2016 Season Ends and Days Ahead

The 2016 Prospect Gardening season ended last Saturday, October 22nd.  The day started with clouds and temperatures that required a stocking cap and extra layers of clothes.

Here's Bob weeding one of the beds in a section of the Garden that borders the Regent Neighborhood. The Gardens straddle the Regent and Dudgeon-Monroe neighborhoods.

Thanks, Bob, for your help. Love that stocking cap!

About ten o'clock the sun came out, warming all of us.  Temperatures reached the upper sixties by noon, as the magnificent fall day continued to unfold.  

 Here's Ann sweeping the steps, after working hard weeding, cutting back plants and hauling plant material up the ramps. Cleaning up, I think, is her favorite task. Thanks, Ann, for a being a loyal and dedicated volunteer.   

A final task is to put up the orange plastic snow fences; hopefully to signal the city snow blowers that snow should not be pushed into the Gardens. The fences have accomplished this goal since we have erected them.

Here's me, along with Bob, putting in place the first of three sections of fencing.  Bob is a Boy Scout leader and knows his knots.  He attempted to teach me how to tie a square knot supplementing my usual granny knot.  The lesson really didn't stick. After the first attempt, I returned to my favorite granny knot.

 Throughout the 2016 season, Ann always provided a homemade treat for the crew. Here's Bob, Laura and Ken enjoying delicious lemon bars. After finishing work, everybody left with bars to enjoy later.

 A closeup of Bob enjoying a lemon bar. Bob once joked that the major reason he volunteers is because of Ann's treats. So indeed food could be one way to a volunteer's heart and motivate gardening behaviors.

Gardening always includes opportunities to connect with neighbors and friends.  Here's Laura and her dog, Esther, approaching the crew during the break.

Esther loves Ann. The two bonded the first time they met. Esther becomes so excited when she hears and sees Ann.  Ann scoops Esther into her arms, and Esther enthusiastically expresses her love.

Shortly after noon,  Ann, Laura and I returned our wheelbarrow full of tools back to a small shed near Ernie's  backyard. The shed is on city property bordering the bike path and has been there for years.   I covered the wheelbarrow and the contents with a tarp, in anticipation of the snow that will most likely find its way through the shed's cracks.

We said goodbye to Laura, a wonderful hardworking, steady volunteer gardener, and walked to our car.  Ann and I felt the physical effects of gardening while being grateful for Bob's, Laura's and Ken's companionship, diligence, and assistance today.  Thanks, Ken, too for your hard work as a volunteer on many work days.

In the afternoon, Ann and I enjoyed lunch at the next door German restaurant, the Freiburg. We intended to lunch at Colectivo, about a quarter block further east. On our way, we changed our minds. This behavior indicates the choices we have within walking distance.  Urban living has its advantages. 

Now I anticipate winter while enjoying the remaining days of fall. Yesterday included a long walk in the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. On Thursday, I will travel to another beautiful Wisconsin location, Pine Lake, near Westfield, for a meditation retreat concluding with a Sunday lunch. I look forward to the solitude of the retreat, the beauty of the grounds and being disconnected from the media, email and from my cell phone.  Ann enjoys her own kind of retreat at home.     

 

Fall Clean-Up

Last Saturday, October 15th, volunteers began the fall clean-up of the Prospect Gardens. Pictured to the right is the mammoth pile after the three hour work session. Ann and I are enjoying the results of a productive morning with everyone.  The pile almost comes up to Ann's shoulders.  Laura, who frequently volunteers, took the picture.

This upcoming Saturday, October 22nd (9 to noon), we will most likely have the final work session of the season. We will finish cutting back plants, remove Creeping Charlie from a section of the Garden, and put up the orange snow fences. If time allows, the dead raspberry canes will be removed.

A few days ago, the Madison Water Department disconnected and removed the water meter from the fire hydrant. Yesterday, I returned the key to the Department and finally met in person, Amy, who is responsible for garden water accounts throughout the city. She told me we only used 105 gallons of water;  another indication of this season's plentiful rain.

Dave, pictured to the right and a student at the nearby Edgewood College, pitched in. Dave's hard work is greatly appreciated.  Thanks for coming. 

