November in northern New England has its own particular beauty. The clouds are saturated with a rich palette of color. In this shot you can see that the main perennial beds have been cleared for the winter. In the foreground the Thyme which encircles the house is still going strong.

After abundant blossoms this summer, the Japanese Anemones make extraordinary seed pods in the fall. They dance in the wind just as the Flowers did.

Every mild day means another opportunity to get mulch down on another garden. This was me ( and of course Sheba) cleaning up the Zinnias, Cosmos and other annuals and putting down mulch.

I use hay to mulch each garden. This builds up the soil and helps keep down weeds. The mulch also keeps in moisture ( maybe not so necessary this rainy summer but usually so important on this windy site). Mulch also eliminates the need to rototil the gardens which means soil structure isn’t disrupted as it is with rototilling. All in all, mulch is key to just about everything that happens here!

I love any encounter with a toad. I found this one while moving hay. I hope he finds a place to burrow in soon. He looked pretty cold to me.

Most of the leaves are down except for oak leaves and this golden glowing larch. None the less there are bold colors in the hills and fields.

In all seasons we spend a lot of time down on this flat rock (oddly tilted in my photo but actually very flat). It is a great lookout spot for little and big people and of course Sheba (and where was she when I was taking this photo? She was digging a big messy hole in the Arbor Garden for some unknown terrier mutt reason).

Sending you all much love and wishes for peace in your world.

PS New colors the next day. Winter no longer coming. Winter is here.