October Garden

October is one of my favorite months, even when we’re on fire here in Southern California.  This year we’ve been saved, and October is moderate in temperature and lovely.

Summer has lost her vicious grip and we have time until the holiday rush and winter cold.  Finch Frolic Garden has withstood the heat, the dry, the inundations, the snow and the changes, all without chemicals or much human intervention.

We’ve lost some trees and shrubs this year, but that is mostly due to the faulty irrigation system which delivers too much or too little, and is out of sight underground.

Permaculture methods in sheet mulching, plant guilds, swales, rain catchment basins, and the use of canopy have pulled this garden through.

The birds, butterflies and other insects and reptiles are out in full force enjoying a safety zone.  A few days ago on an overcast morning, Miranda identified birds that were around us: nuthatches, crows, song sparrows, a Lincoln sparrow, spotted towhees, California towhees, a kingfisher, a pair of mallards, a raven, white crowned sparrows,  a thrush, lesser goldfinches, house finches, waxwings, robin, scrub jays, mockingbird, house wren, yellow rumped warbler, ruby crowned kinglet, and more that I can’t remember or didn’t see.

Birds have identified our property as a migratory safe zone.  No poisons, no traps.  Clean chemical-free pond water to drink.  Safety.

You can provide this, too, even in just a portion of your property.  The permaculture Zone 5.

I’m indulging in showing you photos from that overcast October morning, and I hope that you enjoy them.