Here's another view of one of the two maple trees that grow over the driveway.
This will be a short post 'cause I'm heading out to get some Alsacien wine for Ken's choucroute (sauerkraut). It'll go into the chou as it cooks this morning and then into us as we enjoy the meal later.
And leaf! I think I learned that one in grade school. I did get a lot of the leaves, maybe half, blown to where I want them. The rest will have to wait because the rain is back.
Ken and I had a hard time getting the leaf blower going yesterday. There was a lot of swearing. @#!%#%!! The thing is brand new! (although we've had it for a year already) After a while it started working. Seems there's a bad connection in one of the electrical cords and you have to hold your mouth right to get it to work. We'll do some further investigations when the weather gets better.
If you're a sailor, take warning. We're having a couple of nice days. I think I'll try the leaf blower this afternoon. I have a few errands to run this morning, so we'll see.
Tuesday's election results across the USA seem to portend a healthy rebuke of You-Know-Who and a reset for the more liberally inclined moving toward the mid-term elections next year. I think that's a good thing.
Leaves stuck to a damp deck on a foggy morning are common in the fall. It could be worse; wind often blows the bigger maple leaves up onto the deck, but there weren't many, if any, on this morning. The driveway just below is another story.
It's a chilly 7ºC (about 45ºF) out there this morning. That's why it's called Novembrrr. It's time to start thinking about bringing plants in for the winter.
This branch on one of our maple trees lost its leaves before all the others. It's covered in lichens, but so is the rest of the tree. Mystery? Or just one of nature's little quirks?
I've reached the point in my life where I'm tired of cleaning up fallen leaves. The lawnmower mulches them, but I've finished with mowing for the season. The last few years, I've been leaving the leaves on the ground over winter. They mostly mulch themselves and what's left get pulverized when I start mowing again in the spring. I've learned the hard way not to leave the leaves (haha) in the driveway over winter. They're a mess to pick up after they've semi-mulched themselves into our gravel driveway. I'll pick some dry weather days to blow them onto the north forty. We got a leaf blower last year thanks to a nice store credit that came with a sale when we bought our riding mower.
This photo didn't turn out as I expected. It was before sunrise and there wasn't much light. But I only took two of this view. Here's the better one.
We had wind and rain a good part of the day on Saturday. A lot of leaves blew off the trees and now cover the ground. There are still a lot of leaves on the trees, but I can now see more and more bare branches out there. Ah, autumn.
Yesterday was a little breezy and the leaves on our maple trees were tumbling down. There are still a lot of leaves on the linden and other trees, but not for long. Soon the browns and greys of winter will take over. Meanwhile, we're enjoying the show.
Here we are, the first of November. The two-weeks-long All Saints holiday ends on Monday and the kids go back to school. The next school vacation is for Christmas, starting on the 20th of December, ending after the new year.
I'm enjoying watching the Paris Masters tournament on tv, the last of the Masters 1,000 series (nine tournaments through the season) at its new venue at La Défense. It's the last tournament in the Men's tennis season before the championship final in mid-November.
