Mid Autumn at the Farm

Hello dear friends, where does the time go?  We are approaching the end of October and while we have not yet had Hallowe'en many stores already have Christmas decorations out!  Not so fast I say!  

We have had some very unsettled weather at the farm.  Although we have had some lovely fall colours we havent had the glorious display we have had in other years.  We have had several days of high winds which have stripped most of the leaves off of the trees.  

This year we have noted that we have been absolutely over run with chipmunks.  They are everywhere...running along the split cedar fence, in the hedge, in the stone wall and even running along our retaining wall behind the house.  Even if we cant see them we can hear them rustling in the leaves.  They are quite bold and have even been scurrying across our driveway right in front of the dogs.

We have had some nice misty mornings.  This is the view of the hen house and run from one of our decks.

We have been gradually downsizing our flock.  Because we have fewer sheep they havent been spending as much time grazing pasture across the road.  On a particularly nice weekend we sent them over for a change of pace....and here they are coming back home.

Colourful leaves in a gust of wind.

The lawns have had the final cut for the season.  It is always a rush at this time of year to try to get just one more wheel barrow of weeds or to get the last of the bulbs planted.  On a warm fall day it is just too easy to spend the day outside puttering.  I do find that by the end of the fall I am looking forward to a break from the garden to rest and recharge my batteries for the following year.

This pretty little rose never did live up to the pink colour promised on the tag and I dont think it has ever been more than about 12 inches tall.  Still it is very pretty.

I am quite a fan of wave petunias.  These are starting to get a little tired but they are great annuals for planters and baskets.  I love this shade of deep red although deep purple has always been my favourite.

This weekend promises to be very wet so we are turning our attentions back to our interior renovations.  We have a busy winter planned involving a new kitchen...more on that later!

Garden Snippets

Hello dear friends, it has been a while since I posted anything so I thought I would share a few quick photos of snippets from the garden.

We have two of these lovely concrete urns on our landing.  Chrysanthemums are widely available right now and I have been adding them to planters.

We recently added some laying hens to our collection.  Having fresh eggs every day is one of the many benefits of having a farm.  Recently however the hens have staged an escape from the hen house and while they enjoy the freedom they can destroy a garden in record time!

We have had a frost already and while the last week has been quite warm the flowers are now past their prime.

This waterfall in under review and will probably be moved to a different part of the koi pond next year.

I almost didnt see this little fellow curled up in the garden.

Pretty Holly has been struggling with arthritis in her hips and spine and was recently diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy. Her brother Drakk also developed the same condition which is not unusual in aging German Shepherds.  For now she is reasonably comfortable and is still able to amble around the property keeping an eye on things and we are enjoying being able to spend extra time with her.

The sedum is doing very well at this time of year.

Our ginko bilboa tree has lovely yellow leaves.  I love the shape!

Papery hydrangea flowers.

The chickens are out again!

For our Canadian visitors I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!