September already!

It's been a busy and productive couple of weeks here at the homestead. I say that with a sardonic tone, because we surely are not a homestead in the "pioneer" sense of the word, but then we sure aren't living on a city lot in Anchortown, either.



The garden was bountiful, considering the weather challenges this summer. A few things did not fare well and these are due to my own oversights-sweet corn and pumpkin. I have a great many green beans that await picking, plus many large onions (onions! Never been able to grow them before, yippee!) whose tops will end up dried, and a generous quantity of broccoli and cauliflower are already safely tucked into the freezer. A couple weeks ago I processed a fairly amount of berries from the freezer, in a lame attempt to make space. As it is, I still have plenty on the bushes that need to be harvested, not to mention jam and syrup jars tucked away. We are blessed with these berries so I won't complain about number, since some people were not so lucky this year. Several batches of zucchini relish are done, and I have the celery processed too-dried leaf for cooking, plus nearly a dozen pint jars in the pantry. Next up is finding the proper vessel to start a batch of sauerkraut....then, I have the beans, peas, brussel sprouts, spuds, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and my little melons to harvest. Yes, melons! They are not much large than fist sized but I have been trying to grow these for years-first year of success and I can't wait to try them!



Up at the barn, the meat birds are way beyond processing size. Lost one of them yesterday for unknown reasons, which does happen occasionally. So that leaves ten very hefty birds to deal with in the next week or so. No sure what they will dress out at, but I am thinking in the 6 to 7 pound range. In the pen with them, are my four baby turkey chicks. Gosh those buggers are cute! So attentive and responsive to my voice, so unlike chickens. They are starting to get their color now, so look rather speckled. I can't tell yet how many hens, or toms, that will have to wait until they are older. These are a heritage type that breed true, called Sweetgrass. A very pretty bird that are cold hardy, and do not mature as large as the broad breasted whites that are more common for holiday meals. I have two of those also-a hen and a tom as it turns out. He has matured enough to begin courting, and she is old enough to rebuff his advances. Makes for some fairly comical moments ;) Thanksgiving and Christmas are their names, naturally...and they are going to be very sizeable birds in another month or two. Naturally, it did not dawn on me that I do not own a pot large enough to scald them in until yesterday, haha! Not sure what I am going to do about that-dry pluck? Haul them some place else? The new rooster I got a few months back seems to have settled in, but one of the hens does not care for him, so he is pretty much a bachelor outcast at the moment. I have not heard any crowing from him either. Speaking of which, the older Yokohama roo has lost his voice, and is not doing well. The pair of them need to go to another pet home, or someone's stew pot. Very small birds, but likeable enough.



So we are rolling on into winter mode......animals good overall, halfway done with the garden, and quite a bit of firewood already stacked away for the colder months. I have some feed and hay to lay in over the next month or so, and then let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!