Whew, have we cooled off! Now 9:30 and only in the low 50's according to our atomic clock/thermometer....only 48 by AOL weather. Supposed to be 41 tonight! Looks like our planned wood splitting session today is not a bit too early. We have been delayed this year due to an excess of "other" projects and am beginning to feel pretty uneasy with the woodshed only having three ricks in it (6'x14"x7' ). Last year we used 7 of the 10 that we stored. So, we have a way to go. We are using some nice big red oaks that have fallen on the farm this year. Guess they must have some type of disease as they look entirely healthy one day and just keeled over to reveal NO roots. Amazing and a trend that I hope does not continue though it provides us with a nice wood supply for the moment. My favorite little Gray Japanese Banty came off her nest with 5 of the very smallest, little, black, puff balls on Tuesday. Had been hoping that she would hatch some of this setting as an earlier try produced no viable babies. Swept out and washed down the walls of a new "room" in the ancient hen house, put some bedding on the floor and installed her with the babies immediately. Last night we put a heat light in there for her....spoiling her a bit, I know, but she is the sweetest little thing and the only hen of that breed that we have. Sure hope some of the little ones are hens! Am busily gathering and collecting seeds from my zinnia bed. Had thought we would enjoy having some for cutting and we have.....will have a bigger patch next year. They were the most productive part of the garden this year due to our extreme temps and drought in July. We still have a considerable amount of brush hogging to do but have been beset by rains that have kept the undergrowth green and moist. After July passing without a drop of rain here it seems bizarre to have to postpone so things can dry out. Sure is great hearing what everyone is doing at this time of year....you all will hopefully keep us "on track". This is just our third Fall on the farm....moved here in '03 after living in SW Florida for 24 years. Love the change of seasons and being back "home" again but we are kind of out of practice in the "getting ready for winter" department!

Anyone ever have the experience of working all week and looking back at the end to say, "by the way, what was it that made me this tired?" LOL I know I was busy,but can't remember what all I did to get there. One thing that has finally gotten finished (an "I want") is the little water feature thingy for the patio. We did one of those half barrel, with a pitcher pump and a small pond pump things to look at and listen to. Haven't found a single floating plant for it, but grouped some potted things like the black elephant ear, calla lilies, etc. around it to make it look like a water garden. Tried for various pots, heights, textures, etc. Found an old length of clay well tile that would stand up behind the barrel...a gallon pot just fits into the top and hangs by the rim for some hanging type plants. Dug up some Houttuynia (Cameleon plant) to use near the water because I saw that in a water garden kit at Wally. Didn't know before that it can be grown sitting in water. A neighbor has Louisiana Iris growing in her water garden that winters over for her...I will be getting some of it to grow in a large pan with no drain holes hidden behind other pots. All in all this should make an enjoyable place to have morning coffee. My not so enthusiastic DH thinks it will cause more trips to the bathroom. LOL He sure knows how to be a wet blanket... pun intended! All the roses are winding down except the Rugosas...had to do some clean up on some around the patio that would look ratty otherwise. Cornelia was my star performer this year. I was not happy with her last year, but she has finally come into her own. Hundreds of blooms and such a rich peachy color with the cooler weather. Peonies and Iris have finished here. We decided to let the veggie garden rest this year, so just working with the permanent plantings for this year, and some tomatoes in a huge pot. Had plenty of asparagus this year for putting up and eating. We do have leaf lettuce in an herb garden area, so enjoying wilt lettuce salads. My freezers are full, anyway. I freeze in fruit jars, so it keeps well past the usual time recommended. I freeze my corn in enough water for cooking and same with green beans. Looks like this will be a repair and build kind of year. We have had electric fencing around the place, but decided it was time to do more permanent stuff to cut down on weed eating chores as we get longer in the tooth. I, too, need to get some wood chips down in some beds. DH has been going about looking for all the volunteer tree seedlings popping up where they don't belong. Elms, locust, persimmon, and black walnut are the worst offenders... but then there is the sneaky rose of sharon, golden rain tree, and mimosa. Depending on where they hide out, they can be 6 feet tall before you notice them. Millie

No chicken proof plants really, but you can control the amount of time on lawn or pasture. Scratching combined with their droppings will destruct anything growing if kept on the same ground for more than a few days depending on size of area & density of chickens. When the kids were young we let the chickens and ducks free range in our fenced... part grass part woodland backyard with mostly native plantings with a few hardy perennials around a fir tree. No cultivated beds or precious plants. Containers on the deck & we disliked stepping on droppings, so we blocked access with a piece of plywood. I didn't attempt to grow plants for chickens or keep chickens from plants as they couldn't do much damage to forest underbrush and actually kept the weeds down where now I hand pull them. Length of time varied from 30-60 min. prior to sunset to all day depending on the weather conditions & seasons. Wet weather & winter meant no ranging. Dry weather & spring growing grass meant longer times. If the grass wasn't growing back fast enough to keep up with their scratching ways we would reduce time, reseed, & rake smooth. Chickens loved the swingset worn areas for dust baths, so that became mud in rain. Duration also dependent on the breeds kept & numbers of chickens. Featherlegged bantams scratched less than the clean legged production hens. Now, ten + years later still raising chickens, ducks, rabbits, & doves, but they stay in their pens most of the time. The outside chicken run has about 6" of pea gravel to control drainage, but does build up some mud over time in wet weather as they have tilled the pea gravel with their droppings. Our rainy climate washes away a lot of the manure from the gravel, so it's not really used in our gardens other than when we remove some of the muddy parts. Ducks are in raised pens to keep raccoons out. Young chicks have a separate chick pen with outside run some years & other years are inside their own coop, but herded outside to a movable 6x6 net covered chain link dog kennel during part of the day. Frequency determined by grass durability & weather dependent. Wet weather = mud on our soils in part sun conditions. Swingset & free ranging are long gone now as I've taken over the backyard now. Paver patio, 3 portable fountains, large containers, one raised bed, 6x8 greenhouse wood chip paths, large mixed island beds & a much smaller lawn. Not really permaculture because we bring in purchased feed & bedding and then when soiled haul the bedding + manure from pens to the garden for composting.

I have such an open raw emotional spot having gone through this with my over-the-rainbow-bridge cat that I haven't been up to contributing to this thread. But...I am such a huge fan of Smudge [and his Mom] that I must add my best thoughts and wishes for his rapid stabilization/recovery. I'm also a huge supporter of the cat nip therapy. My cat hated...with a very loud passion...anything to do with riding in the car. Of course...there was no way to get her to the vet without the aid of a vehicle...and it broke my heart every time I had to bundle her up and take her. But...it became a little more tolerable for her with the use of cat nip. Her loudly voiced opinions of the entire procedure became farther spaced although they never did cease entirely. She wasn't as susceptible to the over all effects of cat nip as some cats are...but it did help [both of us] in the end. And...yes...I agree cynic. They do forgive. The night before her last trip...while laying in my lap...she sat up...outstretched her paw and patted my face several times. Then went back to sleep. I would never consider declawing an animal so when she reached out her paw to my face...it took all my trust of her not to pull back. I wasn't sure whether her claws were extended or not. They were not...and her paw felt softer than I'd ever remembered. I choose to believe that it was her way of forgiving...and of saying goodbye. We'd been through a lot together. I don't think she wanted to leave but she'd contracted pancreatic cancer...and like my deceased husband who died of the same malady...she'd reached the end of her days.