Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts

The mellow Moon,

The changing leaves,

The earlier setting Sun,

Proclaim at last, my merry boys,

The harvesttime begun.

~Charles G. Eastman (1816–60)

The farmer's market was quite the success. I bought 20 pounds of broccoli for $8, 26 pounds of beets for $12 and 33 heads (90 pounds) cabbage for $20. I picked up 4 large leek for $3.

The broccoli went to one friend, the beets I split with another friend, the cabbage will become sauerkraut tonight and the leek, with our potatoes was dinner last night-potato leek soup. Yesterday was a soup day as it was windy and cool, so it was perfect.

The pears I got from my friend, became pear bread and tutti-fruity jam. As the rest of the pears ripen I will be making more of the bread and freezing it for snacks.

My share of the beets became 13 pints of canned beets, some sliced and some whole. The shelves are getting pretty full, which I love. I love it even more in winter. At some point I have to put all the info on what I canned together. It lets me know what I have to change/grow from year to year as we try new things. This year I had to buy most of my tomatoes due to blight, but the cucumbers and peppers were awesome. And speaking of peppers I was able to pawn mine off on someone else!

So it was a good day. The wind made it perfect for line drying clothes. The tricky part is getting to the line without getting hit in the head with a hicklory nut. I have a squirrel that sits in the canopy chewing off the husks and dropping them down on everyone. A cat had him in his clutches the other day and I rescued him, you would think he would be more appreciative!

And here is a picture of another nut. My son came home from football practice like this! The "friend" that did it to him was no barber and we had to shave spots here and there as he/football buddies have decided they are going to keep it for a while. Thankfully he has a decent shaped head! As long as the school doesn't have a problem with it, I don't. It is funny watching them change - in the beginning of the year he had long ringlets, he let his sister cut his hair to a presentable level for formal and now the mohawk! They keep it interesting.

Keeping Busy

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many.~Oliver Wendell Holmes

There are more than a couple of gray hairs showing in Mother Nature's locks right now but it makes it even more beautiful. I love all the seasons but temperature-wise, I would have to say Spring and Autumn are the best. The 50-60's are perfect weather. The Mystery Lily's must agree because they gave a second wave of blossoms...shorter but just as beautiful.

I have been busy all summer canning but I feel busier now. I am going in a hundred directions and then crash into bed at night.

I am ripping and tearing the garden. I picked seven pounds of celery and froze it. I also picked more of these...I haven't done anything with them yet. I was thinking of passing them on or dehydrating them. I have already pawned off bags of them-they are starting to be like zucchini where people hide when they see you coming. I almost pulled the plants but decided to leave them until the frost hits.

I picked some pears at a friends house which I need to do something with. My kids like the pear honey but prefer a grape, blackberry, elderberry or raspberry jam. They don't like pears canned so I found a pear bread which says it freezes well so I am going to try it and see what we get.

I have been knitting. I made the two pair of baby socks,

the Christmas stocking, and finally did the last finishing touches of the Apple Blossom baby sweater. The i-cord isn't in because I trying to decide if I want it or not. I don't want a baby to pull the ties and choke themselves. I may end up putting a button on it.

And I went through some bags of fleece that were given to me and washed up some of that and dumped what I didn't want to be bothered with. We went to shear our sheep this Saturday and the man replaced a little part and now the new shears don't want to cut. He needs to figure out what he did because I need them sheared NOW....of course they are calling for rain pretty much all week.

The Christmas countdown on the last post really kicked me in the butt. I have been working on some Christmas presents and picked up quite a few this weekend. I have always loved Christmas but I am really having fun this year. Of course it is early still so I may burn out before the holiday gets here.

I was suppose to go to the farmer's market early Friday but ended up helping a friend who needed to go to the doctor. So today I am heading out to see what is coming out of the farmer's fields and ovens...Apple cider doughnuts are calling me, gotta go.

Welcome Autumn

"But now in September the garden has cooled, and with it my possessiveness. The sun warms my back instead of beating on my head ... The harvest has dwindled, and I have grown apart from the intense midsummer relationship that brought it on."- Robert Finch

As the days have passed the sun is coming through the windows at a different angle, the air has cooled and the sleeves are getting longer. It was 43 Saturday morning...#1 daughter mumbled something about fire and woodstove but I didn't quite catch that. I have to see how long we can go without it. This morning the weather man said we should expect our first snow in approximately a month. Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to use heat until then? Just because the woodpile is growing on a daily bases doesn't mean we need to burn it all before the real cold gets here.

