Frost

There was a slight coating of frost upon the grass this morning.  As I took Colby out for his morning constitutional, there was a audible bend underfoot.  Not quite the crack or snap of a true frost, a November frost, but it is getting there.  It reminds me that there is much to do before the ground freezes solid.

Soon I will need to find the heater base to the chicken's water dish, and coat the bottom of the coop with the old heat pads and a green tarp.  We have thirteen chickens coming into Fall, and while I know it is likely that Winter will leave us down quite a few, I see no need to assist in that process.  Although, I do have a few nasty birds for whom I probably won't shed a tear, should I not see them next Spring...

We need to harvest the rest of the corn and hang them up to dry.  Other "friends" have been visiting by moon light, and if I don't quicken my step and get that process underway, I might need to bit that food supply adieu.

Additional raised beds will need to be set to rest for the Winter sleep.  Old summer planting, past their prime, will be pulled up and laid upon the beds, only to be tucked in with a layer of soil and chicken manure.  Spring will bring us a richer soil, having invited the earthworms to come and parttake in the remainder of that harvest.

It was a long Summer, and so I welcome this process, this coming of Fall, with a hope of renewal.  I am ready for the break that it will bring, come October and November, before the heavy snows of Winter arrive.  Of course,  I will curse these words come January, when I have decided that Winter has already overstayed its welcome and I am itching to dig into the soil.  But, for now, I am glad.