Wednesday, November 18, 2015

November Thankfulness







We have been up to our ears in leaves.  Surrounded by huge old oaks, black gums, maples, beech and dogwoods, gives us plenty of exercise in the autumn months.  If we don't gather up the leaves every few days they become more than we can handle.  Having a strong grandson living with us is a God send in the season of leaf gathering.  I've mentioned before that we compost all of our leaves and veggie peelings.  If you wish to see the wonderful compost we get from our leaves go Here to view.  I must say this is not my favorite of gardening chores, but I so love the wonderful compost we get from our efforts.

This is what that empty compost area looks like now.  We are a good month from having all of the leaves that fall before winter.  This is our mountain of mulched leaves.




The trees are beginning to make pretty silhouettes against the sky with their bare branches.




There are many leaves hanging on to the branches that assure us of more exercise to come.




It is interesting to note the abundance of berries around this autumn.  It's been quite mild so far.   My Nanny used to say that the more berries we see, the harder the winter.  If that holds to be true, we are in for quite a winter.




I find the rhythm of life is comforting as is the change of seasons.  I'm thankful for these reminders.

Yesterday we picked these peppers from volunteer plants in the compost pile!




I brought out the turkeys I made in 1978 when I was on a ceramic kick.  The little turkeys are napkin rings.  I have no idea why I painted them such a dull color, but they do go well with my Friendly Village dishes.




I do hope you are enjoying your November as we slip into December.  It's a busy time of year for us all, but I'm sure we all want to stop to be thankful for all of our blessings.





 Come, ye thankful people, come, 

raise the song of harvest home; 

all is safely gathered in, 

ere the winter storms begin. 

God our Maker doth provide 

for our wants to be supplied; 

come to God's own temple, come, 

raise the song of harvest home.

Henry Alford


24 comments:

  1. November leaves, one to the joys of Autumn. We are not organized enough to compost in a heap, I just sweep them all into the garden and let them rot at will. They make a nice mulch over the winter months, and by springtime, they've pretty much disintegrated into the soil.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We began composting as a way to take care of the mountains of leaves we have, Jeri. In the garden, Grayden mulches over the leaves with the mower and we leave them to rot. ♥

      Delete
  2. A lovely mid~Autumn dialogue! Few things delight my eye more than skeletal trees against a clear, Autumn sky so blue.
    I do not envy you all those leaves, even if you are blessed with the leaf mould for the garden. I stopped harvesting for mould because what falls is highly contaminated with seeds that are not destroyed during the composting process, causing complications later on.
    Your choice of music is sublime! Pachelbel? Love the set of nesting dolls too!
    ~~~Deb xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb, there is a price to pay for our glorious trees. We do not have problems with contamination in our compost. It has improved our soil so much.
      Yes, the music is Pachelbel--one of my favorites. xoxo ♥

      Delete
  3. My neighbors, God bless them, take care of the leaves and all I must do is keep the back yard as clear as I can. You're right! Those leaves can get ahead of folks. Your sweet window overlooking the garden looks beautifully Branch-ish and oh so cozy. The ceramic turkey is wonderful...the colors are perfect and will certainly go beautifully with your Friendly Village dishes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How lucky for you, Vee. You are blessed with wonderful neighbors. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! ♥

      Delete
  4. I actually LOVE the dullness of the turkey pieces. They are lovely. I did a bunch of ceramics back in the late 70s, too. One of my friends owned a ceramic shop. It was so much fun and a reasonable way to decorate back then.
    Love your trees. Ours are done dropping leaves and our yard is cleared. Hubby has them hauled off though...he took over my compost area. Drives me nuts sometimes....xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diana, as you tell, I am a gal who loves bright colors. Most of our oaks won't be dropping all of their leaves until Spring---it's a never ending job! xo ♥

      Delete
  5. I love your little wooden dolls, Martha Ellen. I have been wanting to get one for myself, but haven't found the perfect one yet. The beauty of Autumn is still lingering in your area too. Love the picture of the berries. Yes, November is a thankful month, indeed.

