Winter is coming!

So, winter is on it's way and I am not ready!  I still have plenty to do in the yard and coop to get totally prepared for what winter may bring.  

I have always liked this time of year, but this year (and last year too now that I think about it) has sped right through Fall and into Winter.  The colours have changed which is beautiful but the cold has come on fast!   Maybe I didn't notice the gradual change, but I somehow missed Fall! This entire year was really weird weatherwise, so why would I expect this Fall to be normal. Ha!  

This weekend had the wettest then coldest days so far this Fall.  After all the rain, things are so muddy in the yard. Definitely rubber boot time!  

We tried to get some chores taken care of this weekend before it is too late.  We drained the hoses, harvested our pumpkins (10!) and cleaned up the pumpkin vines, then picked the last remaining big tomatoes (some of which still need time to fully ripen).  

Speaking of tomatoes, there still are plenty of cherry tomatoes out on the plants so I will have to check them to see if I can salvage any for us and if not, lucky chickens!!!  I am sure they will get their fair share fresh and what I don't give them now, I will bag and freeze for a winter treat for them.  

The off-the-top-of-my-head "to-do" list:

- Winterize taps and animal water hoses/system.

- Winterize coop and nesting box area as well as clean the roosting 2'x4's and wipe down the metal sheet behind the roost area (both tend to get a bit poopy).  

- Rake pine needles and pile loosely on the flowerbeds to put them to "bed" for the winter (before we get a hard freeze into the roots of my perennials).

- Clean up all tomato plant mess (vines and dropped tomatoes) and prep soil for spring.  I will be freezing for winter treats whatever tomatoes I don't feed them now.  

-  And plenty more I can't think of at the moment!  

Hope that this Fall is treating you well!

More to come!

~M~