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| lambs grazing in September |
Labor Day marks the “end” of the summer season to a lot of
folks. One last chance for picnics and beach trips…
Here on the hill, it’s just another day. As a Monday
holiday, it does indeed cause a little wrinkle in our week. But, that’s nothing
new. Here’s a post from ’14 about Labor Day.
While our schedule has changed slightly over the years,
things remain pretty constant around here. Although, instead of digging
potatoes, we processed broilers.
It was an uneventful morning, no escapee chickens, no
scalder fires… We were all finished, cleaned up and had the meat bagged and chilling
before lunchtime. Oh, I do love when jobs go smoothly!
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| ready to process |
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| bagging the last bird a little less than four hours later |
Blondie and Mr. B stopped by to visit and help me can off
the last batch of squash. While I don’t know that we really need the squash for winter eating, I hate
to see it go to waste. By canning it, it will be there when and if I need it,
and it will taste better than if I put it in the freezer.
In checking the gardens for more squash and anything else that
might need my attention, I discovered that the groundhog had apparently moved
to the middle garden after his/her efforts to obliterate the winter squash had
been thwarted. This time the zucchini had come under attack.
Now, say what you will about zucchini…you know all those
jokes about submarines and locking your car doors to avoiding “gifting” … but, it
is truly delicious and quite versatile. And, since it is a cash crop, I’m not
about to allow the groundhog eat it all! I set a trap, baited it with a pear and
waited…(I’m still waiting...guess they don't like pears) Groundhogs may look fat and silly, but they’re
actually quite wily. …and horribly destructive. They are considered a noxious
pest. Did you read the "Battle of the Whistle-pig"?
Despite the groundhog attack on the winter squash, harvest
time had finally arrived. The Boss had fenced around the entire planting and we
didn’t see evidence of any more damage. But, we had our doubts about the
harvest. So many of the fruits had been gnawed on, and once damaged, the heat
and moisture would cause the squashes to rot or allow small rodents to eat
them. Either way, they would be useless
to us. When the Boss went to pick up the first squash, this appeared to be the
case, as its seeds were all spilled onto the ground and the squash was rotting
around the edges.
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| what a waste! |
However, there were indeed more edible squash than those
that were destroyed. And, you wouldn’t believe the size of some of them! A good number are pushing ten pounds. While these
will be far too big for our customers to use whole, we will be able to cut them
in chunks and sell them that way. (you wouldn’t believe how many butternut
chunks we have sold over the years!)
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| Now, that's a BIG squash! |
…and
I’m pretty sure that all the spilled seeds mean that we will have “volunteer”
butternut squash coming up in the garden forever. While we can’t claim a real big success on the crop, at least it wasn’t the total loss that we first feared.
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| broilers checking out the field pen |
With the big broilers processed, it was time to move the
smaller ones outdoors. Actually, it was a little early since the whole rat
attack incident impacted our carefully planned schedule. But, the last batch of
broilers for the year was scheduled to arrive on Friday, this batch looks large
and healthy, and it’s still incredibly warm, so it was decided that we’d go
ahead and move them outside even though they’re young. Again, an uneventful job. (yay)
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| last batch of broilers for 2016 arrived on 9-9 |
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| harvesting 'taters |
Then the Boss worked at getting the Spring potatoes out of
the ground. I know, I know, we had hoped to complete this job months ago, but between the weather and
other more pressing jobs, it just didn’t happen. Thankfully, potatoes do well
staying in the ground. However, the longer the potatoes are left in the ground,
the better the chances for rodent damage, and damaged tubers don’t store or
sell well. And, they will sprout again if left in the garden too long. So, they
can’t stay there indefinitely.
The potato crop is so prolific this year that he didn’t come
close to finishing before it was time to move on to another job. So, digging potatoes will be at the top of
the upcoming week’s “to-do” list.
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| hopefully these strawberries will provide a Spring harvest |
While he dug potatoes, I worked on planting some strawberry
plants and working in the hoophouses. Although the heat curtailed that job
before completion as well. The heat makes it hard to work, but can also damage the tiny plants. So, I'll wait for a cooler day to finish up.
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| tilling for lettuce |
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| ready to plant |
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| planting completed |
This September heatwave is really beginning to wear on us.
Last week’s rains are but a memory as the continued heat is causing the grass
to wither. Even with near-continual irrigation, garden production has dropped
off considerably. Some of that is normal “end of the season” slow down, but the
lack of rain is the biggest factor.
It’s really hot for this time of year.
…and it seems like it’s been hot, too hot, for a long time.
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| grazing at sunset |
The heat isn’t helping the animals, either. The sheep and
lambs head to the pines after early morning grazing and stay there until late
afternoon, coming out only for water (and when called for feed). Egg production is down as the hens just hang out in the shade or
take dustbaths to beat the heat. The dogs have taken to sleeping underneath the
reefer during the daylight and patrolling in the late evening and early
morning. The only group that doesn’t seem to be too affected is the broilers.
It doesn’t seem like much affects their appetite and ability to grow!
With the growing season winding down around us, it’s time to
think toward next year. Besides putting up food for winter and checking on the
progress of the 2017 lambchop crop, we’re already making notes and preparations
for next year.
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| tomato seeds for 2017 |
I finally got around to processing the tomato seeds. This is
a stinky, gross job that I generally put off far too long that is not made any
nicer for the delay. While I realize it is possible to simply buy new seeds
each year, by saving our own we are able to preserve the traits unique to the
tomatoes grown here on the hill. You can
read about the process in its entirety here.
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| freshly processed tomato seed |
And, just like that…it was time for Market once more. The
Market went off without disaster or drama (like last week’s food truck saga). As
a matter of fact, the Market seemed rather “off”. The week following Labor Day
seems to be historically slow. I guess everyone has a difficult time getting
back in the groove after a holiday. But, all in all it was a good day.
Unbelievably, we’re more than 2/3 way through the Market season. Which puts us
that much closer to Winter.
Yes, the thoughts of Winter are never far from
our thoughts…despite the heat and humidity that we are currently experiencing,
it is obvious that it’s coming, and a lot of our activities focus on
preparation for the cold, dark days ahead.
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| a sign of the changing seasons Monarch butterfly |
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| with a little assistance it flew out of the hoophouse and off to the wild blue yonder |
But, for right now it’s time to renew and recharge (and do
some laundry and bake a few loaves of bread) in order to be ready for the week
ahead.
Hope you’re having a Happy
Sunday!
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll come “visit” us again
soon.
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| sunset on the hill |
