CANADIAN REGION:What are you doing October - December 2018

As gardening activities slow down this quarter I will keeping this thread going for the last three months of 2018. I doubt there is anyone in Canada who gardens 100% the whole year. I hope that will be alright with everyone.  

We have certainly had a seasonal change here in British Columbia with Fall now really on its way.  Time to put the garden to bed and start sweeping up leaves and getting ready for winter.

Meanwhile we will drift over to the more tropical regions just to see flowers and greenery and vegetable to gladden our colour-starved eyes.   

The pile of wood chips on my driveway, I expect to be cleared today ready to make it easier to keep the driveway clear of snow.  This pile of wood chips was a freebie  during the summer that I could not resist, seeing as how when I first starting using them it took me nearly two years to get my second load after using the wood chips from my own felled birch trees. The trouble was it was a larger pile than I had anticipated so took me much longer to move it where I needed it.  The difference they made to my ancient apple tree that I was going to chop down was enormous.  From small crabby apples to beautiful pest free, large and tasty apples by the third year.  I am now working on my ancient cherry tree that I started laying down the chips and already it looks healthier this year and should begin to produce superior fruit in 2019.

My compost heap is progressing as I collect fall leaves and intersperse them with the grass I have collected over the summer. I have never bought any compost since    the year I began that activity.

I have cleared one bed and planted some garlic and a new bed of strawberry plants.
I have canned peaches and tomatoes in stock plus frozen veggies.  My freezer is full so I am feeling good about my efforts this year, even though they are less than the previous year, but I did overdo the storing of apples and tomatoes the year before but it is no bad thing to have an overabundance as there is always someone to share with.  

For the last two weeks we have had lovely blue smoke-free skies and I have loved every minute of it.

A satisfying few hours in the garden today when I finally managed to clear up the pile of wood chips on my driveway before the promised rain.

I did have some help when my neighbour Bruce came by and wanted to know what was I using them for so I went on to tell him how they improved the quality and yield from my old apple tree that he had helped me with in the past, then he asked if they would be any good for his raspberries. Told him to take some to spread over his patch so he fetched his wheelbarrow and took one pile, then came back and said could he have some more, I said yes as I knew how large his patch was so in the end he took four piles and made the pile much more manageable for me.  I have enough chips to last me for anything I want to cover for next year. They are all in a neat pile at the rear of my home.

I should sleep well tonight. ZZZZZ

Kelejan wrote:A satisfying few hours in the garden today when I finally managed to clear up the pile of wood chips on my driveway before the promised rain.

I did have some help when my neighbour Bruce came by and wanted to know what was I using them for so I went on to tell him how they improved the quality and yield from my old apple tree that he had helped me with in the past, then he asked if they would be any good for his raspberries. Told him to take some to spread over his patch so he fetched his wheelbarrow and took one pile, then came back and said could he have some more, I said yes as I knew how large his patch was so in the end he took four piles and made the pile much more manageable for me.  I have enough chips to last me for anything I want to cover for next year. They are all in a neat pile at the rear of my home.

I should sleep well tonight. ZZZZZ

Nice!  Got a lot done, sounds like!

I'll put garlic in about the middle of the month. 
Move the berry bushes in containers to a sheltered area. Right now they at the back of the driveway beside the shed. 

I still have tomatoes, amaranth and butternut squash ripening as well as beans drying on the vine out there. As long as the weather holds, I'll just let them finish up right where they are. 

We were away for the weekend and it's raining and chilly out there today. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how everything is progressing.

Hi Bluelace, I hope you were not affected by those tornados, I feel so sorry for anyone caught in those. How in earth does one get through it.

With my wood chips I am happy I beat the rain. It has started raining but the forecast for this after noon is lots of rain and lightening etc.

