Time to weed garden, enjoy fall season

I’ve just about picked all the vegetables my garden was destined to produce, except for a few lemon cucumbers that just keep on a-comin’.

Mini-farming is a kick in the pants.

I did say mini, right?

Anything larger than my 15-foot by 20-foot plot of planter bins, a fruit tree and short line of berry vines is as much as I want to handle.

You see, I’ve grown gardens in the open dirt and it is a lot of maintenance. Planter bins are the way to go. I also have a couple oak barrels that are growing fabulous tomatoes.

But, it all comes to an end and never too soon, as far as I’m concerned. I’m ready for fall, my favorite time of year.

Soon I’ll be pulling exhausted plants onto the burn pile and fluffing the soil in the bins and barrels. This year, I’ll cover them with plastic weighted down so weeds aren’t encouraged to sprout during the winter months.

Then, a little fertilizer in the early spring and we’ll be good to go again.

The trees in the yard are beginning to shed leaves, most of which are picked up by the lawnmower’s rear-bagging system. This is the easiest way to eliminate leaves off the lawn.

However, the leaves don’t usually stay put. Winds blow them helter skelter around the yard, against the house and fences, so it’s a periodic ordeal for the leaf blower to get them all to the burn pile.

With all the weekend activities to participate in, typical fall season events and so forth, it leaves little time for more work at home.

To keep the balance, something has to give and it’s usually the yard that gets put off until a better time, a weekend of events that I have little interest in.

I do need to get these fall jobs out of the way because fall is the perfect horseback riding season. I love going out to see the colors along the higher trails at Whiskeytown Lake. The fall air is cool and refreshing and a stop for breakfast in French Gulch completes a perfect day.

But, wait, fall in Lassen Park area is nice, too. Some of the trails in October are still very accessible. The Aspen tree leaves are fantastic shimmering in the breeze. It’s all picture perfect whether you are hiking, horseback riding or bicycling so be sure to take a camera along.

If I go that direction, I might have to pack a lunch. There used to be a couple of pretty good eating places at Old Station, but I never knew if and when they are open so it’s good to bring some food and drinks along.

My photo album is stuffed with good images brought back from many day rides and overnight stays. During bleak winter days,I like to review what the rest of the season has to offer.

I’ve yet to see the big Whiskeytown waterfall that was recently rediscovered. Maybe this year I can get to it as I don’t mind a mile or so hike in the fall.

There is a lot of country for hikers, bikers and horseback riders to trail blaze and fall is a great time to do it.

When winter does bless us with frozen precipitation, maybe I will get the slats off the rafters and make a run or two down the slopes at Mt. Shasta Board & Ski Park. Even a drive to the lodge without the skis would be a nice outing just for lunch.

That way, I can watch everyone else do their workouts.