The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.
Emily Dickinson
Well, Emily, I've lost all my trinkets in the garden and in the chicken coop and in the yard and in the grape arbor and in the canned goods and in the frozen goods. So I guess I'm old fashioned, again. Or wait, maybe I'm drinking old fashions again.
Much news since last time.
Unfortunately, some of it is bad. I have two aunts, one on each side of the family, and a first cousin who have been diagnosed with cancer. Lots of prayers flying around for them. I also lost a first cousin-in-law to lung cancer at the beginning of the month.
Here is the better news.
The fall garden is finally all in and the fence is up. So the chickens have the run of the rest of the garden. I have collards, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, chives and leeks. We haven't had the plethora of rain that we had last month so I have had to turn on the pump from time to time. I am still not satisfied with the flow so am going to have to do some adjusting. Fortunately, the pond is nice and full.
The basil is falling over it is so big. I always plant too much but the amount of pollinators is truly staggering. I have counted over 15 varieties of insect over all the bushes. Here are some:
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| Big Bee |
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| Lots of these... |
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| Seen better days |
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| Moth or butterfly? |
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| Big Bee 2 |
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| Awesome color |
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| Can't be still |
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| I have no idea on this one. I've never seen anything like it |
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| Moth 2 |
The chicklets and chiquitas are all grown up now.
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| Chicklet rooster and Chicklet hen |
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| 4 chiquitas |
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| two chiquita hens and chiquita rooster |
I really need to get rid of the two roosters, but haven't gotten a round tuit.
I 've also built my two ugly microgreen frames. Appearance is nothing. They work. And I can transport them into the mini greenhouse in the winter for fresh greens. Everything about them is bunk materials, scrounged from hither and yon. I think I may have to paint them in camo to hide their ugliness. And to make them last longer. BUT... I did it all my own bad self!!!
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| Really?? nothing matches?? |
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| We don't care, just give us dirt, fertilizer and water |
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| OOOH pick ME pick ME |
I canned my first attempt at sauer kraut today. It tasted real good before canning. I got six quarts from the old stone crock.
And...
It's grape season. I scrounged up about 75 lbs of grapes from various sources, crushed them and pressed them for 3 gallons of juice. So I am trying the grape wine again. I just mixed all the varieties together, so I have no idea what I will end up with. I bottled my blackberry wine and it is kickass. It is SO much better than Duplin's.
In the course of scrounging for grapes, I stopped by Granny's old arbor. I didn't think the vines were bearing anymore. Boy was I wrong. There were six vines, one had a huge trunk. They were all LOADED with grapes. In the trees. I couldn't reach a one. They were big and round and juicy and little and purple and juicy. I just looked. And cried.
This winter, I am SO pruning and fertilizing.
That's about all the news I have time for.
Bak bak
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