LysmachiaMoon's blog: First killing frost

We've had our first killing frost last night, two weeks later than the traditional October 15 date. Everything is sparkling with frost this early morning and the birds are out reminding me to fill the bird feeder. I should put a bucket of lard on today's shopping list so I can start making suet feeders. I snagged a huge suet feeder wire holder at Goodwill this summer that I'm planning to use in deep winter, when the birds are really avid for fats. For now I'll try to keep the two small ones going.

I've got all my boston ferns and houseplants safely indoors, but I haven't done anything with the pelargoniums (geraniums) yet. I'm going to try for the first time storing them in the basement. I'm hoping to lift them and get them ready today. They are all in protected locations so I don't think ( :cross_finger:) they will have been too damaged by the frost.

Also have to remember to upend any big ceramic/concrete pots so they don't fill with water and crack. It's been my experience that you don't need to bring indoors things like that if you turn them upside down; they can store in place.
Same thing with all the hoses; I just make sure they are drained completely, coil them, and shove them under the deck or into the (unheated) greenhouse for storage.

I've got to get the henhouse insulated for winter today. The building has gaps under the eaves (covered with wire mesh to keep out weasels) to allow for air circulation during the summer, which is a great feature because I think birds suffer more from excessive heat than they do from cold. But in the cold months, I stuff rolled up newspaper into the gaps to keep the henhouse snug. I'll do the entire north side today and some of the south side to reduce drafts, but I'll hold off on fully blocking the ventilation until about December 1 unless we get some freakishly frigid weather. I've been using the "deep litter" method in the henhouse for several years now, where you put down a very deep layer of straw (about 18 inches) and simply clean off the top messy layer as needed and add more straw. Dry and semi-dry droppings filter down through the straw. In very early spring, I rake out the entire mass of straw, clean, and put down fresh straw. The straw is thoroughly dirty and damp from wet little chicken feet going over it all winter. The idea behind this is that it not only saves time, but the slowly decomposing soiled straw gives off a little heat to keep the henhouse warm. I don't know about that, but it works well...the house rarely smells bad (that's when I clean off the top layers and replace) and the hens have been thriving. I noticed that the older girls actually like to snuggle down into the deep straw at night to sleep instead of perching on the roosts.

I have to remember to find and put up my "Leaves Wanted" signs in the post office and at the local diner. It always amazes me when i see those dozens and dozens of big bags of leaves in November and by spring, after spreading them around in thick layers in the Woodland and Asian Gardens etc....gone. It's an amazing thing...all through the growing season the trees draw up nutrients from deep underground to store in their leaves, then in the autumn all those fallen leaves return the nutrients to the surface soil where the trees and other plants can use them.

The big project for this weekend is going to be tackling the berry beds and figuring out how and where to put up the berry cage. i want to avoid having to dig up and move plants as much as possible. I'm also thinking of extending the berry cage (a 10 X 10-foot dog kennel) so I can "capture" more plants, again without having to dig them up and move them around. But the first step has got to be clearing away that thorny tangle.

Apple crisp and a butternut squash are baking in the oven this morning. After a good long session working out in this frosty air that apple crisp and a cup of hot coffee are going to hit the spot!

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