Garden Tidbits: Hay Bale Harvest, Leave It To Beaver and Flex Tape Hack

Thank you to everyone for your encouraging words about my photoshopped Potting Shed in the fall issue of Country Gardens Magazine. To use a boating analogy, seeing my shed and work in the magazine without any recognition, and on the cover no less, took the wind right out of my sails. Your support and kind comments made me feel so much better.

♥♥♥

Fall is the time of year for a hay bale harvest~ when the field next to my Potting Shed is cut and baled.

In a week’s time the field goes from bronze feathery topped grasses to tidy bales.

Depending on the growth and frequency the field is cut, the bales can be large and round or small and rectangular like this year.

The smaller bales are usually stacked and hauled off the same day. Hauling the round bales takes more time with the bales hanging around a little longer to dry.

 These photos are from a few years ago when I couldn’t resist having a little fun with my harvest of pumpkins and mums among the hay bales and tractor. . .

It always makes me wish the hay bales would stay around for a month for a backdrop and pumpkin fun!

Even though it’s October, Mother Nature is still hanging onto summer, like this bumblebee to the Chaste Tree bloom.

Our September 80+ degree days must have been agreeable to the Chaste Tree.

The bees are all abuzz over a second  flush of blooms and with good reason as there isn’t much else flowering this time of year.

I spied this lone bloom on the Earth Angel Floribunda Rose, a happy surprise and so unexpected!

The weeds are growing with abandon, if not kept in check, Morning Glory vine is twines and climbs its way around everything in its path.

September seems like it went by in a whirlwind  thanks to Hurricane Florence ( pun intended ;).  We were fortunate unlike a lot of North and South Carolina, that we had no flooding or damage. We did lose a tree, but not to strong winds. . .

The mystery of the disappearing butterfly bush was finally confirmed as Rita guessed, the guilty party was a beaver! We walked out one morning to discover our Weeping Willow tree felled to the ground. The willow tree is about 10 feet down from where the butterfly bush is. The tree was gnawed to a pencil point and then just left there. . .so rude!

We nursed the willow tree along for over a year since we planted it to replace a mature tree we lost by the shoreline (you can see the stump of the previous tree  behind it). We have never seen a beaver or evidence before, but they must be one or several residing nearby. The next tree we plant will have to have some fencing around it to prevent any potential beaver damage.

My birdhouse toppled over in the wind during Florence, fortunately the birds had flown the coop and the house wasn’t damaged.

I can’t blame it entirely on Florence as it became obvious that the wood post had developed a serious case of rot over the course of three years when we put it up.

We had a roll of Flex Tape leftover from patching our roof after some storm damage in January. I highly recommend Flex Tape, which worked exactly as advertised as a strong and flexible waterproof barrier for our roof until it could be permanently repaired!

 As Flex Tape is a strong rubberized waterproof tape that seals out water, air and moisture, we decided to apply it to the bottom of the birdhouse post that would be below ground to add a layer of protection and hopefully prolong the life of the wood.

I used the opportunity to clean out the birdhouse which I normally wait and do in the spring. I’m always amazed  at the different nesting styles and building materials used!

My husband cut some of the length off the post and then applied the Flex Tape to all four sides, including the bottom. I found Flex Tape in the paint department at Lowe’s. The tape comes with a backing that you peel away before applying. As you might guess, it’s super sticky. Rather than trying to cut through it, it’s easier to use the open blades of the scissors slide through the tape.

Once you peel the backing off, press the tape firmly to remove any air pockets or bubbles. Once bonded, it can’t be re-positioned and adhesion will strengthen over time.

We used a level to make sure the post was straight and then filled in the hole with some gravel and packed the dirt in around it and then top coated with mulch.

Hopefully we’ll get a few more years out of the wood post this way, time will tell.

 I’ve been busy doing a little cleaning and organizing around the Potting Shed. I removed ALL the watering cans sitting around, including the chain gang, as well as anything else that could be a potential projectile, like pumpkins, back in September in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

After Florence, Hurricane Lola, kept me occupied and I’ve been slowly getting everything back in place. We’re keeping our fingers and toes crossed that Hurricane Michael only brings us rain and no damaging winds or downed power lines. We’re expecting the heaviest winds and downpours to arrive on Thursday.

I did manage to do a little organizing to keep track of my perennials and shrubs. This was a long overdue and good rainy day project! I had all my tags stuffed in an overflowing box in my Potting Shed. Anytime I went to look for something, they all spilled out. I sorted through them, removing the duplicates and plants that bit the dust.

I found book rings at Dollar Tree and used a hole punch on the tags. Some of the tags already had a convenient hole at the top.

I sorted and organized my tags by climbers/roses, perennials, and shrubs/trees so I can refer back as needed and find what I’m looking for.  . so much better than searching through a crammed box!

Hang your tags somewhere for easy access. . . I hung mine on some pumpkins, just kidding. :)

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are in the path of Hurricane Michael. . .

If you’re in the path of the storm, I hope you’ll *bee* safe. ♥

Thank you for your visit, sharing with:

 Between Naps on the Porch