    ~Sheri

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sheri, the nesting dolls were very inexpensive. They are not the ones made in Russia, but I still like them. On our walk this morning, Grayden and I saw so many berries on conifers. We'll see if my Nanny is right. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. xo ♥

      Delete
  6. Black Gums are among my favorite trees! Their fall color is so complex and beautiful.

    Do you have a leaf vacuum. We did when we lived in our last two houses (which had a lot more trees than this place does). The vacuum makes short work of the job of picking up and mulching the leaves that fall. Now, we just run over them with the lawn mower and let them compost in place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Connie, we do not use a leaf vacuum. Grayden uses a mulcher, bagger mower that he uses to run over the leaves and then into the compost pile they go. Black gums are very colorful trees in the autumn. They are among the first to drop their leaves. ♥

      Delete
  7. Yes its leaf time. Ours aren't as bad now that we've had to cut down some big trees, which I miss, but I don't miss the leaf work. I miss my Old Mill JB dishes at this time of year--similar to Friendly Village .. I gave them to my SIL. This is a busy but fun time of the year. Enjoy! (those peppers are beautiful!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dotsie, we have had to remove old trees also, but we still have tons of leaves. I do love my trees so I shouldn't complain. What a nice SIL you are to gift those dishes. Johnson Brothers are such lovely dishes. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. ♥

      Delete
  8. Hi Martha! Aw, your little sheep are gone on your header. I thought that was the loveliest header. Hope you printed that out and framed it! Wow! I think you have as many leaves as we do. We've hired a service to get rid of our leaves this year. They'll come three times. My hubby did it last year and his allergies kicked in big time and he was out of commission for a couple of weeks. Those are some pretty little peppers that grew in your compost! You must have the most green thumb.
    Thanks for popping in to see me.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shelia, you all are smart to hire someone to take care of the leaves. We were talking about that on our walk today. We don't have allergies like your hubby, but we know in the years ahead we may need to do that.
      Oh I hated to retire the sheep but they were tired and said they needed a break. Have a great Thanksgiving. xo ♥

      Delete
  9. You have such lovely gardens and such a well-kept yard that I should be ashamed to admit to you that (I'm whispering now) we do not rake. Ron runs over the leaves with the lawn mower and then we don't bother with them. (Eek.)

    But, oh fall!! I love it! As you know, we missed a chunk of it this year, but we're doing our best to soak up the remainder. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year, and we do have so much for which to be grateful! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheryl, running over your leaves with a lawn mower is the best way to return nitrogen to your soil. It's great for your grass! If it weren't for the sheer volume of leaves we have, we would do the same!
      I'm so glad you are enjoying the wonderful days of Autumn. There is much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! ♥

      Delete
  10. I love that a lot of the stores are not opening on Thanksgiving. This is one of my favorite holidays and I hate that it gets commercialized too. Happy Thanksgiving dear friend, XOXO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I so agree, Susan! I'm glad that those employees can enjoy their Thanksgiving with their families. We do not need to shop then! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I hope your day is filled with Joy! XOXO ♥

      Delete
  11. We mow the leaves in the lawn but all the leaves covering my various flower beds (like the periwinkle) must be raked or vacuumed up. Ken just got a mulcher so that they're chopped up, giving much more room in the leaf compost pile and they break down quicker. No wonder I never had much success growing vegetables--I didn't plant them in the mulch pile!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathy, we have three compost piles and I am seriously considering using the compost pile from last year as a spot for my veggies. There is more sun there. Our leaves are mulched as well or we would have no place for them. ♥

      Delete
  12. I love those little candles! What a treasure. And that berries shot is just beautiful. I sure your Nanny is wrong about the upcoming winter. :-) I guess it's time for me to get out my little Pilgrim man and lady S&P shakers. We've only a trace of snow, so it's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is nearly here with Christmas following shortly thereafter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Judy, we haven't had a killing frost yet, but I do think tonight that may happen. My little pilgrims and turkey are old as the hills. They are marked with 49 cents on the bottom. I think we bought them when our children were small---they are now in their 40's.
      Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! ♥

      Delete

Your comments will show after moderation. Thank you. ♥