November Hill farm journal, 169

 We’re well into autumn here, with the dogwoods, tulip poplars, hickories, and maples mostly done with their shows of color. The oaks are still shifting and we’re bombarded with fallen leaves, which, by the way, I actually now leave where they fall, knowing that between wind and rain and horse hooves they will gradually decline over the coming winter and spring. The most important reason to leave them though is to allow all the beneficial insects who are pupating in them to overwinter and emerge in springtime. 

When Doug Tallamy talks about keystone species, the oak is one of top hosts, with several hundred species of insect living and growing and reproducing in its foliage. Think about how many birds and small mammals those insects feed. Leaving the leaves is one of the most important things we can do to positively impact the ecosystems in our properties.

And remember, you don’t have to leave them exactly where they fall - if you want some lawn, gently rake them onto sheets and move them to areas where they can be through the winter.

In other news, we have a lot of spots of color still happening around November Hill. A number of my native plantings are shooting up new growth and even flowering right now. Yesterday I saw green-headed coneflowers, goldenrod, and several herbs blooming anew. The pollinators are busy on our warmish days collecting as much pollen and nectar as they can before winter. And the late-blooming asters are also providing late season nutrition for bees of all kinds.

A few images with some color:

The herd is doing well, though I’ve had to absolutely insist they eat their feed tubs and hay each morning before turning them out. They are slightly obsessed with acorns this year and when the gates are opened each morning, Keil heads in turn to his favorite oaks to forage. The only good part about this is that they are all moving constantly all over the entire farm, but I want to be sure they’re getting plenty of wet feed into their guts! 

This week we’ve had some very warm days for November, but I see that after Hurricane Nora goes through we will have more normal November days to come. I’ve been doing some cleaning in the feed/tack room in advance of the cooler weather, and got all the stalls bedded yesterday for tomorrow’s rain and wind. 

Writing and seeing clients and getting ready to paint the bathroom this weekend! May all stay safe in this late season hurricane. 

Vote Blue - Democracy Needs Us

 

November Hill farm journal, 168

 We lived through the bathroom renovation. I need to take photos but will wait until I get the painting done and mirrored cabinets hung, as we opted to do that ourselves. I’m so happy with the floor, the new toilet, and the vanity, though. Very nice. 

The toilet was a bit of a fiasco. The one I’d purchased was a smidge too tall for the windowsill, so I scrambled to find a replacement, found one, got it home, and it was broken inside the box. Returned, no more anywhere nearby like it, finally found one similar at a different store, and thankfully got it and it installed with a perfect fit. So the now spare new toilet that didn’t fit was installed in the downstairs guest bathroom. Which was on the list anyway, so now that bathroom is halfway to being updated. 

I spent the last week at Weymouth writing with two of my best writing friends. Beautiful space and time and company, as always.

And we have some fun company up at Stillwater this week. 

Looking forward to a calm and quiet week to come. :)

A Lovely Writing Weekend At Stillwater

 On Thursday I headed up to Stillwater for some very sweet writing and retreating time. The journey was extended by two hours due to random interstate travel issues so by the time I got there I was more than in need of this respite! This trip I also hosted a fellow writer and it was nice to have the communal writing energy flowing. 

How wonderful it was to have a several hour writing discussion on Sweet Bay Bald! This was our view and as the late afternoon shifted to early evening the light became magical. 

I enjoyed the fall landscape in the garden beds around Stillwater too. 

Stillwater has amazing energy and I’m feeling the creative energy build each time I write there. It’s a wonderful place and I’m grateful we found it.

I love the fall shape and colors of the ferns. 

And the doghobble. 

Speaking of dogs, Baloo loves it too. 

This view from my deck chair remains a favorite. I can see our herd out there even though they remain on November Hill. 

The oakleaf hydrangea is to me most beautiful in fall and winter. I love these colors and the dried blooms. 

The hiking on the larger property was also wonderful, to the degree that my phone never even came out of my pocket. I am home and restored, just in time for the renovation of our upstairs bathroom here on November Hill to begin tomorrow! Whew. Ready to be on the other side of that but at least I’m starting in a very good state of mind. 

November Hill farm journal, 167

 We made it safely through Ian with many power blinks but no outage, I’d say thousands of tiny leafy branches on the ground, 5 inches of rain, and Echo bee hive tipped over. Thanks to my husband, who went down to check the apiary late in the night and was able to get them upright and put back together again. 

The rain was steady and our rainwater run-off solutions worked well. And the farm got a deep watering that it needed. I’m so sorry for the areas that were devastated, and heartened by the eco-conscious neighborhood called Babcock Ranch in Florida, completely run by solar panels and designed to manage flooding from hurricanes like Ian. Ian went pretty much right over Babcock Ranch, and no one living there lost power, water, or internet. Imagine if Desantis spent all the money he’s wasted on funding smart infrastructure and neighborhoods like Babcock Ranch (who is the completed vision of one man, a former NFL player). That’s all I’ll say about that, but the possibilities are exciting under the right leadership.

My biggest focus right now is that we’re in October! Yesterday I changed Clementine’s fun dog tag to her Halloween one, once things dry out tomorrow I’ll change the gate wreaths to the autumn ones, and I was inspired over the weekend to do some needed cleaning inside the house, which I hope is the beginning of a month of high energy, as I’m going to need it. This week is fairly quiet, but next week Clem has her three-month abdominal ultrasound, the next week is the upstairs bathroom renovation stage 1, and the final week is my mom’s 90th birthday and my writer-in-residence week at Weymouth. 

Today we’re still cloudy, the trees are still green, except for the dogwoods, who are beginning their shift to deeper color, and everything is very quiet and still. I’m happy to be sitting here with coffee and sleeping dogs for a bit to enjoy this time.