Putting the Garden to Bed

It's one of those rare Fridays when I don't have too much grading to do nor too much prep (though S.S. beckons and some work for Tuesday's class). I'm between a talk given last night to WCF on the church and poverty--in 35 minutes, no less--and the annual church missions conference (the highlight of our "liturgical" year :)). And so, because there will be so few Fridays without rain or snow remaining in the semester, I am spending today domestically, both outside and in. I'm putting the garden to bed for the winter, always a hard thing to do because the color of the flowers brings so much immediate joy. They are at their ragtag end, however, except for a few hearty annuals, so out they come. The leaves are falling, but the WCFers won't rake them until much closer to their pickup time. (We pay them in fall conference scholarship money--our backyard bordered by two huge oaks and two large maples plus one cheerful ginko is way too big for us two old folk to manage by ourselves.) Six energetic first years can take care of the mountain of leaves in no time flat. This year I am going to try something new, however, in the flower department. I am going to plant bulbs in the outside planters, store the pots in the garage and bring them out for early color in the spring, all according to directions from a local nursery. Perhaps that will shorten the winter some.

On the inside, I am making a big pot of vegetable beef soup and a pot roast and a loaf of bread in the breadmaker. We've had none of these for months, but the cool bite to the air makes them seem just right. I might even have enough to get us through the week and perhaps even have some guests. There's just not enough time today to make applesauce, but I'm going to have to get at that fall Friday task soon too.