 Here's Dave in action.  He diligently cut down plants for over two hours. Without his help, we would have never accomplished as much as we did.  
  

Ken, another frequent volunteer, is working his way through a section of the Gardens bordering the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood. Ken is using Laura's Fiskar pruning shears. Fiskar shears are an amazing tool with adjustable, long handles that make cutting so much easier than the cheaper ones I was using. Thanks, Laura, for lending them. Fiskars are now on my list of things that must be purchased for next year.

  Here I am with those well-designed Fiskars, before turning them over to Ken.  While this picture was taken, I was doing a poor impersonation of Edward Scissorhands --- not even close.

Back to work weeding the Columbine bed. Weeding is such a challenge because of the rocks.  The roots of the weeds are under the rocks, which requires picking up each stone to get at the roots.  Persistence and patience are required.

Ann provided homemade pumpkin bread for a tasty treat; enjoyed during a break. I kid her that as the "union steward", she ensures that breaks are provided.

Laura, along with Ann, also swept the ramps, removing slippery leaves and pine needles. Bike riders should appreciate their efforts.

Another gardening season is ending. Volunteers, some pictured in this posting, make these Gardens possible. Without their vigilance and diligence, the Gardens would be overrun with weeds and invasive plants.  Thanks to all who have pitched in.  





   

Autumn and Thoughts of Winter

Greetings to you. Ann and I continue with settling-in nicely into our new home and apartment living while enjoying Autumn.  The leaves of several trees across the street are gone, exposing the lattice-like branches.  Soon we will be able to see Lake Wingra from our living room windows and deck.

The tree to the right is west of our deck and still has its yellow garment. Note the blue sky. Hardly a cloud in the sky on this perfect Fall day. This will be a good day for another Autumnal walk.


To the left is a tree I noticed while walking through the UW Arboretum, a short drive from our apartment. I can walk to the Arboretum from our apartment as well, which I did a few weeks ago.  It's nearly a two hour walk, which loops around Lake Wingra.

Usually I walk through the adjoining neighborhoods.To my surprise, I encountered two young Sandhill Cranes, near Midvale on playing fields of an elementary school. Both birds leisurely enjoyed the sun while paying little attention to me, and to the thirty or so children playing soccer, about twenty feet from me and the birds. Here's hoping the two become more concerned about "us humans". 

On the same day, and along the bike path, I met this reminder that Halloween is fast approaching.  The homeowners always hang this one and two others goblins in a tree bordering the path.  I will miss all the young trick-or-treaters who knocked on the door of our home on Keyes Avenue. Our securely locked building prevents any ghost, goblins, etc.  from making their way to our apartment door.

Fall is also evident in the Prospect Gardens as the following four pictures reveal. Tomorrow, we will continue cutting back the plants and getting the gardens ready for winter. We also have another work session scheduled for October 22nd, both 9am to noon. If you live in Madison, please join us.


The blooming Purple Asters, pictured to the right, announce that Autumn is once again with us. A last splash of color before the browns and tans totally take over the Gardens.

Another late bloomer is the Saw Tooth Daisy. Like the Aster, these plants spread easily.  In the last few years, Saw Tooth Daisies have spread east and west of the Gardens, including a large patch about a half block east towards Camp Randall and the football stadium. 

This picture shows the transition underway in the Gardens. There still are green plants; more than usual because of the rainy Summer and Fall.  The splash of yellow reminds me of the passing summer while browns of the mature plants underscore the arrival of Autumn and the inevitable Winter.

I am pleasingly anticipating Winter more than usual this year.  No longer will I be removing snow with the trusted "Snow Commander" snowblower.  I enjoyed this task and often found myself clearing neighbor's sidewalks with the powerful Snow Commander. Get that machine going and sometimes I just couldn't stop myself!

Now Ann and I can sit back and enjoy the falling snow as it piles up on our deck.  Being on the third floor and watching the snow fall surely will be a pleasant experience.

Enjoy this transitional season, as Ann and I are doing. Fall is a reminder that life indeed is made up of seasons and transitions.