You will have to get yourself some bulbs to force over the winter period, Nancy,so you can have some flowers. Hopefully, your wild boy will see and copy the other cats when they use the cat door.

I've got a wild one hanging around. He won't let me more than five feet near him. But he is in the greater yard every evening expecting to be fed. I'm thinking I'll get a small dog house and put it up on the tree house platform so he can have winter shelter.

Lorna

Nancy, how bad do your winters get and Lorna what about winter there? I would love to hear about everyone's different zones, very interesting to me.

Sometimes ours are very bad; sometimes mild, but always below freezing. We are very prone to ice storms in the midwest but haven't had much snow these last few years.

We are hoping for a very colorful fall since we have been blessed with lots of rain this year.

We have so many outbuildings on the farm that we don't worry about the cats. Our dog is another story; he could get anywhere out of the weather, but most times we see him just laying out on the frozen ground or in the snow. I have finally quit worrying about him.

Nancy ~ Oh how we wish we were having fall's cooler/chilly temps! Ike's activity has brought us hotter and more humid temps from the Carribean. We had had a couple of days of really nice weather with hints of fall and we were sighing with contentment as we hoped fall would come early. We do this every year, hoping in Sept. that fall will soon be coming, but no such luck.

Hope Ozzy will realize there is a nice little critter door that he can use. It doesn't seem like it would take him long, once the weather changes.

FlowerLady

Central New Mexican winters can be mild with just a few light snowfalls. However, this year I am thinking it will be a wet, cold winter. I haven't seen more than five inches of snow in the six years I've been here. Usually the snow melts within a day or so. Northern New Mexico always gets heavy snowfall.

People in this vicinity don't buy snow tires. There are a high percentage of SUVs in this state. I have a mid-size sedan with rear wheel drive. I might order a set of snow tires this winter. I need to get my hands on the new "Farmer's Almanac" and see what the forecast is.

Lorna

Our Farmers Almanac is calling for a very cold winter - no word on how much snow. Zone 4 goes down to -30C, about -22F. The 2 measurements cross at -40.
{{gwi:600355}}
This is picture of my truck and garage last March. Just gives you an idea of winter in the Great White North. They don't call us that for nothing!!! Lorna, I run on all-weather tires, but will get snows this years. My little truck is 4 wheel drive, which helps most of the time. 4 wheel drive only helps at low speeds, not at highway speed, so good for parking lots, getting out of the driveway, etc. Snows will help with ice, hopefully.

The Ozzy Puss is a smart guy. He needs to get his booster shot, and then his little operation. That might make him stay closer to home!! lol.

Sorry to seem like I am whining, but here we are the opposite of you, but the same - hoping that the nice weather will stay a little longer, hoping all of the tomatoes will have a chance to ripen on the vine.

Spring and fall are my favourite seasons. Spring is the beginning, full of promise; Fall is closure, what worked, what didn't, what you'll do differently, 'cause there's always next year!!

Cheers, Nancy.

We've been getting hints of fall here, too. We had some of our hottest days all summer over Labor Day weekend, then boom, it got cold! I'm trying to keep my ears open for any frosts, because we still have lots of tomatoes...

Last year, we had a record breaking snowy winter, and I had someone tell me it was supposed to be similar this winter. I really hope he was wrong - that was a LOT of snow!

Crisp Fall air sounds great to me!

70s here today, but so humid it's as though you have to wring out your clothes for a few minutes outside. I did my 4 mile walk this morning (DH runs it) and we weren't tired, just soaking wet from the humidity.

Hummingbirds are still here, so it's not quite Fall for us. I counted THIRTY black swallowtail caterpillars on the bronze fennel this morning.

Wacky, wacky weather, I swore in August fall was already here. The last week it's been getting warmer by Sunday we are supposed to be in the middle 80's. I think old mother nature is having memory problems too. She just remembered she forgot to give us a dose of summer this year and has decided to rectify the situation.

Annette

Nancy, I've heard you can pull entire tomato plants up, then hang them upside down in a garage or shed so that the green tomatoes will continue to ripen. Supposedly it is a good way to have fresh tomatoes well into the winter period.

I was shocked when I went out to my garden this morning. Almost all of the summer squash plants are dead. It looked so bare! The few fruits still ripening are not looking good. I guess it hasn't been hot enough for them. The melons and winter squash look good. There are still a few ears of corn forming on the second round of corn plants.

It is a grey, cool day here. It was sprinkling this morning. I made cream of vegetable soup for breakfast. I used a bit of olive oil, green and yellow summer squash (picked last week), onion, arugula, spinach, milk, 1/2&1/2, a pat of butter, one baby jalapeno, salt, and Herbs de Provance with lavender. All of the vegetables were from the garden. It looked like green pea soup, after I pureed it. I was very pleased with my concoction.

Ugh, I haven't had to dig out my driveway. It will halfway kill me if I ever have to, the driveway is about an acre long. I'm going to stockpile my wood ash this year just in case I need to melt snow with it.

Lorna

Lorna - find a 15 year old who likes to make money!!! That is my cure - Alec and I have a deal, more that 2", he shovels my little laneway, and my sidewalk, I pay him $20. We are both happy. Sometimes my neighbour across the road comes over with his snowblower. I suppose I should buy one, but I hate pull-start/2 stroke engines. They are the invention of the devil, and require constant care and petting. I don't do that with myself, my plants or my cats. Also, a caveat with the wood ash - don't get it into your house...also probably not good in your vehicle, either. Very caustic, destructive. I buy something called Alaskan de-Icer. Safe for plants, pets and walkways.

Nancy.

Thanks for the tip, Nancy, about the de-icer. I've only got one neighbor, the teenger is a wispy thin girl. I live in a rural area--don't have many people living in my vicinity, open land on three sides.

Lorna