gets your heart rate up, increases your pulse and causes one to stretch to get under that little bush or behind that tall shrub.  May folks cannot appreciate this, especially when you look up and see that the Oak tree is still pretty full of leaves.  However look at it as Gardener's Gold - free, in abundance and begging to be recycled back into the earth.  Tomorrow, I will fill up my burlap bags with leaves, garden debris and a hand full of soil.  Now I have no grass clippings as I do not have any lawn....but I have clippings with a touch of green from  my garden, that will help in breaking down the contents. Tuesday, Mother Nature will dampen these bags and I can take a little stroll outside during this winter and turn the bags, as the ingredients inside break down and form some absoutely awesome leaf mold.  See even in the garden, one can recycle. 

As I was raking the leaves, I also reminisced about my latest trip to Wave Hill in the Bronx, New York.  I  have been uploading and sorting the photos I took and wondering why I did not make time to also visit the Bronx Zoo and Botanical Garden.  well most likely because I plan on visiting  both of those sites this winter so I can compare the landscape now and in the spring. I know, most folks do not understand visiting gardens when they are not in bloom.  When you see the structure of a site and then see it in bloom, it is like looking at two totally different venues. 

I can't wait to go back....and God Bless the victims of Sandy.

Sharing Wave Hill,,,,and Paris next.............