Feeling Squirrely

So, where was my post last weekend?  Well, our telephone company,  which also our internet provider, had a BIG problem.  We went without our land phone line for several days, and lost our internet for about three.  Frustrating... annoying... and a little scary just how big a deal that was!

I think I mentioned hot and muggy weather two weeks ago.  That was followed up by some darn chilly weather... really, some days barely 60 degrees.  In August! I was about ready to break out the long underwear! Then followed some nice days, then more chilly, then more nice days.  Mother Nature is really toying with us.  We had a low of 39 one morning, reminding us that we could really get the F-word any time now (not that F-word.... FROST!).

The signs of the changing season are all around us.  The view from the milking stand in the morning is pretty much just darkness.  Leaves changing, geese flying, pumpkins turning from green to orange.

The greenhouse has become a jungle.  This was an experiment to see how tomatoes would do in there over the summer.  I would not call it successful at this point.  A lot of plant, not many fruit.  Next year, if I try this again, I will plant them later.

I spent some time in there today adding some twine to support the plants and doing some pruning.  To give you some perspective, the white shelf in the back there is out of my reach when standing flat-footed on the floor.  By the time I finished wrestling with these plants and got out of there I was reeking of tomato.

Speaking of reeking, Ranger is getting that special buck ... aroma already.  Another sign that fall is approaching I guess.

The title of this post does not refer to me feeling silly these days, but having the compelling urge to put food up for winter.  The beans are canned, the corn is frozen, and now I am working on tomatoes, mostly sauce.  I am also trying to get some goat cheese in the freezer for winter. Milk production is down quite a bit, in fact today I dropped Daisy down to one milking per day.

The oats and wheat are combined and straw is baled.  Thank you Rollie and Ardis for all of your help!

We have a lot of oats now, but the wheat crop is disappointing.

A sunny strawstack is a great place to find a napping cat.  Photo by Carolyn.

One other sign of the season I would like to mention, Gilby's Orchard is open!  They have Zestar and Sweet Tango apples so far, and they are both very tasty.  They also have fun activities for the family there too, so locals, you might want to stop in. 

One more thing I want to share, even tho it has nothing to do with the farm or garden.  Yesterday I had a really fun time participating in Aitkin Community Ed's Splash Dash 5k.  Kori came along and volunteered; she had a good time too, throwing colored cornstarch at the runners and walkers.

photo by Kori

That is my condensed version of the last two weeks.  Barring another internet catastrophe, I will say see  you next week, good night, and be well.