All prepped (I think) for surgery

My SO came over on Thanksgiving Day, to eat pot roast and to lend me his upper body strength. We transported the container plants to the garage for the winter (even though it has been in the 50's lately), cleared the gutters, and dumped the kitty litter boxes. There is one more container on the front porch, but since it is protected from the elements for the most part, I think it can stay there.

One mistake I made with my last shoulder replacement was to not have enough easy-to-prepare foods on hand. This time, the freezer is packed with homemade soup, some convenience foods like fish filets and tater tots and pizza, and individually wrapped servings of pork chops and hamburgers. Did you know you can freeze mashed potatoes? Rice, too. I feel like I am ready for armageddon (as long as I have electricity).

Today I mowed the leaves in the backyard one last time. The mower is scheduled to be picked up for servicing (after snowblower season), the dogs have reservations at the kennel, my helpers are lined up to assist me, etc. All systems are GO.

The weather I wished for

I've been anxious to see the winterberry in snow, and today I got my wish. The predicted "wintery mix" turned into just "winter" - a couple of inches of wet, heavy snow.

Every day I spend at least a little time bird watching from the comfort of my recliner in the den. Today I was rewarded with a hawk feasting on what I presumed to be a sparrow. Not long after this big guy left, a smaller version stopped by as well. My backyard probably looks like a sparrow smorgasbord.

(I wish I had a better camera. Or at least a good zoom lens.)

In case you didn't notice, the first photo in this post also shows the replacement Canadian hemlock, which was installed yesterday. I hope they fare better than their predecessors.

Have a cozy week.

Not the usual gloom

Several of my friends have expressed their appreciation for the recent mild weather. Not me - it just feels wrong. November should be cold and gray. The plants need a good watering before winter sets in, plus these erratic temps confuse them. I even saw a monarch yesterday, definitely a late bloomer. Fortunately, there were asters for it to feed on. Fly south, little guy!

Many, many moons ago, I assembled a workbench from plywood and a kit. It originally resided in a bonus room off the garage, but that area was incorporated into the rest of the house and is now my laundry room. So the bench went out to the shed, then I think it returned to the garage again before again being placed in the shed. Well, it is back in the garage. I'm tired of using my breakfast bar for things like repotting plants and dyeing yarn and mixing clay and all my other hobbies. Hopefully, it won't simply become another cluttered horizontal surface.

Fall cleanup has taken the form of decluttering the garage. I managed to find a new home for the rainbow shed, which freed up a lot of space. The contents of the shelves are being sorted, with many things going to a local "maker space" I belong to, free to other members. A few of my neighbors have pristine garages. Mine will never look that way, but my efforts are already making a difference.

Otherwise, not much is going on right now. Most of the trees in my yard have lost their leaves. The potted plants aren't quite ready to move into the garage for the winter. And I'm trying to force my xmas cactus to bloom in time for the holidays.