Last week a friend told me the locals here were beginning to develop a sense of foreboding. It was already the middle of November, and the sun was still shining almost every day. The low temperatures were staying in the 40’s. I finally brought the banana tree inside, just because it seemed wrong not to. Things haven’t turned out the way we were anticipating around here recently, and if the weather had behaved badly, the way it should, then maybe other things would have gone the way they should, as well.
Here’s a question. When should people clean up their yards for Winter? Decades ago, our first year in the Midwest, we spent one delightful fall in Lake Forest, Illinois where, like everyone else, we raked the falling leaves out into the street. Then the city drove by in big vehicles and hauled them off. That kind of ruins one’s motivation, going forward, I’m just saying. Jim used to wait until all the leaves were down before raking them up and hauling them off. I think I might have helped once or twice. Now, he mows over the lawn periodically; we call it mulching.
We’ve been watching the ten-day forecast, carefully we thought. But, then it changed. Two days ago, on the 17th, we had the last lovely warm and blue day, as predicted. When we realized we had only one more pleasant day before the weather was turning cold, we considered our options and drove down the River to Winona, where we spent some lovely hours at the Minnesota Maritime Art Museum and enjoyed a late lunch before driving back up the River to Red Wing, arriving home after dark.
Yesterday morning, Jim was up at 5:00 a.m. He was out in the yard at first light. I was out there by 7:30 myself. We scrambled around out front on the street side until just before 9:00 when the lightening started and the rain got heavier. In the middle of the afternoon, in the 32 degree temperature with howling wind and blowing snow, we scrambled around the back yard for an hour, and deposited our lawn refuse at the city compost site just before dark, all alone.
My mother was a devoted gardener. Her children are not. We all have our own art.
Art - As I See It 