Shutting Down “Puppywoods”

It is getting quiet. The nights come early and are darker. The sun takes longer to wake up. The warm weather friends are going back home and the scooters are slowing down. They will soon be sleeping in their new homes on mounds of grub they stored up since spring. And thanks to a neighborhood feline the yard boss was buried yesterday.

So I’m shutting down “Puppywoods” for the winter. No more daily feedings of peanuts, sunflower seeds, and fruit. No more making sure the waterhole is full. No more of allowing the yard to grow in abundance giving a playground to the ones who should be living here anyway.

Tomorrow I will again enjoy this fall weather, but with a new mission. Giving a hair cut to a hippy yard. Allow nature to have the freedom of sun and rain and space, she knows how to grow. My neighbor has already complained about the outcrops of foliage. The city has already complain about the overgrowth, but I caught their message and avoided the clearance fee.

Now bamboo is an invasive plant. It is just really tall grass and if left alone with spread like wildfire. It has, but it is easy to trim back and it is green all year. English ivy will also spread quickly. I didn’t realize until this year when I just backed off and let it run. Again easy to trim the yard cover has been interesting to see where it would go. After the two cans are full, I’ll stop and wait for next week to continue.

Since the critters do not run anymore, I can explore sections of my yard I have left alone to nature for 10 months. Areas where I have seen critters run and play and relax in freedom and protection. It has been like walking next to a comfortable zoo everyday, except these critters are not caged. They have recognized their names and come up on the porch as I feed them. They realized I was the source of food and respected their space. They did not fear me.

So tomorrow, I will take my usual ride and make my human conversation at the grocery store, but when I return I will start on my chores. I have taken a year of sabbatical while the chores await my decisions to move or stay or hire someone to do what I have put off.

After the yard is tidied up, it is time to move inside to the warmth and start anew on my projects. My day-to-day schedule that has been on the wall for four years will be removed and a new schedule put up to follow.

It is time to get back to work.