Tractors are out in full force in my neighborhood. They're filling up grain trucks with corn and beans. Refurbished school buses full of pumpkins are clogging up the roadways. My mowing schedule is down to every two weeks. The chickens are molting. The buck goats are in full rut. There are gigantic spiderwebs in every path I take. Crickets are forming orchestras every evening. The stores all have mums outside their entrances. Yesterday I made pumpkin soup for lunch. The end of summer is upon us.
What do you do to prepare for fall? My preparations blend into the more serious work of getting ready for winter. The garden that wasn't has been mowed and mulched and covered in plastic. A spare tire has garlic planted in it. A grow out cage for the bunnies has been cleaned out and there is a sack full of empty toilet paper tubes waiting to be made into bored bunny bombs. Straw bales for bedding have been bought and stacked and I'll be closely watching the temperature forecasts to plan the beginning of the winter packs.
In the next few weeks I'll be putting away the chick brooding light. The electric watering supplies will be drug out and tested. The coop and rabbit fans will be stored away. Shade tarps will be converted to wind blocks. Tomatoes will come out of the freezer to be made into salsa and spaghetti sauce. Vehicles will get antifreeze. We will be laying up a supply of ice melt and making sure the snow shovel is handy. Two happy goats will get to go on a "date." Hay will be restocked as well as some basic household essentials- lamp oil, candles, toilet paper, coffee, yarn...
Along with all that work will be some fun times. We'll have a backyard fire or two. There's a getaway to the Mother Earth News Fair in Topeka planned. The old "just for fun" car will get taken for a spin. Hopefully we will get time to hit a trail. Leaves will be admired. Hands will be held.
