When most of our plants are down for a winter's nap, we need a spot to think about seeds, soils, and just thinking of spring. This seems like a good spot to visit. I wanted to alert @LindaTX8 that the Monarchs are doing well in Mexico. I follow a blog written by someone in San Antonio. She had quite a trip to Mexico recently. https://mail.google.com/mail/c...

Also wanted to know if there have been more deer roaming around than usual at this time of year?

We have more and bigger deer around here than usual - they have plenty to eat.

@porkpal Thanks, we have lots of them here and at the lake...and they seem to be crazy! Jumping fences, getting stuck in fences, etc.

We recently put in a new hog resistant fence around one of our paddocks and the deer got stuck in it a lot until we added a white tape along the top which seemed to help them to judge the height of their jump and solved the problem.

We were at the lake a couple of weekends ago. There was a dead deer in the yard inside of a perfect circle of dead grass. Looked like it jumped the fence, hit a limb, and broke its back. Our daughter had her dog up and he was going crazy to get to the deer. DH tied the deer to the back of the truck and hauled it up to the woods.
New neighbor walked over to introduce himself and let us know he saw the deer on the ground "circling" early in the week and didn't know what to do, so he called the police. Officer came, shot the deer and said he'd have someone pick up it up. Then they spotted another deer stuck in the metal bars of the fence across the street. It was dead. So the neighbor asked the officer to help him get the deer out of the fence. They left it in front of our fence. It looked like the buzzards had eaten most of it by the time we saw it. We scooped it into a bag. We would have never known what happened if the neighbor hadn't seen it.

Wow! How aggravating that they left those deer there.

Deep in the woods and deep into hunting season here. No deers in sight...

Now the ticks are another story. My two boy cats lurk in the woods and come in with ticks. The girls stay in the yard and they have no issues with ticks.

I had been told that during hunting season the deer will bed down near houses as there is less hunting pressure. That is supposed to be why we see more ticks this time of year. Maybe? Maybe not.

Enjoying the "chat"... look forward to the "chew" on Turkey day.

Aren't we all loving these temperatures and clear skies! If only I had more windows at work. But then I would be staring outside all day.

Our neighbors feed them when they're up. It's a $200. fine for feeding deer. I think most people, including us, fed them for years. Now there are so many, it's dangerous to drive at night. Never thought about them feeling safe near houses. We have them here in Austin, but we also have coyotes. So far, no ticks!

@teacup754 We will be putting up the "ribs" for our hoophouse today. I need to cram a lot of pots in along the fenceline before all this sunshine turns to fog and drear.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

And to you too, @jerseyridgearts ! Our daughter and family just left for Waco to have dinner with the inlaws and very large family. We will have Thanksgiving tomorrow with them. She just texted that SIL just pulled away from gas pump with nozzle still attached. 'Said clerk did not yell at him! Now nozzles have breakaway lines. I will try very hard not to tease him when they get back.
We will spend afternoon with neighbors cooking out.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! EAT!!

Groaaannn, ate, was perfect. I guess a wierd year for plants makes for strange deer populations. Don't believe the hunters did their job this year. Maybe if we had more cooler weather. Deer definitely do learn to dodge toward town during hunting season, but the rut making them charge you and cars is chemistry. Smells better in town. Feeding deer you plan to harvest is the illegal part, but feeding feral animals is bad mojo. Think of it like feeding an alligator or a snake. You become the source of food, you could be the food. Makes it common sense and less a rule.
Happy all day long and a day of really good food , chuckl, more 'nfull now

Putting up the Xmas tree today. Asked DH ( jokingly) if we still had a fire extinguisher because of all the lights I was stringing on the tree. He said we did and that he actually checked it occasionally.
Tonight about 9:30 I noticed a Nextdoor post about a massive fire extinguisher recall in Consumer Report. Yep, ours is one of them. So if you have a Kidde extinguisher with plastic nozzle, don't use it. You can get a free replacement by getting in touch with Kidde.

I checked my extinguisher to the list they put out and ours was not on there. Have had it for years. It's still holds pressure in the "green" but I wonder??

I wanted to put the tree up tonight along with 30 other things. But I ended up being productive doing other things I did not want to do. those things that I dislike doing do not make me feel productive, like laundry. I need a good cold winter day to keep me inside to get some stuff done indoors. The warm days are numbered which is why I am outside doing something every day.

Well, the tree is up. Lights are on, half decorations are on, too. Living room is a mess.

Yesterday, with help from DD and SIL, we put up the hoop off off of the house (Or as it's known to me, the smoking porch for DH. Plants don't seem to mind him). It's misting this morning, so I'm going to be moving pots in before the rain starts. Just had the house painted, so I'm hoping the screw holes won't show too much next spring.

Still have brugmansias blooming!

We've got half the tree done too - waiting til the weather changes and the mood strikes to finish.

Toured the community garden that is next to my church this morning. One of the garden members offered me starts: lemon grass and leeks! And gave me hibiscus see for tea. I took him up on the offer and will head over Tuesday - before it gets 'cold' to dig. Promised to do some weeding in exchange. I still feel amazed at all that is still growing. There are roses blooming and fat buds on camellias - what we called annuals are never ending blooms here. Just WOW.

100% humidity all day, no fog, rain didn't start til 330pm. Lights are up, no tree this year too much effort, we save the space for kids to visit. I spent the morning yesterday snipping back the blooming basil, salvias, chives and stray lantana...this day I got my herbs in - dukat dill, thymes (lemon) hilltop oregano, fennels, pansies. Leaves me the Spice Island rosemary and reg thyme to plant. Didnt have time for pix

Kit Kat ~ you make me feel guilty getting all that done with your herbs. It is so dry here. We have been feast (Harvey donated 15 inches) or famine (no rain since Harvey). I have two types of romaine lettuce seedlings ready to go into a raised bed but it is so dry I am waiting to plant while I pray for rain.

Catherine, you hit the jackpot on the community garden. They will gladly recruit your assistance and the benefit will be trying new plants and learning southern gardening. It sounds like a bonus for all involved.

Very little Christmas decorating here. When the mood strikes, I'll get out my ceramic tree and plug it in. It is hard to want to decorate at home when working in retail.

So today, I repainted my 'hours' sign. In January I'll begin enjoying three day weekends. While I painted the sign, I was trying to decide how I would spend my first three day weekend off. Then it occured to me, inventory and tax time. Grrrr....

Since I am planting no more than 2 to 4 plants each, started at 730, and tucked tail @ 2pm, I didnt really achieve much. Found 2 leopard frogs while crunching 2 doz snails and a handful of grubs, poisoning the fireants that bit me, wondering if the leopard frog is what has nibbled the volunteer fern leaf dill and emptying 2 half bags of soil divising raised areas for the lemon thyme, I figure I have overplanted that spot. No air circulation much under the sweetgum, pine and yaupon. Squirrels are actually building nests here, I have so many of the thieves Kitten came up to play, but the leaves are getting ahead of me. The pineywoods are always thirsty, but we haven't had rain for a month at least.