Fall work

I have been so grateful for all the beautiful days we have been enjoying. I do realize that all good things must come to an end. There is snow in this weeks forecast so the garden will be harvested completely today. I Canned dill pickles and got another batch of bread and butter pickles ready for tomorrow. I was not planning to do another batch but the pickles were a little big for dill pickles. they are exteremly hard to pack into the jars if they are too big so more bread and butter pickles to come. I don't know how much more I will be getting out of the greenhouse. When I check in the mornings, the temperature is sometimes down to the high forties. Not the ideal situation for tomatoes to ripen. But I will harvest until mother nature puts a hault to it's production.

Chickens are very happy little cluckers.....about 20 eggs a day. Needless to say we are giving eggs away and using eggs just about any way you can think of. It feels good to be almost self sufficient. No milk cow though. I will NOT milk a cow!


Friday morning I got a very somber phone call from my Mom. My Step Grandma passed away and her viewing would be that evening. Jared and I had already planned a weekend get-away but didn't really plan to go to Pocatello. Jared was a trooper and we hopped on the bike and went to the viewing. I had mixed emotions about going. Things were not always good between my aunts and uncles when it concerned my Grandma Vida, but I knew that she loved me and she was the only Grandma I have known. I was even planning a trip to visit her in the nursing home while my kids were home for fall break. The situation was very strange to me. Her family is not close and so there was no funeral, just a viewing and a graveside dedication where she was being burried. I know I don't want anything extravagant but at least a few words for those who are there. i was very touched by a few little love notes that were on display for the viewing. Sweet notes from my Grandpa just because. I come from good roots and I am very grateful for that. He was lucky to be in love with two great ladies. Both very different but he had plenty of love for the both of them.

More canning

One of my memories of canning with my Mom is making cinnamon pickles,

never knowing how much hard work really went into them. They are about a 5 day process and take up a lot of room in the kitchen for that amount of time too.

They are well worth the effort and the much needed space in the kitchen.

I have also finished another batch of bread and butter pickles and a few more jars of dill pickles.

I sometimes think that time is just flying by. Kody is getting his drivers license and will now be able to do some of the running. It will be very nice to have a little more time to get things done. If I make a trip to town it seems like the day is half over and I don't feel like starting projects half way through the day. It will be stressfull but convienient at the same time.

The new business is doing well and Jared has a few chinking jobs that should keep him busy for a while. I know we are extrememly blessed to have work and be financially free. Makes the stress level somewhat bearable. I am very gratefull for a husband who gets his hands dirty and provides for his family.

Summer gardening

I am loving the great experience I have had gardening this year. I have canned beets and pickled, stewed and italian stewed tomatoes, hot and mild salsa, bread and butter, dill pickles, raspberry jam, pepper jelly, and relish. Still need to do green beans, cinnamon pickles and dill pickles but I am enjoying seeing all the pretty bottles of food going into the storage room.
Here is what the green house is looking like these days. I still have tomatoes that are rippening and the pickles are growing huge, for cinnamon pickles, and then some for dill pickles. The basil is ready to pick again to make pesto. The okra I am not sure what to do with but the flowers are pretty amazing. I am hoping to get enough peppers still to can some jalepenos and some chilis and possible make another couple of batches of salsa. The celery is turning out better than I expected. I asked around on the technique on how to grow celery and from what I understand people just don't grow it. I will be storing it in the dark storage room over the winter and hoping it will continue to grow next year.

The lady bugs have been a huge help this year. I had a pretty obnoxious aphid problem and brought in 5000 lady bugs. Problem solved! They have migrated outside and around the neighborhood but with so many of them around, when I see aphids on anything I pick up a handful of my little helpers and the problem is taken care of. The pepper plants and the brussel sprouts were the worst. I have learned a lot but feel like this years harvest is quite successful.

All in all I have no doubt in my mind everyone around this area needs a green house. Mine has made a huge difference. Never have I canned this much in one year. Hopefully more canning to come still. There are also a few things I won't be planting in the green house next year. #1 no zucchinni, melons or squash. they take over and have to be trimmed every couple of days just so they don't smother out other plants #2 I will start my corn in the green house but then I will transplant it outside. It is too hard for a shorty like me to polinate the plants so often and the corn dust was very harsh on the alergies.