blue skies, rain of a different sort, and other changes

Three days in a row of sunny skies so of course they predicted rain for last night and today. If it rained last night it was very light, either that or a really heavy dew this morning. It's completely overcast, warm, and humid. Yesterday I used my little leaf blower to clear out the barn and clear the little patio outside the back door of all the leaves covering it, and by little I mean 9' wide by 6' deep where I laid down concrete squares. This morning it looked like this.

The big tallow in the little backyard did a major leaf drop last night and they are still drifting down. That cold spell triggered something because the maple, ginkgoes, and pecans are also raining leaves today. So it is raining, just a different kind.

Sunday I worked on two tasks, cleaning out the gutter across the front of the house over the deck 

and worked on clearing more vines. The gutter across the deck is problematic. It's not draining completely to the downspout at the end so water sits in the gutter and drips through a seam that is not sealed completely leaving a big wet spot on the deck which if left undealt with will eventually rot the wood in that spot. And during this hard rain while the rest of the gutter across the front of the house was doing its job, the section over the deck was pouring over like a waterfall. When I got the ladder out and took the screens off I found that it was full of dirt, so I cleaned that all out which is when I realized that it wasn't draining to the downspout. So now the end has to be lowered a bit so gravity can do its job. I do need to clean out the rest of the gutter to the other end but I need a taller ladder for that.

Here's my progress Sunday on the vines. I got the other short side of sheet metal out, spread out some of the mound of dirt on the right, and cleared all the vines up to the edge of the large metal raised bed.

before

after

My yoga class on Mondays and Wednesdays is coming to an end I think. Abby has been teaching for 10 years and she's more than a little burnt out coupled with she's been going through some rough personal stuff this year. There were no classes the last two weeks due to weather and the holiday and she was only going to hold class last night if I was going to come. Attendance has been low for months now and I told her there was no reason to hold the class just for me. I suggested she take the month off and reconsider after New Years. So that's where it stands now. Fortunately for the month of December, one of the attendees decided to get certified through her job in the school district, some program they offered, and is holding yoga class on Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings. I won't go to the morning class as I go in the evening at Hesed House and also this way Abby can be in a class instead of leading it which she sorely needs at this point.

Here's my little winter garden. I thought I planted four cauliflower and five broccoli plants. I know the four are cauliflower because I bought those at the feed store. The broccoli my neighbor gave me and some cabbage that he had grown from seed. I thought I planted just the broccoli but judging by the shape of the leaves I think what I have is two broccoli and three cabbage. Time will tell I guess.