The canning is still continuing but at a slower pace. I still have to do apple cider and sauerkraut. This year I swallowed my fear and used the pressure pot a lot more. I also tried several new canning recipes, including this carrot cake jam. Yummy! It is definitely a keeper recipe.

The house sadly neglected during canning season and summer now calls for drastic attention! And so I have begun fall cleaning. I will be the first to admit, I am not a disciplined person. I will get cleaning in one area, find something that has to go to another area and start cleaning a space there. Needless to say it causes even more of a mess. So much for the simple life.

Sunday the menfolk returned from the annual salmon fishing. I had made reservations for next month too just in case this trip was unsuccessful. It was Sir T's first salmon fishing trip and I think he enjoyed himself. He got to yell "Fish On" but sadly did not land it. They did come home with one but they didn't catch it, it was the gift of a fellow (luckier) fisherman.

I have been knitting. I started a Christmas project - once, twice, three times.First my mind couldn't get it, then I screwed up which needles the stiches were to be on by trying to correct another mistake and then I did a k1 p1 ribbing instead of a p1 k1 ribbing. I think I finally have it right...we shall see. I put it aside for now to concentrate on things for a small craft show I am going to. And speaking of shows, I went to Endless Mt Fiber Fest. I did come home with some more yarn...I foresee socks in the future! I didn't buy any roving as I have so much and hadn't been spinning. Of course once home, I ended up sititing in front of the wheel and not stopping until I had spun 8 oz. Oh well, shearing starts this weekend.

Even though things are winding down there is so much that still has to be done before the snow falls, including getting more hay hauled here for the winter. We are sinking back into the school routine and even #2 son gets up without much of a fuss. Soon football will be over and we will all be in the house by 6 pm huddled around the woodstove. Am I pushing it too quickly? Well here is an eye opener-there is only 91 days until Christmas!!!! HAHAHAHAHA

September

"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."
- John Updike, September

Today it feels like a fall day. It hasn't hit 60 yet and it is raining. But I am not complaining because it is an absolutely marvelous day....oh heck it has been a pretty good week too.

Sunday we followed #1 daughter and Sir T down to Philly with some more things for their apartment. They treated us to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Having never heard of or been to one I thought they were taking us to the filthiest place on earth when I walked in and saw the floor. And the noise! I think everyone in Philly had a birthday that night! But the food was delicious - especially the margaritas and sweet potatoes with cinnamon butter.

Then Monday the man and I spent some time together...without kids!!! We left them home, went to the farmer's market, craft store, lumber yard and food shopping.

Tuesday, I was babysitting for a friend. Her girls and #2 daughter went swimming for probably the last time this year. It was funny watching the leaves come floating down the river while they were swimming.

Wednesday, school started!!! Now, the first time you send your kids to school you pace trying to find something to do to waste away the hours, then as they get older you celebrate that day. I miss them but enjoy the peace and quiet that is not here when they are home. I also enjoy things staying clean for more than 5 minutes. And honest mothers will agree that the best cup of coffee/tea is the one right after the kids get on the bus.

#2 daughter was nervous as it is her first day in the high school but she did great. #2 son will be there next year and she will be able to show him around.

Thursday was an errand day. While riding around I noticed the roads covered with leaves. At the football game, #2's team lost but it was great sitting there with the breeze off the lake and the sun shining down.

Today started at 5. I got everyone out the door, took the car to the shop, walked home and did the animals. And then the rain started so I came inside and listened to it while I did two loads of laundry, 2 batches of apple butter and 2 batches of applesauce. After lunch I plan on making apple pie in a jar. Then it's shepherds pie with a salad for dinner. I over bought on the milk forgetting the kids were going to school so I might even use some up making rice pudding.

Like the song says.."And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

Right as I was getting ready to hit publish post...the electricity went off. A tree fell on the line coming over to my house. Several hours later my power was restored and I had an unplanned afternoon of knitting. Not what was planned but still a really good way to spend a day.

Tomorrow morning I have to resume canning and then it is Endless Mountain Fiber Fest...Another wonderfull day!

Slowing it down a bit.

