While we still have a couple of weeks before the official start of Winter, we’re a good month behind on a first official frost. Some flowering plants are still going though not many. Leaves have changed color and are in the process of dropping and as soon as Mom has an hour to spend away from work, she vows to start raking those up. Let’s hope our recent dry trend continues for a few more days.

We’re certain, our weeping Japanese maples are mere minutes from dropping their leaves. When Mom first moved to this area, Japanese maples of any kind were a staple in every yard and corner. Large, respectable companies existed simply to create new varieties every year, and more companies to maintain the thousands that thrived throughout landscaped parks and business complexes. But nowadays, gardeners stay away from these beauties and many other traditional trees, shrubs, and plants because everyone knows those things are just so cliche for the Pacific Northwest.

Here’s a boxwood variety, one of two we rescued a decade or so ago from a hedge a disgruntled renter neighbor thought to destroy. This one lives in a large garden pot in our backyard. His buddy isn’t terribly happy with his in-ground location elsewhere and Mom plans to pot him up next year in hopes he’ll perk back up.

A first hard freeze will wipe out this bushy salvia soon. In the meantime, slow flying bees still find a bit of nectar and pollen.

Dad’s gifted cyclamen to Mom from back in 2016 is doing great! Again, we can’t stress how happy we are that a neighbor told us about spreading hazelnut shells around the base to keep the slugs at bay. It really works. For years!

Cleaning up the yard in preparation for Winter, Mom’s amazed at some of the things she runs across, like this fungi living on an old, decaying chunk of cedar.

And this guy, a long, brown praying mantis who, as we read up on, is brown because he just molted and because we’d been dry for a few days. He was hanging out under the Russian sage and we’d like to think he was chowing on little caterpillars but in all honesty, praying mantis’ eat all bugs, good and bad, including some of the bees that love the Russian Sage.

The blueberries have turned flaming orange and red.

And talking about blueberries, visiting neighborhood cat Blueberry voices concern, in between mouthfuls of Chicken catnip treats, whether the treats will continue here at Colehaus. They aren’t American made; they come from Canada and we’re expecting the price to go up so we’ve stocked up with a few extra bags. Mom says rationing will go into effect sometime in late January if they get too expensive. Good thing Blueberry doesn’t visit every day!

Inside, our Hoya wax plant is sending out one long and one short shoot along with some new leaves. We wish the leaves would stay this color but once they reach their mature size, the burgundy fades to white. Mom also knows that sooner, rather than later, she’s going to have to find a better spot for this plant to permanently live and become the hanging plant it’s meant to be. She has chopsticks and a couple of tree branches holding it upright now and it’s starting to take up space up on the mantle where it’s away from a certain leaf nibbling cat.

We all know I’m a nibbler, Mom. You don’t have to beat around the bush calling me out.

A cat that isn’t a nibbler is this pretty turquoise-blue container we used to store saffron in years ago. Now, it serves two purposes – to look pretty and to keep someone from scratching up the window sill. You know, a window sill goes 25-plus years without anyone paying any attention to it and suddenly, one day, that’s the chosen spot to exercise one’s nails. Mom says not on her watch!

Geesh, Mom’s calling everyone out today!

We’re going easy on Christmas decorations here this year, or at least that’s what Mom says every year. Then, she puts up more and grumbles about it when taking them back down on New Year’s Day. Honestly, we just want to get through this holiday season and get down to the business of existing through our typical icy winter and Mom’s 4 am dicey drives to work each morning. Someone wake us up next spring okay?

I can do that, Mom. Be careful what you ask for.

~ ~ ~ ~

A Colehaus Cats flashback:

2023 – Three Word Wednesday
2022 – No post
2021 – A Monday Annoyance
2020 – No post
2019 – Judging Mom
2018 – No post
2017 – No post
2016 – No post
2015 – No post
2014 – No post
2013 – The Niblet Surprise
2012 – No post