Now to take the day off from labouring in the garden and get on with labouring in the house with all my paper clutter.  This morning I was able to get out two blue bins full of it for the recycling wagon.  This downsizing is beginning to be fun, when I find things that I knew I had but could not lay my hands on. There is still some serious stuff I need to find such as my citizenship papers. 

One thing is that when it rains there is little do do outside so I concentrate on something else. This is one reason why I like a break from gardening all year and perhaps take a break to go visiting and not worry about watering or mowing the lawn.

Hi Kelejan, 

No, we weren't affected by the tornado but thanks for asking. We have family and friends that live in that region. None of them had damage other than loss of power for a day or two so that was a relief. 

Good Luck with your downsizing. We've donated some household items of late. Just too many items collected over the years. I hated to see some of it go, but if I don't do it, then it would only leave a mess for my son to sort through when I'm gone. Not fair to him.

There is a little corner of me that is jealous of you Northern folks who actually get to wind down from gardening. Putting the beds to sleep and preparing the yard for snow , knowing that the cycle will start up again come spring.

sanderson wrote:There is a little corner of me that is jealous of you Northern folks who actually get to wind down from gardening.  Putting the beds to sleep and preparing the yard for snow    , knowing that the cycle will start up again come spring.  

+1

trolleydriver wrote:Speaking of tornadoes. The article linked below is long but it's an interesting read if you want to learn about how the Ottawa tornadoes developed and how they affected specific people. The article contains lots of photos and videos. It really is a miracle that nobody was killed. We are so thankful that we were spared the devastation but our hearts go out to those who were impacted. One tornado came so close to us ... only a few hundred feet away.

https://ottawacitizen.com/feature/a-disastrous-miracle

That really was a miracle, TD.  I hope the seriously inured recover completely.

sanderson wrote:There is a little corner of me that is jealous of you Northern folks who actually get to wind down from gardening.  Putting the beds to sleep and preparing the yard for snow    , knowing that the cycle will start up again come spring.  

They do say that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

At least after the drought we had this summer, the grass is pretty green and if the rain keeps away will need another mowing. Then my mower will have the job of shredding leaves before being thoroughly cleaned and tucked away in the shed for the winter, ready to be dug out in a few months.

We have snow now on the mountain passes.  Travelling to Vancouver from here in the Interior there are three to get through as there are three mountain ranges to cross and snow tires are needed.

I caught a glimpse of the weather news this morning and saw that Calgary had quite a fall of snow.

trolleydriver wrote: One tornado came so close to us ... only a few hundred feet away.

https://ottawacitizen.com/feature/a-disastrous-miracle

Trolleydriver, When I was a kid, there was a tornado that went through a lake community between Kingston and Sharbot Lake. My Dad and I went to have a look as that was only about 15 minutes from our cottage.  There was refrigerator floating in the lake, pieces of roof and smashed buildings on the opposite side. But right where we stood, the flower beds along the foundation of one house and the trees on the front lawn were all ripped out, yet the house remained untouched by the cyclone. 
That was close!

Down to freezing tonight.  I hope everyone has picked their frost prone plants.
Keep warm everyone, I am out tonight joining our Take Back the Night march.

It will be the first night out in the dark for some time since I stopped taking Guthrie for his evening walk.

Kelejan wrote:Down to freezing tonight.  I hope everyone has picked their frost prone plants.
Keep warm everyone, I am out tonight joining our Take Back the Night march.

It will be the first night out in the dark for some time since I stopped taking Guthrie for his evening walk.

We have a temporary warm up here, did you guys get the same?  And I hate to be ignorant, but who is Guthrie?

It was pretty cool this morning 8C when I went to the Farmers' Market but much warmer this afternoon when going to a City al fresco Thanksgiving Meal in our Millenium Park but too windy for comfort when we sat down to eat.

Lots to eat and now I home and ready for a late siesta as I am too full to want to do anything.  ZZZZ!

Guthrie was a neighbor's dog that KJ walked in the evening. The family moved.

sanderson wrote:Guthrie was a neighbor's dog that KJ walked in the evening.  The family moved.

