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Hi Everyone,
The last week of August was the most perfect weather—and we thought that fall was right around the corner. This week we all agreed that September is much hotter than August ever was. We literally melted every day last week. It didn’t even cool down at night. Most of the week we received no rain—but Monday was a different story.
As soon as we were finished with the milk Steve and I headed to the garden to pull weeds in the raised beds. Mom headed for the lawn mower to mow the yard. We worked until 1:30 and then we came in for lunch—and I had to finish the yogurt. Around 3:00 I was ready to head back to the garden but the sky was getting very black north of us. I checked the windmill and it looked like the wind was blowing from the south. Good! When I looked at the clouds though—they looked like they were blowing south. Bad! I headed to the garden anyway, and Steve and I began to pull weeds. The sky got blacker and blacker—and noisier and noisier. We questioned if we should run for cover with the first rain drop, or if we should wait. We decided to wait. The first round was just a sprinkle and then it blew over. Then we heard the rain coming across the fields, and we knew it was time to run. We grabbed our weed buckets, knee cushions, and tools and headed for the garden shed. The heat in there was stifling so we decided to hang out in the gazebo. We hoped that the rain would pass quickly—but little did we know that it would be close to an hour later before we could pull another weed. It never rained so hard that we got wet under the gazebo, but it was definitely raining too hard to pull weeds in the rain. We enjoyed our time observing the garden—every angle of it from the gazebo has four views. We took notice that one asparagus bed was weedier than the other—yet wasn’t as weedy as it was last year. We saw that some walkways filled up with water and some didn’t. Most of all—we took notice of what beds needed to be weeded the most. When the rain began to let up, we were on the verge of “cabin fever” and were very antsy to get back out and work in the garden. AS we left the gazebo we asked, “So, which weed do we pull first?” The answer was the same from both of us—“the two Spanish needle weeds inside the rose bush!” It was now 4:00 and we only got to pull weeds for another thirty minutes before our work day was over. In the meantime, when the rain began to fall Mom parked the lawn mower in the barn and headed for the house. She spent her rainy afternoon canning dried kidney beans—it is cheaper to buy beans in bulk and then can them yourself. It just takes time!
Tuesday we were able to head back to the garden and pull more weeds—but only for a few hours. I headed out while Steve was still bottling the milk, and moving chicks from the brooder house to the pasture. Just as Steve arrived I had to head to the house for when I walked past a rose bush with an arm load of weeds I felt a sharp pain between my fingers. My first thought was that an ant had gotten in my glove and bit me. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw something flying around. I looked closer and realized that the rose bush I had just walked past had a golf-ball size wasp nest hanging on it. That explained why my hand hurt so badly. I headed for the house and doused the sting with lavender oil and then I lathered it with my Soothing Salve and covered it with a Band-Aid—and headed back to the garden. We got to work until 1:00 and then it was time to clean up and eat lunch so that we were ready to package eggs when the Durmaz family arrived at 2:00 for an egg party.
I head outside during the week days at 7:00 to set up the milking equipment in the milk house. The garage door is usually still down, but that is okay—I just go out the side door and meander through the courtyard admiring the flowers and picking up any fallen key limes that I come across. My first stop along the way is at the greenhouse—where I open the door and let out all twelve ducks. They are more than excited to be let loose and they run lickity split over to a weed patch and then on to the milking parlor area. Wednesday morning when I arrived at the greenhouse the door was open and there were no ducks inside. Then I remembered that I had forgotten to lock up the ducks the night before. I had gone outside around 6:00 to feed the ducks and lock them up—but they refused to be locked up. So I decided to wait until it got closer to sunset. There was one problem though—I forgot to return. I am not sure where they spent the night, but they were already out gallivanting for the day. I checked the milking parlor—but they were not there. I checked around the brooder house—but they were not there. I checked the garage (because we leave it cracked for the cats—and skunks, though not by choice)—but they were not there. I checked the front porch, and the back porch—but they were not there. It was getting late and Mom had already started breakfast so I had to give up my search and get my milking equipment put together. After I was all done I made one more circle and I saw them coming out of the gate that goes to the pasture beside the big hay barn. All twelve were alive and accounted for. I could eat my breakfast in peace.
Thursday Steve and I weeded in the long beds, while Mom headed to town to pick up some more chicks from the Post Office. She also stopped at Home Depot to pick up some paint sample cards for my bedroom walls. Since they were painted 20 plus years ago, I no longer know what color they are. They are a green sage now, and I know that they have faded, so I cannot do a color match. I am looking for a shade of sage that is not too light or too dark. We spent the evening sticking paint color cards on my walls trying to figure out just which color I want. We have an idea, and we even picked up a sample can on Saturday—but haven’t had a chance to paint it on my wall to see for sure.
We spent Thursday afternoon canning peaches. We ordered a whole case—and while we did eat some fresh, we canned most of them for peach cobbler. Friday we spent pickling cucumbers—for we had ordered a whole case of pickling cucumbers. Half of the cucumbers we pickled in a fermenting crock. The other half we turned into Sweet Bread and Butter pickles using apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and pickling spices. We have to wait 6 weeks before we can taste them—and we cannot wait. I hope they taste good. It will not be the first time we spent hours preserving something that flops—but what a treat they will be if they really work. While the cucumbers soaked in salt and ice water Mom and I headed to town to get some paint at Home Depot and some fall décor from Hobby Lobby. It was around 7:00 when we got home, and while I fixed dinner Mom finished up the pickles.
Saturday we had a long list of “To Do’s”, but I think we only accomplished a few. In our book fall starts September 1st, and therefore it was time to exchange the summer décor for the fall décor. I am not the craftiest person, so when I change the décor it doesn’t take me long because I am only putting up things that we already have. Mom on the other hand is very crafty and she is always taking notice of others ideas and trying a few of her own. When we were in Hobby Lobby she worked on the table center piece while I shopped in other places. When we met up she asked me about the floral arrangement and I told her that the fall leaf garland that we picked out was heavy on the oranges and the yellows. Her arrangement was very pale and I think had blue in it. To my surprise the arrangement started to come apart. I had not realized that Mom had taken two simple swags and added about ten other flowers, berries, and pumpkins to it. We then headed back to the fall décor section and she started adding yellow and orange flowers to the swags and the end result was just beautiful. On Saturday she made a fall garland and sign for the mantle. It took us all afternoon and evening to decorate the dining room and the living room with fall décor. In the end—we are ready for fall!
I hope that your September has been off to a lovely start—I think that we shall have cooler weather this week. Maybe fall is just around the corner after all.
Serving you with Gladness,
Tiare