I had another minor freeze last week but the dahlias are still not dead. Also, I have some rather spectacular Bella nicotiana still blooming. They did not impress me much this summer but have come into their own the past few weeks.

Both petunias and allysum are able to take a light freeze so some of the ornamental pots are interesting with a simple gourd or two added for a seasonal flair.

Some of the beds at the job sites, however, are down right ghastly. I do not remember a fall with so much deer damage. They have decimated the hydrangeas beyond recognition. Also, a first for me this year, the deer are jumping the fences into the pool areas. Granted, they can easily clear the four-foot barriers but (I may have made this up) in the past I thought the pool was somewhat disorienting.

Another first this season — they come right up on porches and stone patios under pergolas. I support efforts to reduce their numbers, and as an added benefit provide food security for our community.

I rarely use recipes. All that measuring irritates me. I came up with a concoction for lunch recently that I hope to repeat. I poured the vinegar from a jar of my canned dilly beans, added olive oil and an equal amount of sliced, cooked beets. After a quick heat I topped it off with blue cheese and walnuts. Cheese pretty much fixes everything.

Their was a sweet annual bed right along State Road at Surveyor’s Lane. The sunflowers still looked great on Halloween. Mine have long since hit the ground and the gold finches polished off all the seeds.

I cannot figure out how dried beans are so inexpensive. I planted, watered, weeded, picked, dried, opened the pods and dried some more. I might have enough to serve a big pot of chili just once to the family. I will say there was something very satisfying about all the effort.

I have a nice little lilac that is a twice-a-year bloomer. It’s putting on its fall show. The cultivar is Bloomerang. It is only about three feet tall but a welcome addition to the shrub border.

Let me go back to my beets. I meant to talk about the variety of said beet. It is an heirloom from the 1880s called Lutz Winter Keeper. It is the best storage beet as well as having nice greens. Some of mine are much larger than softballs. I hope I get the proper storage for them. Hopefully, I’ll get them out of the ground soon before it gets really cold.

I wonder if Tuesday’s Democratic victory in the Kentucky gubernatorial race gives Mitch McConnell pause. This was after DJT had a big rally in the state on the eve of the election. Matt Bevin was up by five points before Trump came to town. Part of the issue is the residents of Kentucky loving Kynect, the state’s version of Obamacare. Trump won Kentucky handily in 2016 so I’m sure most of those voters who also like Kynect would never think that the Affordable Care Act is, in fact, Obamacare.

Also, there was quite a situation in the state recently with teacher’s strikes. Democrats tend to get support from teacher’s unions.
At any rate, I bet there is some soul searching in the U.S. Senate. Oh, one more thing, the Virginia State House has turned completely blue for the first time in 20 years.