My Neighborhood Smells

My Neighborhood smells so good! On a run last evening around dinner time while listening to Keith Green's music I began to pick up on a wide variety of culinary delights. It is amazing how the cool autumn air can augment those wonderful odors. Some must have been making some soups while others were grilling steaks. I ran for 35 minutes through streets I have been on for over a quarter of a century. Then I came upon the Peter Pan Diner and that was a mixture of grilling and sauteing and the like. It was wonderful.

I also ran early on by a yard which had just been raked of its leaves. The lawn gave that pleasant odor of grass as it does in late fall and early spring. Even the odor of leaves that had broken down and become part of the earth was there.

My neighborhood smells are wonderful to the olfactory senses. I love living here and running through the streets.

November's Gardening

In the northeast leaves are falling, we have had frost and even a record early snowfall.

Mulching leaves and putting them back into the gardens is not only a way to prevent more landfills from appearing, it is a way to add richness to your soil. My friend, Charlie, actually picks up the bags of oak leaves from around town and grinds them up for potting soil for next years annuals. Even maple tree leaves will break down beautifully over the winter if they are mulched.

Now is the time to comb over morning glories, marigolds and four o'clocks and pull off the seed pods and save them for this coming spring.

Some bulbs can still go in for the next few weeks. A little bit of work now can produce beautiful early spring flowers that will come back for years. Crocus, Daffodils and Tulips are definitely welcomed additions when winter ends.

As we move towards Thanksgiving I am thankful for many blessings in my life, one of which is my backyard.