The natural life around the farm has been making the turn from summer into fall. My August was a month of sweet routine: from the daily household tasks to reading, and every day around two o'clock heading out to the garden to pick vegetables and then chopping them up for supper or the freezer. Part way through the summer our old, second-hand freezer died, and we bought this adorable little energy saver that fits right in our new butt'ry. The cost was exactly the same as the Kindle - $139!
I arranged the foods a bit so you could see what's inside: chopped summer squash, grated summer squash (for cake!), leeks, blueberries, rhubarb, strawberries, and apples. Everything but the blueberries and strawberries came from Windy Poplars.
It is a wondrous thing on a day with temps in the mid-80s to go out and pick tomatoes and find they are as hot as if they had been cooked - truly, the warmth of the sun. I don't know when we've had such a tomato year. We have only three plants - two we bought, one was given to Tom, but I've made several batches of spaghetti sauce, and that delicious tomato salad. We have no idea what varieties they are but they are all great tasting.
I notice that I open the windows in the morning not to invite cooler air in, but to allow the warmth of the sun to enter the cool house. Though we had a little hot weather, for the most part the days are crisp and sunny.
On Labor Day Sunday, we pulled out the yellow beans and the summer squash in the garden. The sweet peas will be the next to go, but they have bloomed for weeks and weeks. I'm sure that those in warmer climes would feel sorry for me with the garden pretty much done by now, but it makes me happy. Planting on Memorial Day and beginning the clean-up on Labor Day is just about perfect for my gardening clock. I wrote about this three years ago, and my feelings remain the same.
The first week in August we had 44 eggs and this week there were 39, so slowing down a bit, but still have plenty to eat and sell. We do plan to get chicks this coming spring. The last time was in 2007, as long-time readers of my letters may recall.
That freezer so full of colourful things!
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful sight to behold!
I'm just getting started on a garden. Come over and give me advice!
Those tomatoes are some of the best I have seen anyplace. They made my mouth water. Your garden clock is sound to me. Too much of a good thing can make a bad impression. I can't wait to see the chicks you get next spring. I just love seeing those little cuties.
ReplyDeleteA tomato year is right! This Tuesday marks the beginning of my tomato canning season...and our garden is loaded!
ReplyDeleteYour freezer is full of goodies, a blessing :)
I will be giving that Tomato salad recipe a try, anything with garlic, esp. heated/sauteed in oil with summer tomatoes....can't miss!
Have a restful Sunday
Niki
$139.00??? No kidding? What an amazing buy! Lucky you! I thought a Kindle was way more expensive than that.
ReplyDeleteoh, those tomatoes look wonderful - and I like that little freezer and the name of your pantry room - or is it something else - buttery.
ReplyDeleteBountiful Blessings! Lovely post! Yes, the butt'ry is a grand pantry, complete with new freezer...good for you!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy this next season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Joanne, who will miss all of this while in Holland:)
I so wish I had a deep freezer so that I could freeze more. We freeze some stuff but most of it we have to find some use for it right away...of course we don't have near as much land as you :p We're in the middle of a city! Your tomatoes are simply gorgeous!!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a good idea to 'put the garden to bed'. We always intend to do so but never catch up with ourselves and our wild acre gets wilder and wilder each year, and less productive I fear. I should be out there today but have 'work' to do but am grateful for the reminder of what should really come first.
ReplyDeleteWhen I just scrolled down this posting without reading the text at first, just looking at the pictures, for a moment I thought you were on about pumpkins - and only then I realized those are tomatos! They look juicy and wonderful, just like the ones my dad keeps bringing from my parents' garden.
ReplyDeleteFall is my favorite time of year! I'm sure your well-stocked freezer will be much appreciated during the winter months.
ReplyDeleteThose tomatoes look absolutely delicious! And I love your cute little deep freeze.
ReplyDeletePamela, I love looking inside. :<) My advice is to have fun. There aren't any real rules. If something doesn't come up, there's always next year!
ReplyDeleteLisa, the chicks will look the same as those in the link. We always get Dominiques.
Niki, it truly is a blessing! You will love the salad. I've made it many times this summer. I've never canned, always just frozen. I'm a lazier gardener in this regard. :<)
Kay, this is the brand new model! So worth the price.
Susan, there's more about what a butt'ry is here:
http://lettersfromahillfarm.
blogspot.com/2007/11/sunday-supperblueberry-pancakes.html
Joanne, I'd say Holland would be a good compensation!!
Chris, this one is so small it could fit most anywhere, yet it holds a lot. It is 28.5W x 33H x 21D - got it at Lowe's.
Wild Somerset Child, we don't always get the flowers cut back. We're better with the vegetable garden, especially with the new raised beds. They make it so easy.
Librarian, they do have an orangey glow from the sunshine, don't they?
JoAnn, me, too and it is such a treat to have that food in the winter months.
Les, they are! And it is so cute.
The tomatoes did not do well in my first Spring garden. A small garden but I was pleased at what it produced. I have turnip greens coming up. I leave a lot of my flowers. Love the snow on them also sometimes the birds find something to nibble on. I miss my chickens but do not have a place for them. Would love a small storage house with a pen on the side. That may be stretching what One Woman is already doing and can hardly keep up.
ReplyDeleteErnestine, you are living such a wonderful life!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous garden pix as always --
ReplyDeleteIt strikes me funny that your two new August aquisitions both cost exactly the same!
That freezer is really cute and looks like you can actually pack a lot into it for tastes of summer all year.
Sallie, it is really the perfect size for our garden and for two people. And I'm so happy it can be out of the cellar. It makes it very easy to just walk over and get what I want.
ReplyDelete