Harvest Day

 I wish my mother was here today. Last year my parents were here at this time of year and we harvested and canned and froze together. She did a lot of research for me finding recipes that could work with what I had and it was great. This year, luckily, I feel I did not get as much out of the garden as we did last year. So I do not have quite as much to do, but I still miss her and wish my parent could be here. Stupid COVID!!

My harvest:

Sunflowers: the birds got about a quarter of them and I do not think they were worth the time. Perhaps for the pretty, and they were easy to plant and grow, I may consider them again next year. But my goal had been to reduce the amount of sunflower seeds I would buy for the chickens in the winter. I do not even have the equivalent of one bag.

Squash: I planted two kinds. Georgia Candy Roaster which were huge and so delicious last year. I did not get as many nor were they as big (lack of rain is my guess) but I still love the taste and will definitely grow again next year. And buttercup squash. First time I have grown this and it was successful and delicious. So again...yes for next year.

Potatoes: I used seed potatoes saved from the potatoes I harvested last year. So the same three varieties. They look delicious but only about one third of the yield I got last year. But still...definitely planting at least the chieftain red and the la ratte fingerlings again next year.

Broccoli and cauliflower: no where near the yield that I had last year. Almost no cauliflower and only one bag of broccoli in the freezer. But again, I love them so I will try again next year.

Peppers: still not great, but better than last year. And I love the little mini red and orange sweet peppers!

Tomatoes: way, way, way better than last year. I had a lot ripen on the vines this year. (if you recall all the green tomatoes recipes my mom found for me because I had only window sill ripen red ones). I have made two batches of spaghetti sauce, two batches of tomato basil soup, one salsa, one failure of a ketchup, and I have a sink full to make something tonight, with a table full of orange-green ones. The ones that will ripen, I will be using the dehydrator and making "sun" dried tomatoes.

Cucumbers: I had to replant the cucumbers and did not get tons this year. I made about 5 jars of sweet pickles and am actually quite happy with that...since I don't actually like cucumbers!

Beans: as I have mentioned before...I got almost none last year, so I planted extra this year and wound up with about 15 pounds of them! Good thing I do like beans.

Peas: I had a good pea season and will grow them again next year. I have to be content with spending a ridiculous amount of time shelling to get a very small dinner portion, but there is nothing like the taste of fresh peas!

Onions: both the red and yellow onions were successful. The green onions, not so much. But the five green onions I did get, were wonderful. So worth a try again next year.

Garlic: I have always been successful with garlic and this year was no different. I have enough to get me through to spring with some to replant for next year as well.

Beets and carrots: both were tasty but neither grew well. I had two replanting and still only got 6 carrots, one meal of fresh beets and two jars of pickled beets. But, I love them both so I will keep trying. Now that I have the garden fence up and it has been tilled for two years. Hopefully I can get out earlier this year and plant them when it is still cooler. That may help?

Now to have a meal of broccoli, cauliflower and baby potatoes...YUM!

Girls Night

Between one thing and another, Zoe and I have not seen each other much lately. she was quarantining, then housesitting, I am working and prepping for Teddy to come tearing through Nova Scotia next week.

But tonight we finally got to spend some time together. We had a great risotto dinner, Zoe lit our first fire of the season and we broke out the face masks! When she first came back from Ontario Zoe brought with her my birthday gift and my mothers day gift since we had been separated during those times. A part of the gift was a huge pile of masks for everything from my hair to my toes! We got to hug and talk and it was so wonderful! I have missed her so much, but this felt different. It felt like friends, like adults. having a great evening. I am really excited about this new phase of our relationship. It feels so good to (mostly) relinquish the reins and allow her to live her life, make her decisions, and cheer her on. Don't get me wrong, its hard and I still issue my "sage" bits of advise, but it's nice to be able to sit back and enjoy spending time with the young woman she has become.

Truth

There are two realities with working my property. 

First reality is I love it. I love the peace, the solitude, the animals, the feeling of accomplishment, the realization of “I can do it”.

The second reality is sore feet, 5 hours of sleep a night, two hours of chores before work every day, that niggling doubt in myself and my ability to build and grow and keep alive.

Reality one still wins out most days thanks in large part to the support and encouragement from you all. So thanks as I collapse on the couch at 10pm with aching muscles, a glass of wine and mr. noodles because I don’t have the energy left to cook anything better.

And the crockpot ketchup was not good. But salsa and spaghetti sauce were delicious!

Long Weekend

Happy Labour Day weekend! To celebrate, I decided to Labour. I finally have two days in a row with no plans outside of the house. I am so excited (and apparently a little crazy to be so excited to work!)

I feel like I have not been able to accomplish much lately. I have been working longer hours at the YMCA preparing to greet children at our after school program and I have been too tired to do much after work. So I gave myself permission to rest this past week. But now, the rest is over and back to farm work I go.

It was a great day today. I have moved the 6 baby chickens that I am hoping to keep (4 hens and 2 roosters) into the main coop with the big girls. Today I got to watch them try to figure out if they like each other. The two that were born on the farm tended to stick together and away from the older girls. The white sapphire girls that I got as day old chicks moved back and forth between the two groups. I think everyone will settle down nicely. The two I am still a bit concerned over is Max, the big rooster, wasn't so kind to Ari, the little rooster. I'll keep an eye on them and hope for the best.

The rabbit update...Thumper, that we brought home last weekend, did not take the move very well. He wasn't eating or even moving around much. Since the girls are too young to get pregnant, I decided to move Thumper in with Willow and Ivy. Things did not start out hopeful, but after three days of living together, they are getting along great. In between all the cuddles, they are all eating, drinking, playing and sleeping.

The garden...I am so happy to have red tomatoes on the vines this year. If you remember, they did not ripen outside last year. I wound up doing a combination of green tomatoes recipes, and window sill ripening. Today I am making ketchup for the first time. The recipe I chose is a crockpot one and it takes 12 hours...so I'll let you know next week how it turns out. Tomorrow I am going to try and make salsa for the first time. Then of course I will also be making my spaghetti sauce and my favourite roasted tomato and basil soup.

That all makes my day sound so lovely and relaxing, however I did also complete the tear apart of the barn section that was pulled down a few weeks ago. I have 7 piles of lumber - good barn boards, good newer boards that had been used for roofing, rotten barn boards, shingles, beams, and three burn piles of unsalvageable wood. Tomorrow I get to go through the good wood piles and remove the nails, pick which boards I want, and pick some boards for friends who have expressed an interest in using them. I also need to try and get some firewood gathering in tomorrow. I guess that all means I need a good night sleep tonight!