Fertilizer Friday: December 2

Ho, Ho, Ho.  

No, I am not auditioning for the part of the Jolly Green Giant, though I do share many physical characteristics with the verdant fellow--I try to be jolly and, sigh, I am rather large.  (Is there a Jolly Green Giantess somewhere?)

 The ho-ing around (no, not THAT kind!)  is my feeble attempt to get into the Christmas mood and out of the gardening one.  I've heard a few folks say they wish we had some snow to make it seem more like Christmas.  Even though I like snow as much as the next Wisconsinite, and I know it's eventually going to fall in epic proportions, I'm happy to say we don't have any.

Yet.

So today, being Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie's, I thought I'd bore you all with pictures of the non-flowering yard.  Though I try to appreciate all the seasons of the year and all the seasons of my life for their blessings, I have to confess that late fall, before snow covers the ground,  is my favorite time of all.  The gardening frenzy is over, hunting season is also over (except for bow-hunting and black powder, but they have to aim a lot better to hit me) and the dogs and I are free to roam at will.

This morning we did just that.

There's Teddy and Pudding hiding behind my sorry excuse for a Christmas tree/decoration on the back porch.  Under all that faux-greenery lurks a tomato cage.  We are on the stretch and warm-up phase of our walk.  (And tinkle phase.)

First, we have to make breakfast for the Girls.  Here they are dining on dear Screech's leftover cat food.  Did you know that chickens will eat just about anything?  They are definitely not Vegans.  True story.  Table scraps are their favorite and meat scraps rank highest on their preferred list.    I especially like to make sure they have enough protein in the cold winter months.

Ok, the Girls are fed.  Let's see what else is of interest around here.

Teddy and Pudding decided we should go for a walk in the back yard.  We strolled past the Quarry on our way.

The water level is up and there's a layer of thin ice on the pond. 

Lots and lots of rocks on our way to the Back Eight.

 The flowers are gone that used to hide them, and the snow isn't here yet to bury them, so this is   another reason I love this time of year.  No work to do and rocks to look at.  Doesn't get any better than that.

This early in the morning, the ground is still frozen solid and makes walking a joy, no mud, no water hazards to cross, everything is just right.  And there was very little wind, either, so the dogs and I had a great time.

Heading out behind the windmill, here's something else I wanted to show you...these are old telephone poles given to us by a friend.  They are all cedar and much, much bigger than they appear here, many of them are over 20 feet long.  These will be used for making more split-rail fences around the gardens.  I love old split-rail fences but since we are on a tight budget,  we have never bought lumber.  The ones we have around the yard are all from landfills (it's amazing how many we have found in the dumps over the years) or from neighbors who no longer wanted theirs.  Any and all cedar logs are welcome here.

Our farm fields are definitely taking on Fall's colors.  There's a shadow of the windmill in the hay field and one of me, too. 

Heading up to the woods, I took a picture back toward home from the Back Eight.  I so appreciate the solitude living here on this old farm of ours provides.  No houses for over a mile in some directions.  Just peace.  This morning it was very still. 

There's Mom's house on the far right.  When I was a very little kid, I played up by the woods whenever I had a chance. And do you know what my favorite destination was?

This old rock pile. 

Some little girls play House and Dress Up.  I played Rocks.  I used to pretend I was in the Mountains. Never mind I had never seen a mountain in my life and that our farm is really rather flat; this pile of fieldstone is what started my lifelong obsession with rocks.  The trees you see in the background are on the line fence between our little farm and the neighbors.  I sat up here and played for hours on end.  My folks would worry I was lost and would yell for me and I'd have to hightail it home so they didn't have to stop work to find me.  Since my late, older brother was thirteen years my senior, he had grown and left the farm, so I had no one around to play with, but that was an advantage too.....I also had no one to pick on me for being silly.  It wasn't as lonely as it sounds.  (And it also explains a lot about me, doesn't it??)

I run the lawnmower up here every other week or so in the summer to keep my walking trails in shape.  This trail borders the woods that doesn't belong to us, on the left, with the Back Eight on the right.  It was so beautiful up there this morning; the sun was warm on my face and the dogs were having a great time romping, too.

