The Fall of Summer

Happy Fall Equinox! this marks the official fall of Summer but it really fell a couple of weeks ago when some of the Sumach leaves started turning red in the backyard. I took it as nature's way of giving me the heads up and heeded the advice by starting my fall cleaning. Cutting back all perennials, washing vents, walls and, ceilings in preparation for Falloween decorations.

With each passing day, more and more leaves are changing color.

The bursts of yellow, crimson red and orange leaves remind me of a Van Gough painting.

Which I predict within two weeks and one bad Fall wind storm will leave the trees bare once more. 

This was Abuela's favorite time of year and one of the selling features she used to get me to leave Venezuela. Telling me about the trees that change color in Canada and how beautiful it was, especially the yellow trees. Something I just had to see with my very own eyes.

Ironically enough there are more yellow trees on the property than any other color. Being surrounded by them feels comforting and serendipitous at the same time.

Greenacre is all ready for Falloween, been ready since mid-August, soon as I saw those Sumach leaves. Thought to myself, "yup, time to start the transition" and let go of Summer.

Now Summer 2020 will go down as the most epic Summer ever because of this little addition to the clan.

What started as a prank with a stuffed life-size husky, quickly turned into a real-life husky. When my reaction to "Mommy we got a dog" was the complete opposite of what was expected. The hunt began and by the next weekend, one of the twins came to tell me that Daddy messaged a person about a dog. Now the house is puppy proofed, the floors lined with pads and, littered with chew toys. 

Her arrival equaled my departure from the little sleep I got as Miss Luna loves long walks in the wee morning hours to smell the wind and every blade of grass until she finds the perfect one to pee on. A huge fan of three o'clock in the morning runs, soccer matches and long games of chase.

It's been the greatest learning opportunity for the girls, feeling under their own skin some of a parent's responsibility, unconditional love, and selflessness. Starting with the night we brought her home and she peed on us. Instead of getting upset, my girl told me it was okay because it was Luna's pee. Thank goodness because we were only half-hour into the 2 and a half-hour drive home. Took that moment to explain to her that is the unconditional love we feel for them. That no matter what they do, we love them no matter what. Hearing her say "now I get it", that's truly priceless.

Abuela always told me that everything has a price and for every credit, there will be a debit. Things have to die to make room for the new. Ironically, Luna was born on the 9th and Abuela died on the 9th. She would have adored her, especially when Luna jumped into the pool after the twins went underwater thinking she needed to save them. Never being in a pool before, she jumped in without hesitating and went underwater for the first time. Her expression says it all when she found out it was all in vain.

Her nocturnal schedule has me enjoying more of these breathtaking sunsets and

sunrises that remind me of how amazing Dios is. 

Blessing my home with such a sweet and brave puppy during such a strange time but it probably wouldn't have happened any other way. With the girls learning from home, it became the perfect time to get a puppy. It is easier just to flow with what is happening then fighting against it. Like wearing grey colored clothing to match her pet hair instead of trying to keep it off the clothing.

With age come acceptance and resignation. You get better at picking your battles because you realize that most things don't matter in the grand scheme of life.

 

Nothing stays the same anyhow so you savor and hold on to those moments that bring you joy while distancing yourself from that which does not.

 Here are some of mine.

Even though Autumn just has begun, it feels like it's falling too. The hail yesterday like the first red leaves on the Sumach is a sign of things to come. Winter is right around the corner so enjoy this bootiful time of the year and this compilation of the previous Falloweens because this year as you might know is a little different.

Keep moving and enjoy the view along the way.

Fall Gardening Tips

Summer 2017 came and went in a blink of an eye.

It wont go down as the best Summer weather ever but it was a great one for my garden.

All that rain and cooler temperatures kept my garden beds very green and lush.

Seems almost criminal to cut them back but the time has come.

I started by cutting back my tiger lilies, African Zinnia and Shasta daisies a few weeks ago.

They had already begun to turn brown and wilt.

Being extra careful not to cut off the emerging buds below.

Here are some websites to help you better identify which perennials you should cut back and when.

Naturework.com has great information on which perennials you should pinch and prune

Better Home & Gardens has a great list on which perennials to cut back

and

Fall 101 at Gardens Alive tells you the don'ts of Fall pruning

Everything in my garden is pruned back with the exception of  my Gardillas,

Echinaceas and

  Rudbeckias.

They will turn to seeds and hopefully give me some new plants in the Spring.

Next is the worse chore of all, weeding. The beds had alot more weeds this year because of the rain and it was a constant battle keeping them under control. Come Fall I make sure to remove as many as possible so they dont develop a deeper root system or spread.

 A mini garden rake is a great tool for this. It helps to ease stubborn weeds out by loosing the roots, making it easier to rip them out.

Now for the most important step of all and the one thing I highly recommend.

MUCLH!

This is 2 yards of it and approximately 6 hours of labour. 

So I can get these 6 Benefits of mulching.

Grillo Services has this great article that explains how

Mulch In The Fall For Healthy Plants In The Spring.

Last Spring I noticed a huge difference in my plants and garden beds. Less weeding, healthier plants and bigger flowers. As well as it looks cleaner with the mulch.

Here are the beds now, cut back, de-weeded and mulched.

There are a few plants that you can harvest seeds from for next year.

I collect my Cosmos and Zinnias seeds.

The flowers dry into these seed balls . 

Which I cut and store in a marked envelope.

Here is a more extensive list to help you harvest your seeds.

Top 10 Plants for Harvesting Seeds

Now to enjoy thus glorious time of the year.

Saved the best tip for last,

ENJOY IT ALL....from the cutting back, weeding, mulching, seed saving or  doing nothing at all.

Life is about doing what you love, being happy, finding joy and being grateful for what you have.

Lucky for me gardening is all of the above.

Happy Fall y'all!

Bootifying Greenacre

Halloween is HUGE  at Greenacre. A close second to Christmas but one of the girls most favourite holiday. I think the candy has alot to do with it but I make sure to bootify Greenacre every year for them.

 Alot of the decorations are from the dollar store.

 I just group and stage them to look super spooky.

 Mesh ribbon has become my new favourite thing to decorate with for obvious reasons.

 Ghosts hanging around the backyard.

 Skeletons and pumpkins greeting them when they come home from school.

My Fall ball is made by tying 2 hanging baskets together and weaving a piece of mesh around it. 

 Glued a couple of leaves and voila! and Fall ball is born.

 Can you tell I have a thing for owls?

 In the Spring we had to rip out the grapes because of all the bees that the grapes attracted. I used the grapes vines to make this garland. It looks so good that I might just rip out the other grape vines to make another garland.

The tall light brown branches are dried up daylily stems. I leave them on after they have bloom until they turn brown and then gather them to use as a Fall decoration.

I used to use corn stalks but between the animals eating the corn, the wind blowing them out of place and the moisture turning the leaves brown....the dried up daylily stems made a better alternative.

Here are some free Halloween printables to Bootify your home.

Have a Bootiful Halloween!