The faster I go, the behinder I get. ~Lewis Carroll

The canning has continued but at a slower pace....the garden has taken note that I mean business and has bowed to my will. LOL!! In truth I am exhausted and can no longer see things through the weeds!

This is the last week before school starts so we are slowing things down to enjoy these last days. We are getting our hair done, going for rides on sun dappled roads, taking time out while picking elderberries to watch the fish in the stream, laying under a tree and watching the clouds drift past, getting the car ready for winter (that one was pricey). The guys are doing more fishing to get ready to go salmon fishing in Pulaski the weekend of the 18th.

We took #2 daughter to tour the high school where she swears she will get lost... she probably will, as will alot of other kids. And #1 and her bf came home to spend the weekend. They both had birthdays recently, so we are going to celebrate them.

And is it the smell of the earth, the crunch of the leaves, the waning day light hours, the cooling temps, the lengthening of the shadows? I think we have long lost most of our primal instincts but for some reason I have been doing more fiber....It could be that things don't stick to you as you are trying to work with them...whatever it is I have finished a small throw that I had started for a friend of mine, knit a swiffer cover and started a second. I am enjoying this resurgence and have some things planned for the holidays...we will see if my body can keep up with my want to do list!

Peace and Quiet

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.... 1Thessalonians 4:11

Quiet is defined in many ways. If you go with the "free, or comparatively free, from noise" definition...well with a houseful of kids and animals the summer has been anything but quiet.

However, if you go with the "free from disturbing thoughts, emotions, etc.; mentally peaceful" I think I have finally reached that.

As with most families, the death of a family member does not always bring out the best in people as each strives to deal with their grief in their own way. Such was the case with our family. My brother and I who daily lived thru my mothers illness had a difference of opinion than my sister who only moved back to the area recently. For a while this bothered me and then the other day I sat and re-read the Desiderata on the side bar.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly...

...Avoid loud and aggressive persons

...in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

We had spoken the truth, it was ignored so I have choosen to avoid the situation and I did find some peace. I know what I did for my mother. I know what my mother wanted. If her wishes do not get done, I am not the one that needs to answer for it. You can not make people be what you want them to be or do what needs to be done. And having realized that I can sleep peacefully at night.

My mother's birthday was the 31st so her grandkids made her one downfall...ice cream. We had a crank ice cream maker and each year when we got out our canning supplies we would say we needed to make ice cream with the kids. Canning always intervened or in the end Dr. appts. So when I received the ice cream maker I decided that this would be the year to finally make it.

What a sticky situation that was, with the kids mixing and measuring. Then after all the cranking we found the bowl was turning but the dasher wasn't. We clamped some vise grips on the top of the dasher, held the bucket and let them turn that....problem fixed. We added some orange sherbet to the bowls of vanilla ice cream for a mock orange creamsicle and ate away. Then we froze because the temperatures are getting cold at night! It was only 42 yesterday morning. Yeah I know there is worse to come but my body hasn't acclimated yet.

Of course the cooler temps means it is much more enjoyable working with yarn...I finished the baby afghan.

It is a simple crocheted shell in Vanna Whites baby yarn in color Ducky. Looks like our chickens egg yolks but I am thinking the name Egg yolk wouldn't sell as well as ducky.

Then I knit a replica of the Jacob Black (from Twilight) hat. It was a simple k2p2 and I used some slubby handspun and #2 daughter who is a huge Twilight fan is very happy.

And finally a picture of the one sock I said I had finished. The second one is on the needles. For some reason we all fell in love with the color...Red Heart Heart and Sole in Green Envy.

So today we have elderberry jelly to make, hot peppers to pickle and a football scrimmage to attend. I found a round crochet afghan that needs attending to so I hope to get some work done on that. I might eventually catch up on all the UFO's as this weather continues!!!

Taking a break

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest” ~ Ashleigh Brilliant

GASP!!! That was me coming up for air!

It has been so incredibly busy here. The canning seems to never end…as hot and tiring as that can be, it is a good thing.

