I think gourds are pretty. I have a few in some pottery as a decoration on my front porch bench. I pared down my decorations this year thanks to Old Joe. It’s one of the little changes I can make to save that money for other more necessary items.
Compost pile is DONE & ready for this year's leaves. All the beds, with the exception of beds with flowers, have been amended with compost & I turned it into the dirt, too. The flowers are zinnias & tithonia – we've had heavy frosts this week, but not a freeze so the flowers are still viable & there are small butterflies visiting (and some bees) so I am leaving them up until they are freeze-killed. I also took down the hummer feeders …. doubtful any stragglers will come through this late, but if they do, they can feed on the tithonia.
Next project is upgrading the fencing from plastic mesh/plastic zip ties to galvanized wire/stainless steel zip ties. The fencing panels will be a little heavier, but still very portable & I won't have to spend half a day (at least) in the fall & then again in the spring replacing brittle/broken zip ties. I buy cheap bags of zip ties (the UV resistant ones don't last long enough past the 'regular' ones to justify the increased price IMO) – if I'd known about the stainless, I probably could have paid for them twice over & then some over what I've spent on plastic zip ties over the years since I first made the fencing.
Some pictures;
“Black gold …. …. the old Beverly Hillbillies theme song was rattling around in my head the whole time I was digging, just couldn't get away from it … specifically the line 'black gold, Texas tea'.
We have gorgeous maples … 8 total. The 3 that would be across the driveway from the garden are the most gorgeous in the fall – the other 5 less so & they have smaller leaves that make the best compost. The bigger leaves need to be chopped up with the mower or they stay whole & leathery, even after a year in a cold pile.
Plenty of leaves to be picked up & the trees still have about ¾ yet to drop.
PS: always 'something' ... yesterday, after a trip to the hardware store, I unloaded the PU, put up the tailgate, and promptly walked into the hitch sticking out with the knee that had surgery in March. The pain almost put me on the ground & I was close to throwing up. I did not hit the kneecap straight on, which was a good thing. I have a bruise & the swelling from yesterday has mostly diminished - knee is no more uncomfortable today than usual so I don't think I re-broke anything. As for the trailer hitch ... it's the kind that slips in/out of a square receiver & then a pin holds it. That hitch has been on the truck SO long, that it took some 'love' taps with a sledge hammer to loosen it up & I managed to work it off. No more banging up my knee(s), shins or anything else on that hitch.