29 October

Bedlam Farm Journal: Rain, Rain, Rain: Last Words For My Garden Beds. Big Frost Coming. Blessings And Thanks To You And Them..

by Jon Katz

This is the last day for my raised garden beds in 2023.

It was raining almost all day, and a big frost is coming tomorrow, possibly snow Tuesday.

Next weekend, I’ll pull the flowers and the woods, add some soil and donkey manure, and put some cardboard on the beds with brick to keep the dirt from blowing. I’ve ordered some beautiful plants for next year, and I will, as promised, be posting flower photos through the fall, winter, and into next spring. We will keep color and light alive; we’ll all need it.

These photos are of flowers that are still blooming but will almost certainly die in the next couple of days—time to close up the beds and prepare them for next Spring. I have a wheelbarrow full of donkey manure and three fresh bags of soil for raised beds. I’ll get things ready next weekend or mid-week if I have time and the weather permits.

I am immensely grateful for my flowers and for your beautiful messages about them; They made me proud and, hopefully, brighten your days. And they will keep coming. I have a beautiful folder for the lovely flowers I didn’t get to publish. The flower photos have been good for me; I have grown and listened and learned a lot. I will be hard at work learning more before the first planting next May.

We are ready for winter – generator complete and in the barn, roof repaired on the main house and the barn, wood in the shed, and hay. We are as prepared as we can be, and I hope climate change has no more bad news for any of us. I want to thank all of you for the many kinds of pictures and your encouragement of my photography. It means a lot. I can’t always be as sweet as people would like, but I will never forget to be grateful for you all.

. I’m looking to see if I can get hold of some used lenses that will help me do even better. I have some fresh ideas and will be taking some more courses. I want to be better.

If you love these photos, stick around; they will keep coming and be free, as always – a thank you for supporting my work and that blog. They are not copyrighted or bookmarked; use them as you wish and enjoy them. There is good news from the farm.


 

The Begonias were and are beautiful. I never tire of photographing them and carrying them to capture their souls. This one is a crown.

Rain or shine, the animals need to eat.

 

These past weeks, the dahlia has carried the flag. We’ll replant the bulbs in the basement for next year.

Zinnia at the bird bath. The bath is heading into the barn for winter, keeping Zip company out there.

Zip chased the hens out of the backyard, and they have moved to the pasture. One day, I hope they hang out near the house again; we miss them. That is the only problem caused by Zip, who is just a fractious young cat.

 

The news is awful; the weather can be frightening. I am praying today to hold all of us in the light. It’s a time for hope and gentleness. I’m working on it.

5 Comments

  1. Your flowers always brighten my day🥰. We got 6 inches of snow on the ground so all of our flowers done. We will wait till things warm up a tad and then trim back our rose garden and put pots over them until spring so the Jack rabbits won’t eat them to the ground. Winter has said “Hello” to us but I’m hoping for a stretch of fall weather before winter sets in even if it’s only a few days to button up the last of the gardens. Thank you for color, light and hope!

  2. your flower and garden photos have sustained me well all year, thank you! perhaps now it *is* time for them to rest…….and that is good. The season of cold is encroaching on all of us to some degree now…..you first! But…. it is a season to rest, meditate, take comfort in wood stove fires and quiet time……as much as possible……a time to read more, love more, rest more..and re-charge for the future.
    Susan M

  3. Jon, you don’t need to be sweet to be effective or to matter! “Nice” and “sweet” are for show; you’re a good person. At the end of the day, a good person has done the right thing, and has done what they can to help another. Your photos, your blog, your work with the AOG, the Mansion work – this is the work of a good person. I can tell you with certainty that I look forward to your blog each day; you’ve helped to anchor me in this world that can seem to be nothing but fear and pain. You’ve showed us all that we live amongst the principles of opposites – there can be no light without the dark. And for this, I am entirely grateful to you.

  4. I used to dread the darkness of the winter months, and the bitter cold we experience here in VT. When I traveled to Norway I learned that we are blessed to have this time for the very reasons mentioned by Susan M. Hygge as it is called is a time to rest, meditate and surround yourself with your closest friends, enjoy good food, read and sit by the fire. Planning for next spring, thanking those you should thank and showing kindness to those who need it. Only the good things should fill your life. Now I embrace that philosophy and get through the winters just fine! I cannot tell you how much I enjoy your posts/blog! I look forward to it this winter , happy Hygge!

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