Planning

It’s a cool, still morning here at my little homestead. Fall is just around the corner, although it’s not that big a deal in Texas. In fact, it could stay hot well into October. But the plants know, and they’re getting ready.  Leaves are turning. Blooms are falling. It’s the light. It comes later. Leaves sooner. The perennials are thinking about their roots. The annuals are saying good-bye.

I’ve mowed everything short to give the Bluebonnets a chance next spring, and I’m marking out chores to perform when the weather is cool and the ground softened by winter rains. There are vines I want to transplant, bulbs to move, and gardens to reconfigure. The latter is mostly an effort to cut down on the need to mow. I prefer to grow, and I now have a seed collection, gathered on walks with my arborist son who seems to know as much about native Texas plants, as Ferdinand Lindheimer once did.

I’m anxious for the fall plants to come to color, the asters, muhlys, and schoolhouse flowers. And then it will be time to trim the deadwood and make any other moves I want to make in the yard or around the house. Of course, I may need to hire out some of the work, particularly when it comes to stone. I used to think nothing of lugging around 20-pound blocks of limestone. Now I use a dolly, or get someone else to do it. But that’s a decision to come in time. For now, I’m planning, and waiting for the heat to leave.