Sunday Walkabout 9-28

Can you believe it’s nearly October?

first day of fall '14

If possible, this past week flew by even more quickly than the weeks before it.

first sunset of autumn

Since this week started off with our anniversary, we…well, we did the same kind of stuff we do every day.  Sorry not to be more exciting, but such is the life on the farm. The Boss is quick to say that we did indeed go out to lunch last Saturday after market, and we did, and it was nice. 

There has been a nip in the air of late, and the sight of turning leaves up on the ridge means that all time is getting short for all those fall harvest/clean-up jobs.  The winter squash was job #1 for this week.

But….first…the farm truck had to go to the shop for a new muffler. 

Vehicle work is a major pain.  I mean, I’m really glad someone can keep our geriatric truck on the road, and I don’t mind paying them for a job well done. But, it does mean numerous trips to town and that part is disruptive. But, the truck is fixed and the new muffler sounds “sweet”.  …and it only took six trips on Mbrook Road!

Back to the squash. 

 We clipped all the squash from the vines and left them in the field to “bleed” until the next day.  The winter squash have a lot of sticky sap and by letting them cure in the field, the sap dries and it’s easier to clean the squash for sale. They also keep better in storage if they are dry and cured.

The next afternoon, we loaded the squash in the tractor bucket and hauled them to the barn.  It took a number of trips. There, we stood all the squashes in the trailer.  They will stay here until they are cleaned and taken to Market for sale. It was a good squash year!

Butternut squash chunks are a bestseller

On our walk out to the squash, we saw an enormous groundhog running through the garden.  He disappeared into what was left of the corn.  With a little detective work, we discovered a HUGE groundhog hole right in the middle of the corn.  Remember the attack on the corn? It was an inside job!  There was even a corn cob at the entrance to the hole.  We will have to come up with some creative approach to next year’s corn crop. I tell you, it’s always somethin’!

this gives no sense of scale
take my word for it...it's BIG
see the corn cob?

Since it has been so dry, the grass is not growing at all.  While some farmers are already feeding hay, that is definitely not an option for us. That meant it was time for the Boss to open the creek paddock for the sheep.  After checking the fenceline and doing a little bushhogging, the sheep were turned out on new grass. They couldn’t seem to decide which stuff to eat first!

from parched, dry grass

to lush, green goodness

grazing near the creek

bushhogging the corn

The Boss spent a lot of time bushhogging this week.  First, he knocked down the tops of the fall potatoes and after we harvested the squash, he mowed over that garden, too.  By taking the tops off the potatoes, it will allow the tubers under the ground to toughen slightly for winter storage.  We will get to that harvest job soon…hopefully before it frosts.  At some point he will plow the back garden and possibly plant a cover crop. But, it’s much too dry for that right now.

cut potato plant

potatoes underneath

During our weekly hoophouse work-day, I discovered that we had several unexpected and unwanted “water features” in our irrigation system.  While little water fountains are pretty, they were making a serious mess. This was also playing havoc with the efficiency of the irrigation.  I reckon we can fix the irrigation when we give the hoophouse a “facelift” soon. Just another couple of jobs on the “before the snow flies” to-do list.

Lest you think I am overly anxious for cold weather, I’m not.  But, the trees are really showing signs of fall.  The mornings have been quite cool and damp. And while we could really use some rain, I think the dry conditions are going to make for some gorgeous fall colors.The leaves on the maple in the backyard are already starting to turn and fall.  It won’t be too long until our view out to Mbrook Road is unobstructed once more.  I can’t believe it!

looking out over Mbrook Road

pretty leaves in the backyard

Ellie thought it made her look more attractive

Gus just thought it looked tasty!

Like I said, the week flew by. It seemed like we had just finished one week’s market and it was time for another.  Another great Market!  It has been an amazing Market year and we still have 8 more weeks.

After the Market, we headed out to Tbone and Blondie’s for a family celebration of our 30^th anniversary.  As always, it was a time of good food and good times with family and a super yummy pumpkin maple cheesecake.  We were presented with a hand-crafted scrapbook of our lives together.  It’s beautiful!  Thank you.  But, I think the stories of the girls “adventures” to…shall we say…"acquisition"the photos..was hilarious.  I don’t think you can call it breaking and entering…or hacking…when it involves your family…but, then again…

All I can say is…I am touched.  I’m glad to say that these 5+ folks have made the past 30 years quite an adventure and I’m really glad that they are my life.  

Love you all!

And, there you have it.  Another week on the hill.

Happy Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you’ll visit us again real soon.