I froze 30 more pints of corn, and canned 24.5 pints of salsa, 16 pints of hot pepper mustard, 7.5 pints of strawberry jalapeno sauce, 7 pints of hot dog relish, and 11 pints & 3 quarts of bread and butter pickles. It continued on and I added 6.5 pints of green tomato relish, five ½ pints of orange jelly, 19 ½ quarts of pickled hot peppers, 4 pints of green tomato salsa, 7 quarts & 24.5 pints of green beans, 18.5 pints of tomato soup, and 12 quarts of crushed tomatoes to the shelves. It has been a very busy 2 1/2 weeks! At one point I got so tired of it that I gave a bunch of cucumbers to the pigs. I should feel bad for wasting them but they were rather large and I would have had to take all those seeds out and make relish and I just wasn't up for it.

Football practice was a nightly thing. I thought I would have all this free time to knit…hahaha! My old neighbor’s son is in football too. We sat on the bleachers watching them and gabbing away. Now son is doing the two-a-day which means I drop him off at 6:30 AM and pick him up at 3:30 PM. I sat holding his helmet one day and saw this sticker. It reads "...no helmet system can protect you from serious brain and/or neck injuries including paralysis or death. To avoid these risks, do not engage in the sport of football." What a happy sticker.

Along with canning and chauffeuring, I also took some time to take the kids to the fair. They had a new company handling the rides and there were more/different rides so the kids were happy. I went into look at the judging and got annoyed. In the baby afghans there was a two strand worsted weight crocheted shell stitch one vs a worsted weight knit lace (can't remember the pattern). As I can do both and know the difficulty of them I was amazed to see the crocheted one took first place! Of course you were not allowed to pick them up and look for errors so maybe the lace had some mistakes. I would still have picked the lace one. I found solace in a blooming onion.

With all this driving it was bound to happen... #2 daughter and I came upon a bear. He was definitely not interested in us and sauntered away into the woods. Although beautiful to look at in their natural environment I don’t want them near my animals. Last week we had a bobcat come down out of the woods and snatch a chicken with #1 daughter standing right there hanging up laundry. She was only 20 feet away and it was oblivious to her. I don't think she will have to worry about seeing one again as she moved to Philly this past weekend.

Today while driving it was all turkeys. They are coming out of the woods and into the road. I stopped in the middle of the road for three different flocks and saw two flocks in peoples yards.

Knitting/spinning/crocheting is almost non exist but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We picked a bunch more cucumbers tonight and are planning on picking the last of the beans tomorrow afternoon. Then it is on to elderberry jelly and sauerkraut. The squash can go into the root cellar and then we are done...I think.

Tomorrow I get a slight reprieve in the morning (coolest part of the day) to go to #2 sons first scrimmage, which I would not miss for the world. Then-as if things could get better-Saturday there is a local fiber festival at Fort Delaware in Narrowsburg, NY. I can't wait, a day of sitting and spinning and fiber, that is what a would call really taking a break.

Memories

"In the childhood memories of every good cook, there's a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom." ~ Barbara Costikyan

My mom wasn't much for a simmering pot as she hated to cook but she loved to bake - the bread, the pies and the cakes oh my! Seventeen years ago when I moved back home I was a size 3..............let's just say I am not anymore. She taught me to can so she has been on my mind a lot as canning season goes into overdrive.

We did all of our canning at her house. We had our own system down pat and it was hard at first to find a way of doing things solo. I persevered and it may not be perfect but my new way is starting to work for me. I got another 14.5 pints green tomato relish, 20 pints of salsa, 16 pints of bread and butter pickles, 5 pints of chili sauce and 5 pints of strawberry/jalapeno sauce done. A friend was able to get me two boxes of paste tomatoes ($21/box!!!) and I have one more box to finish up. I think today's canning will be more chili sauce and salsa. Sir T loves him some salsa. Where as I had no interest in canning (other than eating it) when I was a kid, my daughters and my nephews are very interested, slicing, stirring and measuring. The younger ones help for a bit, then leave only to come back later and help some more. Mom would love that they are involved and even if they don't do it later in life I hope they will look back and remember it fondly.

Another thing that popped up to remind me of my mother this week is what she called the Mystery Lily. I went looking for more info and found it is also known as the Magic Lily, Resurrection Lily, Hardy Amaryllis, or Naked Lady. As the flower gardens have been sadly neglected this year, its sudden appearance made me sit back and realize how many flowers in my garden are from her.

