THIS is WINTER

The weather has actually been very winter-like for a change. Today's dog walk was just about perfect: temps in the high 20's, no wind, light snowfall. The only problem was the icy patches beneath the snow.

Even though my neighbor blows my driveway, I enjoy shoveling when the snow is light and powdery, especially in the dark when it is so silent. So peaceful.

While I am not doing much outside, some things have been fixed inside. The landline died, and when Frontier came to fix it, I decided to just do away with it. The end result was upgraded equipment and a much lower Frontier bill. Now I'm chasing down all the accounts that use my old phone number.

The microwave started making zapping noises, as though there were metal in there, so I had that replaced. It took a while for the unit to be delivered and installed, so I had to "rough it" - use the stovetop for reheating food, making popcorn, cooking bacon, etc. That resulted in more pots and pans being used, so more dishwashing. Glad that is taken care of.

The other pressing matter has been getting my RMD started. Having three different IRAs complicated things, but I think everything is ready to go now.

Today's "helper".

Happiness is a warm lap.

Fall is bustin' out all over

It's that time of the year, when the common milkweed lets loose with its fluff-carrying seeds. This batch should help repopulate the milkweed forest in the meadow.

We did have a light frost this past week, the kind that frosts the rooftops but that is about it. Definitely not a killing frost. Still, I dragged in the houseplants that have been summering on the deck.

My over-the-range microwave starting making zapping noises, so now I'm afraid to use it. I priced a new one - $300 plus $195 to install. I have to pay for Beau's teeth cleaning first. Meanwhile, I'm judging whether I really need a microwave at all. The function I miss the most so far is the timer.

Speaking of Beau, he has almost forgiven me for Friday's trip to the vet. At least he doesn't run away as soon as he sees me. They had to pull three teeth, so his mouth is sore. He still seems wobbly from the anestesia, or maybe from not eating. He's picky, likes just his Purina cat chow, won't even eat people food. I put out a Friskie's "soup" in case he gets hungry enough to try it.

Other excitement in the neighborhood was a police raid on the next block, at an Airbnb. It occurred in the middle of the night, and I slept through it. I didn't even know we had an Airbnb nearby, even though I frequently walk the dog past that house.

Speaking of Clio, a neighbor dog that bit her a few months ago took another run at us the other day. If I see "Leo" in the yard, we turn around. This past Thursday I didn't see him, and we weren't even in front of his house when he appeared out of nowhere. No injuries this time, but I did report it to Animal Control. Today, in a different neighborhood, a German Shepherd that usually just watches us walk by decided to bark and lunge even though we were on the other side of the street. I'm beginning to feel like I can't walk my dog anywhere safely.

Power up

I was lying on the couch when I heard something beep, something chime, and something roar. Since I had a cat in my lap, I didn't want to get up to check on the noises. It turns out there was a brief power outage. It lasted less than a minute, but the whole house generator I had installed this past summer kicked in like it is supposed to. (That was the roar; the other noises were devices coming back online.) So at least it works.

The weather has been barely tolerable for dog walking, which means it brings the backyard birds. These photos aren't very good, but they document some of the most recent visitors.

Junco

Robin

House finch

Nuthatch

The appearance of this guy was a bit confusing at first, as I thought it was my cat Finn... but wasn't Finn inside? Yes, he was. I think this feline belongs to some new neighbors that live about a block away. Finn isn't very interested in birds, but this one was in stalking mode.

Not Finn

I'm still working on my outdoor xmas decor. The flamingo chorus is up, with a solar-powered spotlight this year. The fall wreath on the front porch is now an evergreen one (plastic - it will outlast us all). All that is left is a net of lights for the trellis.

I came, I saw, I bought

The Saturday before last, I visited two nurseries and bought nothing (a rare occurance). This past Saturday I planned to visit two more nurseries, bought so much at one that I skipped the other. (I had stopped at the skipped one Friday, to scope things out, but found only one plant that captivated me, which I can return for later if I so wish.)

After a drive into the country that took me past the Spencerville covered bridge, down a road that turned to gravel, to another gravel road, to ANOTHER gravel road, I was the first to arrive at the Riverview Native Plant Nursery open house. According to their website, the plants are "native to northeastern Indiana with local genotypes and known provenance". And they have shrubs and trees as well as perennials (to my demise).

I came with the intention of replacing a butterfly weed and a purple prairie clover that went MIA from the fall planted prairie sampler. I also wanted more prairie smoke, because three is not enough. I didn't see any big blue stem, but I asked and they appeared, a bit skimpy on top but with robust root systems. And then there were the impulse selections.

I passed up the rain garden/wet ground plantings. I could plant a rain garden next to the driveway, but I'm not ready yet. I ignored the coneflower - got plenty of that. I was going to snub the coreopsis as well, but after eyeballing an entire patch of it in full bloom behind the house, the result of self-seeding, decided I could make use of that somewhere. I also fell for the rattlesnake master.

The big purchases, however, were the pagoda dogwood and witch hazel. I snagged them with no idea of where they could go in my yard, especially the dogwood, as it needs some protection from the sun. I'm still debating where to put it, while it sits patiently on the deck.

