This morning, it was 22 degrees F, outside with a layer of frost, of course. Fortunately, we pulled some huge cabbages in yesterday and Will dug the carrots with the middle buster plow on the tractor. When I ran Gypsy on the golf cart this morning, it felt icy. There was ice on the mud puddles on the driveway. Yep, winter’s sure on the way!
Lynn and Jesse came on Friday to pick up a truck and trailer load of pumpkins, squash, corn, and beans. It was fun loading all that stuff and getting a chance to visit a bit. They brought their youngest daughter, making the visit even more fun. I helped her feed the bull and steer long grass. (Yes, the bull was on the other side of the fence!) He’s very gentle, anyway, but we never take chances with any bull. Now all that produce is gone, things feel a little weird, as it made having no seed business even more final.
They brought me a big bag of sweet peppers, as ours just didn’t amount to much, even in the hoop house. I am so grateful. Today, I’m making a big batch of Cowgirl Candy (cut up chunks of sweet pepper in Cowboy Candy syrup) and later this week, Vaquero relish, which is ground up sweet peppers in Cowboy Candy syrup. Then there’s Gaucho relish, made with our Striped Sugar Rush Peach peppers in Cowboy Candy syrup. Yum. And, after that, I start in on more carrots to can.
Last night we had a beautiful sunset, turning everything pink. The trees, bushes, and even grass were beautiful pink! I ran to the house. (Okay, walked fast.) and grabbed the camera. Unfortunately, the sun was going down fast, and I didn’t get the pink clouds. They had already turned red. Oh well, it was still pretty!
This afternoon, we are going to see if there are any potatoes in the last potato row. I tilled the other two rows and only tilled up two very small potatoes. So, I’m not expecting much but who knows? Yesterday, I finished tilling up the North and Wolf Gardens after Will ran the brush hog over the standing dead plants and corn stalks. Everything tilled up great, ahead of the rains and/or snow. I also got our garlic planted, finally. I had gotten bulbs from our friend, Sherri, and they had some very large, fat cloves. I had a nice spot in the Wolf Garden ready for them where I’d tilled the weeds all summer. So, I’m hoping the weed pressure will be light next summer as they’ll also be mulched. — Jackie
