Can't stop fall

Even though the leaves are falling, there are plants that are still going strong. The turtle head, day liles, and impatiens still think its summer. The mix of color from the flowers, fall leaves and greens is wonderful. Pat planted mums today. We will cover them with leaves, after the first frost, in the hope that they winter over. The potato vines, hostas and turf grass shout out to you. It's as if they know that a killing frost is in the wind. They want their last burst of color. We took all the solar lights out of the back yard because they just don't get enough light anymore. When we see Orion out the front door at night , you know winters coming.

We are the odd house in the neighborhood every fall. What is with raking leaves? I mean you can't set fire to the piles anymore, what with kids getting hit by cars and all. The neighbors spend hours raking leaves so the city can pick them up. Maybe it's the same mindset that insists on washing your car in the driveway every couple of days. I don't know. Well, none the less, we mow our leaves. No sense paying for sweet peat if we don't mulch the leaves. The only raking we'll do is to direct the leaves where we want them.