When I look out the window from my office, I see our good old, trusty Denali hanging out there, our so-called “farm truck.”

She’s been with us through every season, every muddy harvest, every farmers’ market run, and more plant hauls than I can count.

We haven’t purchased a new car since my oldest was born.

He’s now 27 years old. (I’ll let that sink in for a moment.)

Cars, for us, aren’t about vanity, they’re purely practical.

Our Denali XL was bought used, back when CDs were still a thing, and she’s now a quarter of a century old with over 200,000 miles under her belt, still humming along like a champ.

The only time we get a taste of the fancy-schmancy upgrades is when we rent a car for a long drive, usually to a wedding or some far-off event.

That’s when we learn that cars these days start without keys (what?!), turn off and on automatically when you stop and go (also weird), and probably make you coffee if you push the right button.

Not that I’d know, I never pay for the really fancy rental.

I’m there for the economy option, the one that looks slightly disappointed in itself.

Anyway, lately our old Denali has been squeaking and rattling on the road, and the final straw came when she left a small lake under her tires.

So, off we went to Sunset Auto Mechanic to see Chuck, the owner.

(By the way, if you don’t know Chuck, then you’re either new to Cape May or you don’t get out much, because everyone knows Chuck. Even the AAA guy who came to jump our Denali’s battery recently knew exactly who I was talking about when I mentioned him.)

Chuck took one look and diagnosed a leaky water tank which, apparently, is normal for a car her age.

A few new belts, a few grumbles about parts prices, and $800 later, she’s back to purring.

Not exactly a “win,” but these days, anything under a thousand feels like a minor miracle.

(Scratch that, add in the $200 for new batteries recently, and we did, in fact, hit that $1K mark. So much for miracles.)

She’s all set now for our trips to the tree farm when we’ll be packing her to the brim with fresh evergreens, because our Winter Wreath Workshops and Holiday Evergreen Preorders are officially here.

She might squeak, but she’s part of the family, and she’s earned her keep.

Farm Happenings

We’re about to get our first hard frost overnight but, here in Cape May, because we’re so special, temperatures are expected to bounce right back into highs in the mid to high 50s and lows in the low to mid 40s for the next two weeks.

Crazy, but I’ll take it.

Because of this brief dip followed by the warm-up, I’m not doing too much in the way of prepping.

My cold-hardy plants out in the field can handle these low temps just fine.

It’s still too warm for tulip planting, so those bulbs are staying in the fridge to get their cooling hours.

I did finally plant the 200 Dutch iris bulbs, with just enough room to spare on my iris row.

My peonies are coming this week, and hopefully the last variety of my tulip bulbs, too.

I may start cutting down the dahlias and pick up some straw to mulch them for overwintering.

It’s been so warm that most of the trees haven’t dropped their leaves yet.

I might even cut the tops off my celosias before the frost hits to save their seeds.

Since You Didn’t Ask…

Did anybody watch The Real Housewives of Orange County Reunion? (It’s ok, don’t be embarrassed to admit it, I won’t tell, and we can commiserate together.)

I’m torn about Katy. I feel like the other ladies bullied her and I want her to fight back, but… maybe she’s somewhat guilty? A very disappointing showing from the first Asian woman ever cast on that show.

Also, I’ve been binging Succession on HBO, it’s all talking, no action, but it’s excellent for putting me to sleep on those nights when insomnia pays a visit. Try it.