Chill

            "One leaf on a branch

            and not a sound of sadness

            or despair. One leaf left

            on a branch and no unhappiness.

            One leaf left all by itself

            in the air and it does not speak

            of loneliness or death.

            One leaf and it spends itself

            in swaying mildly in a breeze."

                             DAVID IGNATOW

There is definitely chill in the air when Shasta and I go out for our morning walk. Humans we pass comment on the descending of fall as well as the chill in the air. Yet so many leaves on the trees and shrubs retain their summer foliage.

Cox Orange Pippin apple tree
leaves are turning a beautiful yellow
then brown at which time 
they fall onto to the wood chips
covering the ground.

Here at PageRefuge two Vitis californica ('Roger's Red' grape) are planted on either side of the trellis Dwight built. I primarily plant these for their stunning fall color. As you can see both vines are beginning their transformation. I do not find the fruit particularly delicious but I do observe some birds pecking at the small dark grapes. In our previously owned Santa Fe home the present owners and their son seem to find the grapes tasty as they have shared pictures with me of them doing so.

 I found this piece of art
Dwight created in a cardboard
box filled with all sorts of
sculpture tools and such. 
In the upper right corner
there is another on resting
on one of the legs of
the cement birdbath.

Fall garden chores are being undertaken with a few completed.

The two Rubus (subgenus Rubus Watson) ‘Black Satin’ Thornless Blackberry bushes have been drastically pruned. I find new growth provide more tasty blackberries and in more abundance. 

Grindelia hirsutata 

( Hairy gumplant, Hairy gumweed)

is the yellow flowering plant.

The three flowering grasses

closest to the road

are 

Muhlenbergia rigen (Deergrass)

Achnatherum hymmenoides (Indian ricegrass)

I was introduced to this grass while living in New Mexico. Once I was familiar with the grass I noticed it grew in the Eastern Sierras as well. I think this a stunning grass. I have six plants along with two Grindelia in the area that use to be my compost pile.

The Hopi Black Dye Sunflowers have removed. The flower heads have been cut from the stocks and deposited into a green bin for pick up. The seeds are waiting to be added to dwindling bag of purchased sunflower seeds. I am finding this process to be very, very, very slow as the seeds are tight in these heads. It is as tho' they are "hanging on for dear life" as the saying goes.

These will eventually be deposited in the tray for the birds to eat. The birds do not seem to be inclined to harvest the seeds themselves. It seems I have created their laziness since I provide sunflowers seeds in several devices hanging in my backyard.

In the West most raised bed there is only two remaining tomato plants. The closet one is a black cherry and the one to the West is Blue "Boar" berries also a cherry tomato. With this summer's cooler than usual temperatures the tomato plants fruit just has not ripened as readily as in previous seasons.

The string bean plants are essentially
done producing edible beans to eat.
Above is pictured
one of the Fortex bean pods 
with seeds developing to be 
saved for next years planting.

Steven Severin and Leigh Sims
enjoying an outing to wharf
in Seattle. They share that getting
out into the sunshine is a superb 
way to spend a Sunday
which is the day this was sent to me.

On this Saturday as I look out the window first there is blue sky then gathering clouds as well as a few rain drops then back to sunshine. The plants in the garden are all saying "bring on the rain!" 

On this fall day may each and everyone of us enjoy a hardy and deep belly

The Drought is Here

"We join together as many and diverse expressions

of one loving mystery: for the healing of the

earth and the renewal of all life."

                           U.N. ENVIRONMENTAL SABBATH PROGRAM

A goldfinch landed
on the nyger seed feeder
just to my left as I was watering
the recently planted flower seeds.

 Don't Spray It Sweep It

Break out that broom

anytime you need an

outdoor cleanup rather 

than spraying with water.

Santa Rosa Water

"To ensure adequate water supplies 

are available for current 

and future water demands 

under varying water supply conditions, 

Santa Rosa Water has an 

aggressive water conservation program

and provides recycled water for urban 

and agricultural irrigation 

to reduce demands on 

our precious drinking water.”

The view of the mulching from our
sliding back door onto the slate patio.
Please note the heart rock that
Dwight gleaned from the banks
of the Santa Fe River as a
birthday present to me while we
lived in Santa Fe.

Water is a precious commodity not only here in the West but throughout the world. The population continues to grow well beyond Mother's Earth capacity to safely harbor all of her inhabitants. Wildlife, forests, expansive plains are all struggling to survive amidst the burgeoning number of humans.

"The Drought is Here" signs have popped up in many yards throughout our small burg. One has a sign in her front yard while her neighbor to her left and two across the street water their lawns every day . . . every day???? What are those humans thinking? In my opinion they are "not thinking" nor taking action to conserve water. I ask, "what is the purpose of a green lawn?"

Fortunately the City of Cotati is still giving "lawn rebates" which we are in the process of receiving. The yard will be fully sheet mulched first, plants chosen and purchased then in early November all the plants will be planted into the ground. A full list of plants as well as cost of the mulch will be considered in the amount of the rebate. Of course, we will not submit any cost for the latter since we are using "wood chips".

The completely mulched backyard:
8" to 10" in woodchips were
laid over natural fiber clothing
and/or cardboard.

I was quite amazed that the city's recommendation is for 2" of mulch. From my experience that minimal amount really does not provide any benefit of either weed suppression nor feeding the soil so microbes thrive making for more vibrant, healthy soil. While removing all of the vegetation here, I found the soil dead ... it feels dead, it looks dead and for sure it is dead. The state of the soil was masked with huge amounts of redwood fluffy shavings. Oh my gosh, I am so glad all of that was taken away by Cookie earlier this Summer just passed.

I can barely wait until the planting can begin.
Bare root apples (x3) and 1 Blenheim apricot tree 
have just been ordered from Trees of Antiquity. 

The present idea is to plant the apple trees to the left of the Santa Rosa plum, the trunk of which is in the middle of the picture above. The write up on Trees of Antiquity's website says that the Cox Orange Pippen is on of the best fruit trees to espalier. Since we have limited space which is the primary reason fruit trees are espaliered, I am going to try my hand at this technique. Right now I am undecided whether to do this along the fence pictured above or the fence along the West side of the house. Stay tuned.

It is a mystery to me why the pictures above look "cloudy" in appearance. That is not how they appear in iPhoto???? To let this go I'll have a hardy belly