A SW Michigan Indian Summer Day

Today we are having what we always call an Indian Summer. I am not sure if this is politically correct to call this by this name now but this what we always called these late fall days in my childhood.

Indian summer is a period of unseasonable warm, dry weather that sometimes occur in autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Today is sunny and clear and with above normal temperatures. This usually happens late in the season after we have had a killing frost.

For us this means a glorious 70 degree in November; sunny and warm! I could have gone to town today with Gene and gone to yoga and run errands but I simply needed to be outside on a day like today. No meetings, no obligations just time to soak up that sunshine and get well! Like taking a kind of mental health day!

I hung a load of clothes outside on the line and then I worked outside half of the day, planting, cutting back the Autumn Sedum Joy, supervising the Rhodies at their free range activities. I even I tried raking leaves but this bronchitis has made me weak as a kitten and it was time to quit. I give up.

So instead I took photographs of the homestead on this beautiful day. Who would think we would be having a 70 degrees plus day on November 2? November is when the cold and snow arrives in my neck of the woods. A day this warm makes me tempted to go to the beach.

I love how this land looks like a very different place this time of year. The meadow is cut down, the leaves are off the oaks baring their beautiful trunks and the evergreens take their turn at standing out in the landscape.

The animals love this weather too; Sassy is out on a blanket chewing on a bone. The chickens are free ranging and happy as can be.

I’m going to enjoy it while I can because it’s probably just the calm before the storm. So look out Michigan…. the Farmers Almanac says its going to be a colder and snowier winter than usual for us!

Small House homesteader, Donna

 

The Small House in its Autumn Glory-Photo Diary

I apologize for being so out of touch lately. Fall is such a busy time of year for us at The Small House that the outdoor work just takes over our lives. Hopefully I can make up for fewer blog posts of late with some interesting and lively photographs sharing the beauty of our homestead in the autumn.

We’ve had a hard frost already here in SW Michigan. Hard enough that it froze my remaining potted annuals and tender hydrangeas but once again the weather has turned warm. In these parts we call these warm days, our Indian Summer. I am enjoying the warm sunshine as are our animals who love to lay in the warm dirt and dust or nap.

Our small house under the big SW Michigan sky. 

The surrounding woods are taking on new shades of reds, yellow and amber thanks to the cooler nights. There is a vivid beauty about the countryside now that stirs my soul.

This bed, with its ornamental grasses and mum’s really shines in the Autumn.

As those of you who homestead know; this time of is year we call “The Crunch Time” or “The Fall Rush.” I imagine that you are working as hard as we are to gather the last of the vegetable harvest, to close down the gardens and get the animals and their pens ready for winter. These seasonal chores plus my plantar fasciitis, physical therapy and various doctor’s appointments have kept me on the run.

While I honestly prefer a more home-center, slower-paced way of life, I know I must take care of my health right now and that means many appointments in town and twice-weekly working out.

The billowing and blowing grasses are among my favorite native perennials.

The fruits of our labor can be enjoyed in our perennial gardens right now. Native perennial plant, stones hauled home from farmers fields and roadside ditches, mingle with my carefully chosen plantings and projects all lovingly built and maintained, that shine during the Michigan fall. I enjoy every season here but if I had to choose my favorite, I think it would be autumn.

The fenced-in black raspberry patch is one of our chicken’s favorite runs.

Here is a peek at the Small House Homestead this week in all of our lovely fall glory.

Shrubs and feeders provide food and shelter for our beloved songbirds.

Our non-working in-the-ground pool resides nestles up against the forest edge.

Bales of hay will block the winter winds to the chicken run and coop areas. Then next spring these bales will be broken down for mulch in the garden.

The chicken condo complex is nestled under our majestic White Oak trees.

The pool shack, meadow grasses and the wood lot in late October.  

Our 1950’s era ranch-style home. Yes, that is an old-fashioned TV antenna not a UFO!

The pool shack storage shed with our home in the distance.

The pool complex, storage shack and garden.

I hope you enjoyed you enjoyed a taste of fall on our homestead.

Small House homesteader, Donna