Bounty, a barn dance, and tomatoes!
Yesterday we spent the morning working in the garden. We planted red cabbage, Napa cabbage, and collards, and we harvested about 20 lbs of tomatoes, 10 lbs of cabbage, a handful of carrots, peppers, and squash. Sadly… the garden has not done as wonderfully as I’d hoped, mainly because we haven’t been able to spend as much time out there as I thought we would, and because I was a little too ambitious with all that I planted.
Still… we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a little bit of everything. We had some beets, and some rutabagas, and lots of lettuce earlier in the season. And we had some beans and yellow squash and cucumbers. Some plants have even given us a decent surplus! We’ve canned some great tomatoes, and Banjo Boy made sauerkraut from all our cabbage. Our garden friend, Ms. Della Reed, gave me TONS of Swiss chard, too. She says she plants it because it’s pretty…. but she hates the taste. So she had me pick all of what she had! I am eternally grateful.
Here’s a pic of some of our bounty… plus Alice. Although she’s not for eating. Just for modeling. She’s gotten so big! Still no eggs yet, though….
With gardening and other chores behind us, we cleaned up a bit, put on our dancing shoes, and headed out to a potluck and barn dance at a a friend’s family orchard.
There were probably over 100 people there… it was unbelievable. The food was wonderful, although I ate something that didn’t sit well with me and ended up having to forgo dancing. I did enjoy the music and conversation, though. The best part was that when we felt tired, we simply wandered out into the orchards with our sleeping bags and slept under the stars!
Although the forecast called for clear skies, we were awoken early this morning by rain. Banjo Boy and I were probably the only folks who had NOT set up our tent… needless to say, we got very wet. At least it was warm. And it was really a wonderful way to wake up. The rain came just before the light started to change… and we slowly watched the dawn.
The rain stayed on, but kept at a mist. We quietly left the orchard and all the people sleeping under the peach trees and walked along the fields picking flowers. We then said our quiet goodbyes to the owner of the orchard, our gracious host, and headed for the nearest pancake place!
The rest of our day was spent canning about 35 lbs of tomatoes salvaged from the seconds bins at the farmer’s market. We now have 24 quarts put up! Bring it on, winter!
You know it’s September when…..
And now, after a rather labor-intensive Labor Day weekend, I’m GOING TO BED EARLY!