And because I have Mom on my mind and because her favorite color was yellow and because the knit list was talking about the Apple Blossom Cardigan so much that I had to take 5 and go check it out on Ravelry and because I just so happened to have some yellow yarn laying around...I started the cardigan and I am done with 2 of 6 repeats on the lace section. Canning is getting in the way of it's completion.However, #2 son has football practice nightly now so my knitting will increase significantly as I sit there watching him.

Let the Harvesting Begin

Gather the gifts of Earth with equal hand;
Henceforth, ye too may share the birthright soil;
The corn, the wine, and all the harvest home.

~E.C .Stedman The Feast of Harvest

I am actually getting things out of my garden!!! After a botched up year of late planting, then the constant rains and low temps followed by all the diseases, I wasn't holding much hope but I was wrong. Brings to mind the song from The Sound of Music, (with some additions)...

Nothing comes from nothing

Nothing ever could

So somewhere in the spring or greenhouse

I must have done something good

Or we can just chalk it up to blind luck that something actually grew. Regardless I was able to can 11 pints of beans, 15 1/2 pints of hot pepper mustard and 6 1/4 pints of black raspberry jam.I had to freeze the blackberries that are coming in because I didn't have the squeezo available. I might just wait until I have picked them all and then make the jam. But I digress...joining the berries in the freezer was 4 lbs of shelled peas and 8 lbs of shredded zucchini. I had some whopper zucchini and I am watching a friends house and picked some whoppers from her garden. If I get anymore I am going to try to make zucchini chips which I read are pretty good.

AND...the cucumbers are almost ready to pick and some of the beans were just starting so I should get lots more. The hot peppers are loaded as are the ground cherries. I have people in Philly and Jersey looking for paste tomatoes at a price that is not going to kill me. The tomatoes in the large garden did end up with the blight so today I am making green tomato relish with some of them so they don't go to waste. So far as the rest, I will pick the large fruit and see what ripens.

AND...I finished the baby smock coat, bought the buttons for it, but need the ribbon to sew it together. I made the hat from the kit with some color changes. I still have to block it. Because the boucle does not have the same elasticity as the rest of the hat, it puckered some. Next time I make it I won't use boucle, but it was a quick (one afternoon) and painless knit. I also worked on the crocheted afghans until my hand started to hurt.

AND...The duck has hatched out two ducklings. They are adorable!! There are more eggs under them and one has a nest under the berries which should be hatching soon.

So I am almost done with school shopping, the garden is being harvested, the turkeys are going to the butcher on the 19th, football practice starts for #2 son on Monday, I am back to knitting and crocheting warm things...it could only mean one thing.....FALL is coming. The leaves are already starting to turn.

Inconvenience

If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. ~Robert Fulghum

My latest inconvenince is this....I am not altogether sure but I think this is late blight on my tomatoes. You can read more about it from these links a friend sent me.... here, here and here.

This is what the Irish Potato Famine was all from. These pictures were taken last night in my small garden. I have to go down and look in the large garden to see if it is down there on the tomatoes and potatoes.

If you read the articles they say organic gardens will be hurt the most and that tomatoes could go up to $40/box. If it is in the large garden, my last hope for eating this winter is that the beans and cucumbers do something before the frosts hit.

So I am going to put my big girl panties on and go see what the large garden is doing. If you hear screaming you know what I found and that I did not handle this latest inconvenicne well. Bring tissues.

**UPDATE** Potatoes do show signs and will have to be dug. The tomatoes are okay so far and hopefully they will stay that way.

Focus

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”~ Greg Anderson

I am kinda likin' that saying because it seems to justify the fact that I have been starting things recently and not finishing them. It makes it sound like each project is just marinating because if I finish them the joy is gone, the journey over, the mountain climbed, destination met etc, etc, etc. instead of the truth which is "I don't feel like working on that"or "I want to use bigger needles" or "I am sooo incredibly tired of seed stitch" or "I haven't crocheted in a while"!

To lay it all out in the open...in knitting I have a pair of socks, the smock coat and a watch cap in various stages of production. In crochet I have a round afghan started but need more yarn to finish it so last night I started another crocheted afghan because I didn't feel like knitting. It has been a long, long time since I have had so many projects started...can't say I like it even if I try finding quotes to justify it! They say admitting you have a problem is the first step so maybe admitting I have startitis will lead me to finish something....or maybe it will make me throw my hands up in the air and go back to spinning more ...or start another. I can be fickle so who knows - either way I am covered since I went to the Audobon Craft Show and just happened upon Bitsy Knits where some corriedale roving fell off the shelf and into my bag so I was forced to buy it. Then as I was spinning around in her booth I knocked a kit for an earflap hat with sheep off and into my bag.

