Saturday, October 13, 2007

Things you're not seeing

...because the camera is away, with Tom, on his trip.

Robins. Robins, today, flying south, a few at a time, a hundred at a time, flap flap flap swoop with their wings. They've been flying by all day, just above the treetops. Last week it was starlings, two weeks before it was red-winged blackbirds. The blackbirds even stopped for a visit in our maples. LOUD! Then, as I stood there in awe just staring, some unknown and noise-less signal caused them all to fly off, with an immense whoosh sound of their thousands of wings.

The changing trees. The deciduous trees are all in and around this pantone shade: wait, I can't find my wheel. So, if you squint, they're an unhealthy orange-brown.

Babies. Seedling babies, that is; of all the little seeds I planted in the greenhouse last weekend, most are up already.

The gross white scum that forms atop tomato gel when you squeeze the overripe fruits into jars for seedsaving. (Be thankful for not seeing this.)

The new chicken run. They're getting fenced in for the winter, as I don't trust the neighborhood raptors. The fence isn't finished yet, but boy will they be mad when it is. Lucky for them, their "pen" takes up almost 300' of fencing, so they shouldn't complain overmuch.

Bugs. Specifically, bugs eating my precious plants. I have taken to twice-daily prophylactic raids into the greenhouse garden to squish the cabbage worms that insist on munching my broccoli. But I spare the swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, who're doing just as much damage to the neighboring parsnips and parsley.

Produce/recent harvest. Fall peas (egads!) and my one-and-only head of broccoli romanesco, the only cabbage plant (other than broccoli) that survived this August's monsoon rains, were dinner last night. And the lettuces, runner beans, rutabagas and radicchio have loved the cold weather that's moved in since our 90* day on Monday. I swear they've doubled in size.

(Can I just mention this again: fall peas. It's amazing they made it into the cooking pan.)

Ah, well. I'm sparing you my blurry shots; just use your imaginations.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely descriptions. I could smell that seed saving tomato foam/slime stuff as I read. A sure sign of autumn.

Always amazed and inspired by what you and your garden produce.

Christy said...

Where are you located? The redwing blackbird and starlings winter over here and raid our feeders all winter long.

El said...

Nada: aw, shucks. And I still need to deal with that slime (more than a week later) so thanks for reminding me...

Christy: Hah! Shipped them to you, then. Nah. Some starlings usually hang around, but the redwings are usually goners by Halloween. Sad, as I love their song. We're in SW Michigan.