Roger in the cosmos.
Today is officially the end of the 2013 harvest at our place. This morning started with me taking seeds off some of the flowers. I have an envelope of cosmos, and one of zinnias. I also have containers with Echinacea, morning glories and holly hocks. The only thing left is the marigolds and I don’t think any of them have seeded out yet.
Broken ash tree
About the time I was working on the flowers my aunt showed up and noticed the broken ash tree. We worked on that for an hour, but we were never able to get to it to cut off the broken part. I wanted to climb up the branches from a step-ladder, but James really wouldn’t let me, and I sure wasn’t going to let him do it. I trimmed off a few of the pieces of what is hanging down, so the load would be lighter, but I really don’t know what we will do. This is the wrong week to call my brother as hunting is starting in South Dakota and guiding is his main livelihood.
Later James headed to the garden with a little help from Paulina. The emphasis is little. Ha! Together they tore out all of the dried up corn stalks. She cut off the bottoms and took a few into the back shop to save. As soon as we round up some twine, she will tie up bundles for a fall decorative display. The last time we did that, we shared with my sisters. That year, we failed to pull all the corn off the stalks, and Kathy ended up with squirrels in the stalks by her house. It drove her cats crazy as they watched out the windows.
Sophia on the pickup. I think she wanted to see the dump ground.
After lunch, James and I took a load of garden refuse to the dump ground and Paulina headed inside to work on a paper for English. The week coming up is mid-term, so we realize she needs to get on the paper work. When we got back, James and I worked on a batch of applesauce. I added more brown sugar this time. Paulina said the first batch was too tart. Yikes.
James working in the garden digging beets.
Carrots coming out of the ground
Roger in the nearly empty garden.
The temperature is expected to be below 30 degrees F tonight, so anything left out will freeze. I have been told that carrots taste better when left in the ground until frost, but since ours are half out of the ground already, I am not sure how that works. James went back to the garden and pulled all the beets and all the carrots. You can see them below as they are drying in the sun. This is only part of the beet harvest as I pulled a good portion of them already. It is, however, all of the carrots, except the few that I took out this morning to use in the Knepfla soup. Paulina is working on chopping them right now.
Fairly small carrot harvest, but we hope to get them in the fridge this year and actually use them.
About half the beet harvest, many have already been blanched and frozen for soup.
Well not much else to say. We have had a wonderful day of harvest, but it has been a down and up day. We are happy to be anticipating a visit from Jessica on Monday. I guess that means getting her room ready tomorrow. On the other hand, our thoughts and prayers go out to my sister Kathy’s family. Her father-in-law passed away last night, and we will be thinking of them in the coming days. At times like this I think of the poem, No Man is an Island, by John Donne.
No Man Is An Island
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
lucindalines 