Meanwhile, the prairie smoke, purple prairie clover, and butterfly weed are in place. I installed the big blue stem in front of the recently relocated holly plants, behind the vegetable garden. The witch hazel went in the hole left by one of the holly plants, between a 'Blue Muffin' arrowwood viburnum and a forsythia. A shipment of creeping wintergreen, which arrived from Jung Seeds via USPS on Saturday, is now under the arborvitae and the rhododendron.

Helpful gardening cat

The empty pots are piling up. I *think* I am done buying plants for this spring, but I am aware that there seems to be a paucity of blooms right now. 'Betty Corning' is bursting, the shasta daisy finally popped (disappointingly after the nearby red roses faded), and the 'Chicago Lustre' arrowwood viburnum are in bloom, as is the purple smoke tree (which is *gorgeous* this year - photos never do it justice). Oh, and the few remaining 'Stella d' Oro' daylilies. Otherwise, not much is happening. Rectifying this is on my list for next year.

From Riverview:

• Pagoda dogwood
• Witch hazel
• Prairie smoke (6)
• Purple prairie clover
• Lance-leaved coreopsis (3)
• Rattlesnake master
• Big blue stem (4)
• Butterfly weed

From Jung Seeds:

• Creeping wintergreen (6)

A couple of perfect days

Finally, it feels like spring. Yesterday I spent a goodly amount of time in the yard, transplanting, seeding, weeding, etc. Today my SO came over and we constructed some cheap, but effective compost bins.

Not a big task, but one more item we can check off the to-do list.

On the not so happy side of the house, I noticed this tent caterpillar nest in the purple sand cherry:

It is the first time I have seen such a thing in my yard. I cut off the branch and burned the nest. I'm hoping that is the end of this story.

One of the areas I weeded yesterday was the bed by the front walk. I dug out the lavender plants and passed them on to my SO, as they were becoming rather unruly. We both puzzled over this plant:

It looks like a salvia, but the foliage at the base is rather dense and spreading, so I fear it is a weed of some sort (whereby "weed" is a plant growing where one does not want it to grow). There are a couple of them, and I'll let them be for now. I have planted so many bulbs and plants into this bed over the past several years that I have lost track of what should be there and what should not.

Finn, the helpful gardening cat, continues to guard the yard. He hasn't caught all the bunnies yet, but I have not seen the woodchuck lately. Maybe he has taken up residence elsewhere. (Knock on wood.)

Although I like my pink flamingos, I have never understood the attraction of garden gnomes. That is, until I found this one at a nearby garage sale.

The resident old fart exclaimed, "I can't believe anyone is buying that ugly thing!" and then promptly dubbed me the Gnome Lady. I've been called worse.

Garden cat on duty

Now that the bulk of the garden is done for the season, I'm leaving the gate open so Finn can hunt the wild rodentia, specifically voles. These little critters have ruined more than one crop in recent history. While I don't approve of the way Finn sometimes tortures his prey, I'm not too sad about their demise.

Salomon Farm is a city park near my house which, among other things, boasts a large organic garden. A good portion of this garden is completely unfenced. WTH? I fend off rabbits that girdle shrubs and trees, woodchucks that destroy sweet potato plants, tomato-sampling gophers, voles that wipe out seed potato plantings, pea-eating sparrows, strawberry-stealing robins, etc. Salomon Farm is a working 1930's farm, so maybe I need to replace my lawn with field corn and soybeans to lure the critters away from the garden.

Forward Progress

Yesterday the French doors were installed but the hardware was gold instead of brushed nickel. And the steps were installed. And the door between the laundry and garage reinstalled. And the drywall arrived.



Then it was a waiting game. The drywallers could not drywall until the framing inspector inspected. The framing inspector could not inspect until the mechanical inspector inspected. But where was the mechanical inspector? There was no way of knowing. He finally showed late in the day, and happily the framing inspector arrived bright and early this morning, so the drywalling could proceed on schedule.

Technically, the insulation should have waited for the framing inspector, too, but he was able to see what he could see after removing one ceiling batt.



This morning I was gone before the drywallers arrived because my SO happened to have a spare lock set, which he installed yesterday. Now I feel comfortable letting the workers do their thing without my presence.



Drywalling occurred, as did doorknobbing, but I can't figure out how to open the passive side of the French doors. They need to come with an instruction booklet.



Tonight the siding/soffit guys stopped by to drop off their stuff. I had been vacillating on whether to do the soffits on the rest of the house now or later. I decided on NOW. The "old" windows are to be wrapped as well (a fact that somehow was not conveyed to the siding/soffit guys until tonight, and then by me), so then all the outside stuff will be done. My house will look so purty.

I'm really happy about how bright the interior of my house is now, as are my sun-loving pets.



With the silver maples and Florida room gone, the patio door has become like TV for the cat and dog, literally a window on the world for their viewing pleasure. I will be glad when the exterior lights are installed so I can see what the cat is growling at after nightfall.

A few weeks ago I checked this book out from the library:



The authors' advice is geared more for the DIYers. They suggest that if you hire a contractor, you can leave town for the duration and come home to a completed project. WRONG!!! It would be nice to think the contractor has nothing else on his/her mind except your house, but that would be fantasy. While I am getting tired of the inconvenience, I am also glad to be here to see the daily progress and to answer questions and to make sure I get what I want. Fortunately, the contractor and I are on the same wave length and what problems have occurred have been minor and easily resolved.

So far, so good.