What have you done today in the Garden?

@Oreti, I can't vouch for this, because I honestly don't but it's an idea.

"Delicious" recipes using dahlia tubers.

https://shuncy.com/article/how-do-you-eat-dahlia-tubers

"These tubers have a sweet and nutty flavor that can be enjoyed in a variety of dishes.

They are a great source of dietary fiber and provide many health benefits, such as improved digestion and blood sugar control.

Dahlia tubers can be eaten either raw or cooked in a variety of ways, such as boiled, steamed, roasted, or even fried."

https://flowerpursuits.com/can-you-eat-dahlia-tubers/

Another article states don't eat them raw. And also, states caution for diabetics.

 

Wow thanks for that @Daniel W , I will cook up a couple tomorrow and see what they are like. Unfortunately this particular plant isn't one of the Bishop's Children variety but it might be tasty!!

 

@Oreti You are brave and could be our (‘dahlia tuber taste tester’)——Boy say that 3 times fast.
I would pour a bit of chocolate sauce over a section of mine , chocolate makes everything taste better.
There are a few of dahlia recipes online


Today garden clean up was spent running outside between sun breaks to do the leaf blowing, mulching leaves , checking around the pastures for wild animal scat-(none) and careful not to fall or slip in the muck. Also mulching the leaves round the perimeter of pastures. No moles yeah..or any signs of ground pests.
Then cleaning up a muddy rider mower . It’s a messy job when the landscape is super soggy.
Cleaned the mimosa leaves and seed pods from the front water feature.

Fixed a small leak on the porch roof. The past few nights the wind storm had slightly blown up a small roofing section over the porch . I found the problem screwed it back down . So far it’s holding. Then scooped the muck out of the scupper boxes to clear the clogged downspouts . Tons of leaves are floating across the flat sections of the roof . It’s raining to much to finish it today…Ah well tomorrow’s another day.

Ski season has started lots of snow on the slopes. The snow is at 4500’ elevation and I hope it stays up there all winter. I don’t fancy driving in the snow to many drivers go to fast , without snow tires and it’s never a safe option here with all the hills and slippery roads. Never enough sand trucks for the roads.

Oh but fall is a beautiful time of year in the PNW. Until all the autumn leaves bombard the garden , pastures and surrounding landscape all at once , leaving the tree and shrubs exposed for winters arrival. Rain and wind dispatching leaves everywhere already …..Ah well tomorrow’s another day.

 

I was going to pop in yesterday, but we had a close call on the highway, and I was not up to it. I did not really get to do anything outdoors anyway.

A dear friend took DIL and I for errands yesterday, and on the way home traffic was heavy on the 4 lane, and we were behind a semi with two trailers. A large red dog came running out from some houses and right into the semi's wheels. It got thumped out into our lane--my friend was trying to pass the semi--and we could not avoid the poor dog either. I am sure it was already dead. We pulled over, all 3 of us crying. The semi pulled over as soon as he could, and other vehicles also pulled over. A man got out to check the dog's collar for ID. None, and it was not his dog. He took it off the road. A police officer pulled up, and was asking everyone what happened. We had no damage and did not have to stay. If anyone had slammed on their brakes, it would have been a huge pile up with fatalities--and we might have been among them. We are all still quite shook up and crying for that poor dog. I think the officer had to write up a report for the trucker. The trucker did nothing wrong, it just happened so fast, and none of us could have saved that poor dog. It just makes me so angry sometimes that some people do not care one bit about their animals and let them run loose. (yes, sometimes they get loose by mistake. This was a well-to-do neighborhood with expensive houses and no fences.) I am thankful that there was no big pileup, and us humans are still among the living and not physically hurt. I just feel so bad for the poor dog--it was not a pretty sight either. He/she was a large red blood hound about a year or two old, and appeared purebred.

I worked on one of the aprons some, and tried to work outdoors a bit, but a thunderstorm and downpour moved in so I did not get much done. We did have church this evening.

I am glad you all are well, and your gardens sound lovely.

 

Oh @AAnightowl what a horrific incident for you all to have been involved in, so pleased that you and all others escape without injuries.It's very sad about the poor dog ,these things happen so very quickly that nothing could've been done unfortunately that wouldn't have endangered other lives.

 

Dug up a few more tagged Dahlias and I think...could be wrong here so will check again tomorrow before we go out, I have dug up all the tender Fuchsias now too . I have been caught out before with some playing a game of hide and seek with me.

Pulled a couple of potted perennials to under a semi covered area, they are hardy but a bit of shelter wouldn't do them any harm.
We are due a couple of cold nights so hopefully the remaining Dahlias will get frosted and then I can get into some serious cutting back , mulching over and finally covering them up with polystyrene filled upturned pots for them to nestle down to a well earned rejuvenating Winter snooze. A job for the weekend I hope.

 

@AAnightowl what a horrible incident. My worst nightmare and I am always after people to close the gate and not let Rufus out unsupervised. Im sad for poor dog. I hope it was sudden so it didn't suffer.

 

@AAnightowl so sorry about your incident, i know that it wasn't any body's fault, but very upsetting and hard to stop thinking about it. It's a shame about the dog but it would have been sudden.

 

It was raining heavily most of the day. The hens got leftovers from a rotisserie chicken that I had cut up and made into jerky. They love eating that.

I did haul some falling-apart odds and ends from the garden, for trash pickup. Things are slowly becoming tidier.

 

I did get to work outdoors today. I worked on the front fence to my veggie garden, and got the wires down, the front corner posts removed. I got the 2d 4x4 put in, and put up a piece of lattice on the two 4x4s. That looks good. I dug the two post holes for the corner posts. We will be using 2 pieces of the telephone pole we cut up last summer, so DS will help with that. I cannot lift those. I did some pruning on some of my tame raspberries in the one corner. I have my tame ones in large tubs (some of those salt/mineral tubs that I posted about awhile back). I made a few cuttings to root from the good trimmings.

It was sunny and mild here, so a nice day to work outdoors.

 

Same mow/mulch leaves , leaf blower everywhere. During sun breaks.

 

Well done @Daniel W ,@AAnightowl and @Pacnorwest
Not done anything but hubby mowed the grass the day before yesterday, it was a good thing because it rained yesterday.

 

Mowed the grass paths a coupla days ago now and edges them afterwards.

I have done an enormous amount of pruning of all plants, great and small.

The last of the plots were cleaned and the flowering plant stems were laid to rest on the veggie plots. All four plots are now completely mulched for the winter.


Whilst mooching around the lottie I saw this X-File on an arch.


Most of the work has been done now, so maintenance only will be necessary here and there in the flower garden.

 

Spent the morning cutting back and weeding all the raised patio beds. Swept all 3 patios. Went round collecting up the remaining pots with spent annuals in, put them round the back in my potting/ greenhouse/ nursery area to sort out this afternoon. Lightly trimmed a coup!e of shrubs .
May get time to start cutting back the Dahilas too hopefully.

 

What is that thing?

The garden looks great! I was a year wrll done.