Ya'll Are Coming in the House Right NOW!

OMG, it's that time of year again already!

Halloween is a distant memory the clocks are falling back this weekend and cold weather is soon to be upon us.

More importantly though, it's time for all of the plants to make their way back into the house. Some plantracide will occur this weekend as I dispose of the hanging baskets of the summer. Please don't tell them that they're going in the dumpster while their potted friends will be moving indoor to the cushy warmth of a forced air furnace. The hanging plants did a great job this summer of showing off their foliage and flowers and they really reminded me how much of a fucking pain in the ass hanging baskets are. I'd forgotten how much maintenance they require. I much prefer throwing a bunch of flowers in the ground and occassionally tossing some water at them.

It was great having a deck this summer. I can honestly say, that there is nothing better than having a big deck. We enjoyed the heck out of our big deck this summer, as did our friends. We loved showing it off to new people, everyone is always impressed when they see it for the first time. Although after they'd been over a few times they realized it wasn't as big as they had originally thought and there had been a lot more people over for dinner than just you.

Having a big deck gave me a chance to play with my green thumb. I had a semi-successful herb growing season. We were going great until an August thunderstorm threw the herbs off the railing and thrust them to the ground thereby destroying them. I cried for a few days and finally consoled myself that I had at least made one batch of pesto before it all came crashing down.

My regular "house plants" loved being on the big deck this year. It was the perfect combination of direct, yet not quite in your eyes, kind of sunlight. My Elephant Palm doubled in size and the spider plant that my old neighbors gave me went from a single sprig to a huge plant. But alas, winter is starting to bear down on us and the plants have to make their way in.

I hate bringing the plants in for the summer, it's sort of finally resigning and giving into Mother Nature and letting her have her way. But I can't say I was surprised, it happens around this time every year - what a coincidence!