Will is busy raking and baling hay. Yes, he’s late but so are most of the other farmers in our area, due to our crazy weather. And breakdowns! It’s a beautiful fall day for it with highs in the 70s F, and lows only in the high fifties. We’re so grateful.
On Monday, we had a wonderful homeschool group from up north come for a homestead tour. The kids and their parents got to taste test a lot of tomatoes, we dug some potatoes and explained how we saved seeds. It was so much fun we’re still talking about it. I love the kids’ excitement.
Yesterday, we pulled in more beans, thanks to our friend, Dara. We were getting ready to pick her a crate of tomatoes to take home and can when Will motioned to the west. Thunder? It wasn’t supposed to rain. He was all hooked up to rake hay! Dara, Mike, and I headed out to the Wolf Garden, lickety split, in the solar golf cart and picked tomatoes like mad, all the time watching the clouds overhead rolling closer and closer. We got about half a crate full and called it quits, hearing thunder rolling closer. We didn’t want to get struck by lightning! We got to the house and got them loaded when it started raining. Fortunately for Will’s hay, it didn’t rain hard or long. So, today, he’s out raking and baling.
I shelled out the last bunch of Chippewa dry beans this morning. They are such prolific, fast-drying, tasty beans! And a pretty golden tan too. Later, it’s out to the front porch to seed out more tomatoes before they rot on me. The dratted cows escaped and got into the green-nearly ripe tomatoes and munched a bunch down. It’s lucky they didn’t hop onto the porch and eat them all! Of course, then I would have heard them as the bedroom window is right over the head of the bed.
— Jackie
Dear Jackie,
I know about back pain. I have had shots in my middle back for disc/muscle woes. I now use heat and a little otc pain reliever. I had rather bear the pain than have those shots again. Especially, as they are temporary!!??So I completely understand. I am running from surgery like crazy and hoping these home remedies will keep me going for a while longer. So, pace yourself and don’t do too much; plus, a good pair of arched tennis shoes helped a lot, too. LOL Your pictures are beautiful as usual.
No I don’t can any Chippewa beans as we save them for seed. I have cooked some to make sure they tasted great. They do and are pretty fast softening up. We’ve got to dig potatoes but after this 3 days of rain gets over and dries up. Luckily, Will got the hay he had cut raked and baled before the rain!!
We are getting rain!! We have been very dry for a while now and the rain is much needed. Harvest is going on in the area, so the rain may slow that down just a bit. Those cows sure do like your garden produce! Who can blame them. It looks delicious. Your flowers sure do look gorgeous! Home school groups are great. My daughter home schooled for several years and I think it is a great way for kids to learn. I hope Will can get the hay in before more rain hits. It sounds like you are going to be kept really busy seeding tomatoes and shelling beans. They are such satisfying jobs and makes one feel safe and secure. Sending prayers for a blessed week.
Yep, I shelled beans all day as it’s raining. Will got his hay baled and is now waiting out this 3 day rainy period, which we did need. I still have carrots and some other stuff to mature. I’m glad to hear you’re getting some rain!
Wow! H!arvest time for you is absolutely wild! Fifteen dozen things to do and only 24 hours in a day! No, harvest for me this year, very aggravating. But I’m racing fall rains and winter snow trying to get stuff off the floor of our two car garage, we call it the barn to keep it separate from the garage attached to the house. I have a bunch of pallets to put down to get boxes off the floor. We both love books and buy them when we can. We’ve got hundreds. I’m also trying to see about giving away some. We had some damaged due to snow melt seeping under the walls and dribbling in from the roof. Why someone would put up a metal building unsealed is beyond me! I’m going to get a shot in my lower back to deal with the pain and then others further up the back. I’ve them before and it really hurts when getting them and for maybe a day afterwards. Then it feels great as the pain is gone! I’m trying to put off back surgery for another year or two. I’m going to try to put in a low raised bed for tulips, daffodils and maybe irises in front of our house. I’m glad you got rain, we’re in a mid-level drought. But the prediction is for a lot of snow this year. I hope so! Love your asters, they are so so pretty! Take care!
Ish, I hate back pain! Mine’s singing now as I did way too much walking when we had the homeschool group here. I knew it would but couldn’t give the tour from my golf cart. Oh well, it’ll be better in a couple of days. Whew, I had a cortisone shot in my shoulder that hurt worse than childbirth!! I don’t think I could do them in my back. We got the irises and daylilies planted, thanks to Sherri’s help on the shovel. I’m sure glad we got them in ahead of the rain today.
Beautiful Asters!Fall, hands down, my favorite season. Yes, Busy! Harvesting/canning,shelling,seeding out produce. But there s something about the Feel of fall. Cows out !if it not break down during harvest it’s either cows out or rain. We land people wouldn’t know any other way of life . Hoping you get a good yield from all the gardens this year after the heavy rains high temperatures.My tomatoes are finally starting to come in better. Put up first canner of tomato paste. Won’t be bumper crops but better than relying on grocer. Take care and thank you for bringing us along on your school tours. Children are always so inspiring to observe in the field and farm.
We think we’ve found out where the cows are getting out but haven’t had time to fix it. I’m parking the golf cart across the front yard gateway (no gate), so they can’t get in again. They don’t go anywhere, just a few decide to eat longer grass outside the fence. The same bad bunch every day. Soon they’ll be in cow jail for the winter and that’ll be that!
Seems like no matter what species, always a couple of trouble makers (I have a few trouble making Tom turkeys).
I do so like fall – harvest, closing down the garden, prepping for winter, planning for next year’s garden.
I’ve also been doing a little bit here and there of de-cluttering/cleaning. Small victories as I call them. Nothing wrong with slow but sure progress.
Livestock love to find a way out. We had a bull we named Romeo as he was a traveler and had to be sold. We’ve had unauthorized hunters leave gates open -grrrr! One summer a barrow got loose and we didn’t find until fall. We loaded him up for the butcher. I’m harvesting the last of my tomatoes and removing tomato cages. I’m still digging potatoes and it is a poor crop. We need rain. Kids love to learn where food comes from. Your wild Aster is beautiful. We’ve started archery hunting for deer. Haying is thankfully all done-good luck to Will. Machinery, weather, timing etc makes haying challenging (and you have to get the crop home). Do you can some of those Chippewa beans?