Photo-A-Day #2723

Fall is my favorite season. Not because of the leaves falling that I have to rake or the switch to using the heat in the house (not quite yet) and having the gas bill go from $23 to $300 (that’s in the height of winter). No, I like Fall because I can finally stop walking around drenched in sweat. I love the cool weather. I love it. I love being able to actually use covers in the bed instead of sleeping on top of it trying to keep cool. I also love Halloween and can’t wait to see the kids enjoying that holiday this year. Fall is also the season when the kid’s birthdays happen and that is wonderful in and of itself.

Today we went to pick up our Farm Share at Attleboro Farms and they have a Fall special where you can buy two 8″ mums, a bale of hay, 2 sweet pumpkins and 1 cornstalk. We bought that and added a second cornstalk for decorations for the front of the house. Now I’m going to really have to get out and weed the front of the house because people might actually look at the decorations. Allison set them up while I was sleeping before work. I went out to see them when I woke up and we had the kids pose with the decorations. I took a ton of photos and this one came out the best. I would have liked to have not cut off part of Andrew’s arm but at least both kids are looking at the camera.

There is a new Tinkerbell movie coming out on October 23rd. It is Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings. While the story deals with the Winter we might want to look at some tips from Tink and Rosetta about Fall.

FALL GARDEN
The change in the colors of the leaves tells us that fall is here. It’s the end of the growing season. This time of year can be quite busy for gardening, as many plants over-flower and leaf litter can spread throughout your garden.

ROSETTA’S TOP FALL GARDENING TIPS
Pixie Hollow, home of Tinker Bell and her friends, is a magical place, filled with many colorful flowers and trees. It is not surprising that so many fairies live there! Tinker Bell’s close friend, Rosetta, is a garden fairy whose talent is nurturing plants and flowers. This guide looks at simple ways of making and maintaining your very own Pixie Hollow garden. Ask a grown-up to help you follow Rosetta’s top seasonal gardening tips!

• Collect seeds from flowers and keep them safe, ready to plant next year!
• Notice how the leaves on the plants change from green to bright yellows, reds and oranges before they drop to the ground.
• Collect some of the dropped petals from the summer roses, put them on a folded piece of paper and make a flower press by compressing the paper between two heavy books.
• Clear away old vegetation to make room for new growth. Pile this in the corner of your garden. It will become a compost heap after all the plants decompose. Later, you can use the mulch for feeding new growth in the garden.
• Be careful when you clear the ground as some animals and insects might be making their home for the winter there

FANTASTIC FALL FACTS

At the beginning of fall, days start to get shorter and the nights draw colder. But it isn’t all doom and gloom, as this season can be one of the most beautiful…

• When fall draws closer, chlorophyll, found in all plants, is no longer needed, and is discarded. Chlorophyll keeps plants green and when it is no longer present, other colors emerge, bursting with vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. Nothing can match the way the sunlight shines through these golden hues, as Iridessa, Tinker Bell’s friend the light fairy well knows.
• When leaves fall and decompose on the soil, they release their minerals back into the earth providing nutrition to the tree from which they fell.
• Nuts and seeds become readily available during fall. Animals, such as squirrels, collect them in preparation for hibernating throughout