Putting my herb garden to bed, part 1

I'm sure at least some of you were expecting a Journal 52 entry tonight, but that didn't happen because I've been offline most of the day.  Today I headed for the herb garden instead of creating a mixed media journal page. 

I've been very lucky because, although right before Halloween, we had a few nights that dipped into the mid 40s F (8ish C), I've experienced a rather balmy autumn.   I was still enjoying near perfect temperatures, at least perfect for me, since I love moderately warm days and cool nights when a cold front came through last night.  When I feared I would be caught off guard and lose all my herbs to frost (or worse, a hard freeze), I finally bit the bullet and decided regardless of the fact my left shoulder and right wrist were still not fully functional, I had to bring my herbs in.  One thing I've learned in all this is, soft tissue injuries do NOT heal quickly or easily.  I can remember the years I could get both my "flower bed" as well as my herb garden ready for winter in a single day.  This has taken me much longer, I fear.

This is what my herb garden looked like in mid-September.  We had a late rain spurt, which made everything grow like crazy.  Not too long after that, I cut most of the herbs back and harvested them.

This is what my herb garden looked like this afternoon (Friday).  I got out bright and early this morning and surveyed the damage, but didn't think to take any "before" photos.  Thankfully, I had not lost anything since we didn't get the frost that was originally anticipated.  I spent most of the day bringing in the plants I wanted to overwinter.  The many, many boxes came from my friend Sally's garage.  They had already sustained water damage before I got them, so I was thrilled to be able to use them in my garden, rather than seeing them go to the trash (in my city, cardboard and other paper that has water damage cannot be recycled).  However, this is the way I left the garden today, because I had truly overdone the lifting.

Although I found saucers for all the pots that didn't have one, I still thought to lay down a towel.  I suspect both Bleubeard and Squiggles will soon find a way to play among the lavender in the dining area, because this is where they both drag their cat toys. 

I brought in more plants this year than last year, so I now have a huge mess I didn't actually anticipate in my living room.

I will probably leave the dill, thyme, and rosemary here, but take some of the flowering plants to the dining area.  I didn't realize how crowded it would be, since I hadn't brought so many herbs in last year.  However, this was all I was able to accomplish today, especially since I had to load photos onto my computer and soak my swollen arm and wrist.  The rearranging will have to wait till another day.

Today is Day 7 of AEDM and I spent the day bringing my herbs into the house to overwinter.  I realize this may not seem like art, but it's artful, necessary, and some people actually seem to enjoy my herb garden updates.  Thanks for looking, and of course, thanks for your generous comments.