The weather is just a little warmer today and this weekend than what we had a week or so ago. There were even a few mornings in the upper 30's/ lower 40's in the area. You might not have noticed, just adding an extra layer before leaving the house in the morning, but the birds did.

My hummingbirds have all flown the coop. By last Wednesday they packed their bags and started out on their annual fall migration south. They had to take a westerly path this year due to the Nor'easter we got over the weekend. Imagine being a hummingbird flying into those winds. So, it is time to clean and pack the hummingbird feeders up for another winter. Also, on Wednesday morning last week while on my patio I heard one lone Canadian goose flying over honking, like he was starting to rally the troops and let them know that within a couple weeks we need to get into formation for the migration. There are a few small lakes in my area, and it sounded like he went around to each one to get out the word.

And finally, my winter birds are starting to come back to my birdfeeder. I haven't had to fill my feeders up since repairing them after the bear took them down back in August. Once the wind and the rain subsided from the Nor'easter my Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches and Woodpeckers are back. I even had a Blue Jay swing by the other day. I have to continue to bring my feeders in every night to make sure the bear doesn't come snooping around again. It's a good thing that I don't have neighbors close nearby as I look pretty funny in a house coat and slippers putting my birdfeeders back out at 5:30 every morning, but my birds start early.

Recently, I have been cutting down a bunch of dead ash trees that have snapped but were hung up by other trees in my back woods. The trees were all victims of the Emerald Ash Borer and were dead long before we moved in. There were a couple that were too close to our house that I didn't feel comfortable cutting myself, so I had Steve from Der Oskar Tree Service come in and take them down. It was a big job, but he got them all down by last Friday before the Nor'easter came blowing in.

Of course, now there is even more fall yard cleanup for me to do. But on the bright side, Vicki will have plenty of wood for the outside fireplace when it comes time to cook maple syrup in February. After I get all the wood cleaned up from the yard, I'll need to spread some lime down to sweeten up the soil. I didn't get a chance to do it this spring as every time I had a day to do it, it rained. It's great if it rains once you have the lime down, but it is really difficult to spread lime in the rain. I have some fertilizer left over from a couple years back that I found while cleaning the garage, so after I lime, I will use that up to. It's not a winterizer fertilizer but a lawn starter. Both types will work in the fall as they are designed to help strengthen the grass roots, which is exactly what you need for the fall and winter.

It's also a good time to fertilize fruit trees and berry bushes. This time of the year as the trees and shrubs are going dormant for the winter a standard 5-10-5 garden fertilizer around the drip line of the plant will do fine. But I also use a little bit of triple super phosphate 0-46-0, which is solely for fruit and flower production. I'll use this in all my perennial beds as well. A little bit goes a long way, and more isn't better, just a light sprinkle. Once all this is done, I can sit back and watch the leaves turn colors.