By Kelli Bowen
It’s getting to be that time of year, when it can be hot or cold and with the foliage is turning and dying, the cold will be coming sooner rather than later.
We bagged up the lawn yesterday. Let me say, I did not want to bag the lawn. Leaves and clippings insulate the ground and help provide habitat for seeds, insects and small creatures. Hubby reminded me that those small creatures are also the same creatures that cause me to “have an unreasonable mental breakdown” if they get into our drafty, hundred-year-old home, so maybe we shouldn’t encourage them. I relented that we should not nurture the nature…directly around the house.
We mowed, bagged, blew, and pressure-washed most of the day, filling a trailer with leaves, clippings, and soon-to-be-mulch matter.
When it gets cooler, the crockpot is brought out (yes!) and meals are put on auto-cook. My kids approve this easy creamy recipe:
Chicken breast
Cheddar soup
A block of cream cheese
Dry ranch seasoning
With this in the crockpot on high for four hours and adding some baked potatoes to the oven the last hour, and a veggie, dinner is taken care of, and a crowd pleaser. My trick is that I like that when I do dishes as I prepare dinner, it’s like a reward for future me to have dinner done with very little cleanup. I realize I’m not really accomplishing anything new, but I appreciate the trick on my mind.
Now, thrice, Hubby has warned me that the outside is going to freeze, and along with it, our plants. Today was the day I listened. Hubby and I have two potted rose bushes, a strawberry plant-that’s still producing, a begonia, some succulents, a few pink flowers that are outliving the rest, and six or so aloe plants. We brought them inside for a little fair weather sleepover. Our dining room and kitchen will house the additional plants as we wait for this freeze to pass by.
We’ll have to decide who’s staying inside for the winter, who’s staying in the garage for a light hibernation, and who I’ll plant outdoors to hop it’ll come back, but tonight, everyone is snuggled in at 70 degrees.
As I put another blanket on the bed and pull the slippers out of the closet, the air is getting crisper, and the kitchen is smelling more savory. I love a good chill!
I also do love a good chili…hmm…”Hubby!”
Kelli, a North Dakota girl through and through, has made her home from the eastern prairies to the western badlands with her supportive Hubby, two daughters, and ever-growing menagerie accompanying her along the way.