Blissfully cooler

Waking at 5-00am and rising at 6-30am. It's noticeably cooler today here in Oklahomegrownvegland. One could almost say "pleasant".
Even cool cats like Alvin here...............

.... enjoy a bit of a rest from the heat.
It also means that the Happy Gardener can get some outdoor tasks done.
First on the list is to deal with the Persimmon tree which was (I presume) struck by lightning.

We have already lost one of the three and now it's time to fell the second.
I call in the heavy gang..................

...and soon this once magnificent tree is reduced to this..............

It's sad isn't it. But I decided to fell it as I didn't want it falling on it's own and damaging the roots of our only survivor. I add it to the woodpile
I then put in the new Chrysanthemum at the right hand end of one of the front flower beds.....

.....while at the left hand end the existing 'mum......

....is covered in bursting buds.
More blooms are showing on one of the burn piles.....

I piled a few fallen branches here after the last ice storm and have left it to it's own devices. Now I have a small island of growth which has become a bit of a garden feature. There are a few new trees established and some pretty white flowers, which are a type of creeper, have climbed the tree.......

.......and adorned it with it's small white blooms. I have no idea what they are but they are very attractive and will hopefully become permanent residents.
Here's another permanent resident..................

......one of the many Crawdads which inhabit our property. Maybe I should say "Crawmum" in this case as it's a female and she's loaded with eggs under her tail.
She lets me know in no uncertain terms...............

...that she doesn't want to be bothering with me as she's busy looking for a nest site. I spot her making a new burrow shortly after I take this snap.
Around the back, I pull some Egyptian Onions, place them on a screen.......

.... and put then undercover on the patio. They need to dry out and thunderstorms are forecast for the next few days. I also gather quite a lot of the Bulbils too........

...... and will be offering some of these around to anyone who would like to try growing some.
I say "try" but they seem to require little or no care and grow through the winter. The whole plant is edible, the tops supplying shallot type greens for adding to soups and stews when all other garden greens have long since vanished.

At long last The Happy Gardeners Rotating Composter ©™ is completed and in service.

I reckon that it has cost me around $60 to make and when you price one to buy online you will see how much of a saving that is. It makes turning the ongoing compost an easy task. No spade or fork work required. It's also vermin proof and looks a lot tidier than the wooden bins that I used previously. My main concern is that it may require some sort of covering for if temperatures drop REALLY low. I don't want the compost freezing solid as a brick.

Enough!!

Tonight's dinner is ........

Home Made Caesar Salad and a glass of chilled Chablis