I apologized profusely for my clumsiness and felt duty bound to pay for them (That's my story and I am sticking to it!) The roving is beautiful and I started spinning it first thing this morning. And in between starting things I did manage to finish up some currant jelly under the watchful eye of one of the chickens. He is so use to getting treats that he comes knocking on the door for them now...Pavlov's chicken? During the heat of the day (and I use that term loosely this summer) the turkeys roost in the wild grape vines while the chickens venture into the woods to scratch. If they hear the door open they all come running. It scared the heck out of some visiting city kids who thought they were coming to eat them.

And just in case you think that scaring little kids is all we do for amusement around here I show you proof we do more. All the guys went fishing today. They started out in the river where they caught these bass. They moved into boats and canoes on the lake. My son didn't think my nephew was paddling quick enough so he leaned forward and to the side to really dig in and ended up tipping over. He lost one pole for his impatience but thankfully nobody was hurt. #1 son picks on #2 and calls him "Bob" because he says he falls in and bobs down the river in Pulaski when they go salmon fishing. #1 son's new nickname is now Flip. We are equal opportunity antagonists.

Year of the Brown Thumb

Let me enjoy the earth no less

Because the all-enacting Might

Which fashioned forth its loveliness

Had other aims than my delight.

~Thomas Hardy, Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, 1909

While working in the garden, now that the rains have taken a break, I noticed the cabbages and broccoli looked wilted during the day. Then the lower leaves started to turn yellow. I went on the computer to investigate and thought it was root maggot. I walked back out into the garden to pull a plant to confirm the diagnoses and found the roots look like this...

I came back in to look up more information and found it is most likely clubroot. Remember I planted 76 cabbage and 34 broccoli and later snuck in 11 more cabbage. Well, I have read that I should dig up the plants so there is less chance of the spores staying in the soil.

It stays in the soil so it said I should lime it to bring the pH up to 7.2, which will have an effect on the beans by it so I can't do that yet. In the spring I can plant winter rye and till it under. But right now all I can do is solarize the soil with heavy plastic.

It rained Saturday night so when I walked into the garden on Sunday they looked better which made it even harder to dig up and dispose of all of them. But we did.

I read that it is not seed born but can readily spread in surface runoff water, contaminated equipment, and to some extent by roving animals. As I gave some plants to a friend and she is experiencing the same problems, I will assume it is not runoff, contaminated equipment or roving animals. So it must have been the soil I used to start the plants in. I scrub all my pots with a bleach solution but I purchase materials and mix up my own potting mix. And here I thought I was doing everything right to keep things like this from happening. Another one of those live and learn things.

It is all very depressing so we will move on to happy things...lots of monarda blooming...and yellow flowers that I can't remember the name of right nowfuture black walnut brittlefuture elderberry jelly if the birds leave me any. If they don't that's okay as I know where I can get more for freefuture snack. Unknown best grape ever. Usually I only get enough to eat which makes them a special treat. I was going to try to propogate more plants this year but time did not allowfuture sauce, salsa and tomato soupah potatoes-so many ways to make themand blue podded soup peas, which were something new for this year

The farmer's market opens up this Friday and I have plans to go next Monday so I am not worried yet. If I get to the market and everyone else has a garden year like I have had then I will be in freak mode, until then.....happy flowers.....We had a family reunion on Saturday and my brother always brings a lot of fresh corn. He had some left over which I grabbed and processed that night so atleast something is getting put away for winter. I have been freezing berries and I intend to start making jam/jelly tomorrow.

Today I took one friends two grandkids over to another friends house. The grandkids played with the other friends kids while we went up into her attic and started cleaning. Five hours later we emerged...one small corner done, five 55 gallon bags of garbage and a huge pile of boxes to be burnt. Tomorrow after jelly making we go back up in hoping to free another small section.

And I finished a baby sweater of which I have to get pics still and now I am trying to finish the smock coat. I did receive some free alpaca and llama fleeces tonight so while the weather is nice I should also find time to wash it. Can't say it evened out with losing all the broccoli and cabbages but it does help soothe the bruises!!!!