Why I Oughta...

A little under a month ago, I posted something with *almost* the same exact headline on the blog .  It was back in October that I noticed that our dwarf Alberta Spruce was in decline.  Today, it has gotten much worse.  The entire backside of this tree has hallowed/browned out and we're left with patchy green needles and not a lot of hope.   Documenting this here - in early November - so I can revisit come Spring.  

A week or so ago, I posted about how our pair of espalier Greenspire Linden trees had come down with an infestation of aphids .  I asked the Master Gardener at the University of Illinois and they confirmed they were Linden Aphids and recommended a synthetic insecticide.  They also pointed me to this post from Colorado State University that lays out the two types . Persistent Contact Insecticide Sprays. And Systemic Insecticide Sprays. First the latter:  systemic.  These are ones that 'move through' the tree and can handle aphids that you can't reach with a topical/contact spray.  From CSU: A few types of insecticides have the ability to move into the plant and move systemically. Because of this mobility these systemic insecticides can provide better plant coverage and often provide better control of aphids than do non-systemic insecticides. Systemic insecticides are also able to kill aphids that are protected within a leaf they have curled. Timing of application is also

 This is the first season of this trio of Amber Queen Epimedium (Barrenwort) in our yard.  I planted it late this season - in September - and mulched it in ahead of winter with wood chips.  The grouping is just to the west of our largest Catalpa tree and with the wood chip mulch, I feel like I've protected these as best as I can before their long winter's nap that is coming. Here, below, is what they're looking like in early November: I'm quite hopeful that they'll do ok this Winter as they've shown NO SIGNS of stress after being planted.  They haven't shown much in terms of growth, but I'm thinking that they're satisfied in terms of water as they prepare to head to dormancy.  Fingers crossed that come Spring, we'll have three come back and put on their first yellow-flower-show in the Spring.

We're moving into the cooler temperatures around here that means that the pace at which we burn through our firewood stash increases.  We've been using our screened porch a lot more this Fall and that means that we're burning in two fireplaces - the family room and the porch.  Based on the rumor'd 'firewood shortage' that we were facing, I ordered early.  In late August, we had three face cords delivered and I stacked them on our new firewood racks outside .   At that time (Late August), we had all five racks full .  Here's where we are today - below.  First the inside racks.  You can see that they are all full - with some wood on top of each: Next is the Oak rack outside of my office door (below).  That one, too, is untouched and fully loaded.   Next up is the Cherry rack outside (below).  This was FULL of Cherry firewood inside the rack and loaded on top with mixed hardwoods.  Today, it is about 1/3rd of the way full, but the top of the rack is full of

  I haven't done this in year's past, but I thought it would be useful in terms of tracking the leaves and foliage to track an early November backyard tree canopy.  We have a couple of large Oak trees that have foliar marcescence - or the ability to keep some of their leaves late into the Winter.   You can see some of those trees in the image above.  Oak tree on the right and on the left.  Up high, on the right side, I'm documenting *some* larger Catalpa leaves are still on the limbs.  And the massive hackberry that straddles our fence line on the northside is still flush with dry, brittle leaves.  

The calendar has flipped over to November first.  That means one thing:  Go ahead.  Break out those Christmas tunes.  Play that Christmas music.  It is time.  Visit one of my annual projects here:  Can I listen to Christmas music ?   This year - 2020 - has been tough and that means there's never been a better year to turn this from no --> yes on November 1st.   I started the "Can I listen to Christmas music?" project back in 2015 .  And have posted about it every years since. Here's the post on Christmas music from 2016 . Here's the post on listening to Christmas music from 2017 .  Here's the post from 2018 when I introduced a new landing page .

 Our garage door is oversized.  And, when I say oversized, I mean oversized...by a lot.  It is a normal width, but the height makes it bigger than most.  And heavier than most. Our spring snapped after just three years.  Seems like it didn't have a normal life.  So, instead of swapping out like-for-like, we replaced it with this monster: Still needs tweaking because it SCREAMS on the way up and on the way down.    The Garage Door Guy has an idea - and it involves PVC pipe to separate the spring from the metal rod.