The trail I mow sort of meanders a little, I wish it meandered more; next summer I'll work on that.  Right now, it basically makes a loop through the white pines.  We drive our cars out here all the time, too, it's another one of my favorite things to do.

The sky was so blue today; I have to confess something, I rarely touch up any of my photos.  I admire the work and diligence that so many other bloggers have put into the pictures on their posts, but frankly, I'm lazy.  I might straighten one up once in awhile or crop something, but I just don't take the time to make every photo Perfect.  Yup, I'm like that.  What you see, is what you get.  No makeup here. 

Here we are on our way back toward home.  I know this post looks just like an earlier one I did this fall on Walkies with the dogs, but this may very well be the last time we have such a pleasant day and I wanted to commemorate it.  Teddy and Pudding have the biggest grins on their little faces, how they love this freedom!

Here we go around one of my meanders and past the old hay rake.  We still use this piece of machinery, even though it is an antique.

It is very photogenic.

Just think what someone with great photographic and editing talent could do with this old wheel?

Leaving the rake behind, we walk along the frosty trail heading around the White Forest.

Coming around the corner, it's much chillier here in the shade.  We all rush toward the sunshine.

Doggies in the lead, there's always something to sniff.

Rounding the bend, on the homestretch to the windmill.

We walk past the Quarry on the other side.

The pond looks really pretty right now in that dark, blue color.  You'd think it was really, really deep, but it's only about five feet.

More rocks and trees.  If the little kid I was back then could see this place now, I wonder if my folks would ever have gotten me back home for chores? 

I thought about decorating the dome in the Formal Garden, but once again, I'm lazy.  And everything I put up on a nice day like this, will have to be taken down in snowbanks up to my nether regions later on.  That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.

No flowers, just rocks and trees.  And speaking of Fertilizer Friday, this tree could use some.  It's not supposed to be yellow.

The cedars are supposed to be yellow, though, so they're OK.

 What a difference from August's view, though..............

The tree below could have been part of my Accidental Post for Donna at GardenwalkGardentalk...I ran into it repeatedly hauling pallets of stone out of the Formal Garden most of the summer, so it will be our Christmas tree as soon as I get the energy to find a saw.  

We have been cutting our own trees for years now, this one was a volunteer seedling that sprang up in the rocks by the Quarry.  I used to think I couldn't bring myself to lay a saw to the base of one of our own homegrown trees, but once I did, it wasn't as bad as I thought.  I have lots of them here and there, growing on for the future.  Even though our trees are not perfect, they're special.  It is still a little bittersweet though.  I still remember our yard the way it looked when we built this place:

Little Hut on the Back Road circa 1979

The blue line was our original one acre and the corn field behind the house is where the Quarry Garden is now and beyond that is the Back Eight.  Not a tree in sight.  (Except for across the road, and that doesn't belong to us.)

Oh, here's a few shots of my attempts at Holiday Decorating.

Poor Ernie.  This sort of looks like a badly-disguised missile silo, but it's supposed to be a tree.  In reality, it's another badly disguised tomato cage.

He was much happier in the summer:

Pretty in Pink.  Sorry, Ernie.  There are gardeners out there who could really dress you up handsomely for Christmas.  Unfortunately, I'm not one of 'em.

The doggies say it's time to go in.

Time for their breakfast.  

And time to.........

Wave goodbye to Fall!

(Sorry for the awkward pose, couldn't figure out how to take the picture and wave all at the same time, ha!)   I told you I have a lot in common with the Jolly Green Guy, check out that shadow.  Yikes.  

Ho Ho Ho............looks like we've found the Jolly Giantess.


Linking up with Tootsie, please go and visit Glenda and all the fantastic blogs at Fertilizer Friday

I am also late for linking up with Carolyn for her lovely 'Walk in the Garden' challenge.  Please do visit This Grandmother's Garden   

Carolyn has indescribably beautiful photography and her post on sugar-frosted foliage is a calorie-free way to indulge your senses!