Thanks for answering for me, sanderson. I had intended to but got sidetracked.
Yes, Scorpio, Guthrie was a delightful oldish dog that enjoyed coming out with me every evening until he and his family moved too far away. He was the most laid back dog I ever knew and he was a delight to walk with, once I learned not to fall over him.
He is afraid of thunder and shook like a jelly until it passed. He is a cross between a border collie and a German shepherd. A tall, black and thin dog with long legs and I still miss him.

Kelejan wrote:

sanderson wrote:Guthrie was a neighbor's dog that KJ walked in the evening.  The family moved.

Thanks for answering for me, sanderson. I had intended to but got sidetracked.

Oh, look!  A squirrel!  My husband and I went speed shopping for me yesterday and he said I kept seeing squirrels.  It would be interesting to see a GPS map of me in Kohl's.

OG I actually laughed out loud at that one!

Kelejan wrote:

sanderson wrote:Guthrie was a neighbor's dog that KJ walked in the evening.  The family moved.

Thanks for answering for me, sanderson. I had intended to but got sidetracked.
Yes, Scorpio, Guthrie was a delightful oldish dog that enjoyed coming out with me every evening until he and his family moved too far away. He was the most laid back dog I ever knew and he was a delight to walk with, once I learned not to fall over him.
He is afraid of thunder and shook like a jelly until it passed. He is a cross between a border collie and a German shepherd. A tall, black and thin dog with long legs and I still miss him.

I love the name!  Those furbabies ...they do wend their way into our hearts!

Scorpio Rising wrote:

Kelejan wrote:

sanderson wrote:Guthrie was a neighbor's dog that KJ walked in the evening.  The family moved.

Thanks for answering for me, sanderson. I had intended to but got sidetracked.
Yes, Scorpio, Guthrie was a delightful oldish dog that enjoyed coming out with me every evening until he and his family moved too far away. He was the most laid back dog I ever knew and he was a delight to walk with, once I learned not to fall over him.
He is afraid of thunder and shook like a jelly until it passed. He is a cross between a border collie and a German shepherd. A tall, black and thin dog with long legs and I still miss him.

I love the name!  Those furbabies ...they do wend their way into our hearts!

+1

Not much doing in my garden these last two days especially as the weather was perfect for it.

The reason nothing has been done is that I managed to get bitten by a dog. I was invited to a BBQ at my near neighbour and his girlfriend brought her dog with her.
Unfortunately for me this dog must have taken a dislike to me and came up to me from behind and had a go at my right ankle.  It was a small bite, as bites go but it did make for some messy blood on my sock and on the carpet.  I must admit it did hurt like h--l.

They bandaged it up, but today when I told my best friend about it she passed on that message to my neighbour and between them they insisted I go and get an anti-tetanus injection which I agreed was a good idea as the skin was broken.  So they carted me off to our hospital and left me there.

So as mine was a minor injury I waited and waited and waited while other more serious stuff was seen to first.  Quite right, of course.  Well, I had to wait about three hours and I could see that the staff were concerned for me but I told them don't be, you know your priorities.  Once I got in, they redressed the wound after putting some sealing stuff on as it could not be stitched, gave me my shot and an anti-biotic prescription and sent me home.  They said my friends had done the right thing.

Isn't it wonderful to have such good friends?

The reason this is on a gardening blog is that I could not do any gardening today.

Sorry to hear about your ordeal KJ.  How big is that dog? Has it bitten other people? I sure hope you have no serious or lasting effects from the bite.

I spent Friday afternoon trimming our cedar hedges. There is about 200 feet of hedge and a lot of it is quite wide and high (8 feet in places). I have to use a step ladder to trim the tops. This has been an annual ritusl for 30 years and the hedges continue to grow bigger.

KJ, Was the dog current on rabies shots? Tetanus is bad but so is rabies.