Cigar Time and Taking It All In

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Over the past week I've been working a bit more than usual in the yard. October has brought cooler but still very pleasant weather as compared to the heat we experienced in July - September. My recent yardwork has been halting the creep of ferns out into the yard. I've been digging up some of the bulbs and moving them back closer to the retaining wall which is where they're supposed to be. I've also been resetting the paving and garden stones that border the fern garden as they've really settled into the ground in recent years (see previous post). Today I weeded the narrow strip of ground between our's and Josh and Breanna's garage. I also removed a small tree from there that came up to my chest. 

Today was a day to just sit back with a cigar and enjoy the space. 

Found a Halloween playlist on Apple Music, which turned out to be quite fun, and then just relaxed and took in everything around me.  

I'm sure I've mentioned this already but I really have loved NOT working this fall.

Kale, Mums, Pumpkins, More!!

 Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Been working hard lately on cleaning up the gardens. This one has been cleared of all the dead fern leaves. I'm also cutting back the ground cover that's grown over the decorative border stones. 

The kale and mums are looking particularly good grouped together. 

    

Cleaned out this garden over by the garage. It was horribly overgrown and I wish I would have taken a before picture for the sake of comparison. Alas, I didn't think of it. 

Bought this pumpkin at Lund's today. They're selling them for $4.99 but you have to be a member otherwise they're $9.00 each. And you can only buy one per day. 

I bought one the other day so now I have two. 

Cigar in the yard this morning before I did my yard work. Leather jacket weather is back and it's glorious. 

October Planting

 Sunday, October 5, 2025

After brunch Dale and I went to Bachman's to get some flowers to fill in some of the gaps left by the recent great flower thief incident. I added some additional pansies to this planter. 

We also got some more kale. This garden by the garage is looking pretty good. 

The pot of mums in the foreground is finally starting to flower. Got some rain today which is nice because we need it.

It's been warmer than seasonally average lately so the rain also cooled things off a bit. I'm ready for autumn. Heat and humidity is more tolerable when you know that's what you're gonna get but we're past that now so we really shouldn't have to deal with this anymore. Just sayin'. 

Great Afternoon for a Cigar

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Cleared all the dying fern leaves out today. Ada came over from next door and asked what I was doing. I told her. She asked if she could help so I asked her if she could put the fronds I was clipping into the leaf bag in the garage.  She was so happy to help. 

She asked what these things were so I told her a wasn't sure other than being part of the fern. I thought maybe they were once leaves or maybe seeds. I'll have to look into that. 

Still so nice out. Sat out back with a cigar. 

Made note of how much of the yard was in shade at only 4:30.

So:"No, ferns do not produce seeds and therefore cannot seed themselves; instead, they reproduce using microscopic spores that are released from the underside of their fronds (leaves) and are carried by wind or water to new locations. If a spore lands in a suitable, moist environment, it can develop into a tiny plant called a gametophyte, which then produces sex cells that fertilize to create a new sporophyte—the mature fern plant." (Info from AI)

Well I guess they're not seeds then. Maybe they're just short leaves? I'll have to look more closely at them next year. 

Cigar Time

 Sunday, September 29, 2025

Smoked a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur this afternoon. It was fantastic. 

Gorgeous afternoon. 

Although I heard tons of blue jays squawking this season I didn't see one until today. It landed on Josh and Breanna's porch. 

By the way, Josh and Breanna had us over for dinner last night. We ate outside on their porch. Everyone had brats except Bran. Josh grilled him us some venison which he loves. 

Ada was sweet. She picked some flowers for me and put them in a jar. She also made menus for the dinner which was very cute. 

Stayed till after dark. The sun's setting just before 7 pm these days. The kids made s'mores and the grownups talked around the fire. We got home around 8:30. It was a very nice evening. 

Dale came out to join me this afternoon. We both had some wine while I finished up my cigar. 

Lots of loud, obnoxious crows flying back and forth and squawking at each other. They went on for quite a while. It reminded me of all those mornings on Madeline Island and sitting on Dale's porch while 3 particularly bitchy crows did the exact same thing every day. 

 

We also heard a very chatty rodent. At first I thought it was a squirrel but Dale saw it in Andrea's tree next door and said it was a chipmunk. I looked and he was indeed correct. My gosh that thing was squeaky and active. It darted back and forth and carried on for quite a while. 

Today was the first day I noticed our pine tree is starting to drop its needles. The are a pain to rake up because they get stuck in the tines. 

Listened to Chet Baker as we sat outside. Went inside around 6 pm for snacks and then dinner of leftover lasagne. I really was a lovely afternoon. 

The State of Our Yard - Sunday Edition (With an Update on the Great Flower Thief)

 Sunday, September 21, 2025

Dale and I got home from church this morning and noticed that our celosia had been ripped from the pots which border our driveway. No other flowers were taken. The celosia planted closer to the house was untouched. At first I thought a squirrel or a rabbit may have done it but they would have made much more of a mess getting it out of the pots. All six stalks of it were completely gone with no mess left behind and there's no way small animals could have disappeared it so cleanly. 

Again, they only took from the pots which bordered the driveway so they didn't need to come into the yard. I moved two of the pots  closer to the garage so they're harder to see. Hopefully this was a one and done. 

UPDATE - On Tuesday, September 23, Dale and I made a trip to Bachman's to replace the flowers that were stolen. 

Ran into our next door neighbor, Andrea, who told us that on Sunday morning, while we would've been at church, her dog Marcia was barking at something near our driveway. 

Ran into our next door neighbor, Andrea, who told us that on Sunday morning, while we would've been at church, her dog Marcia was barking at something near our driveway. 

This was indeed confirmation that it was actually a person and not an animal but this made it even more baffling. I mean, a kid I understand might not know better but a full grown man? Rather sad. I think most people would agree that stealing flowers is rude, crude, and social unacceptable.  For realz.

The State of Our Yard - Thursday Edition

 Thursday, September 18, 2025

Dale went with me to Bachman's today and we bought some more flowers. 

It's nice to get a bit more color in the yard.