Fall--equinox--colours

Harvest day was fun the other day.  I gathered raspberries under the watchful eyes of a jumping spider.  We had warm weather and just enough breeze to keep us cool.

Here's what we got, minus the potatoes and corn that wouldn't fit on the counter, and about 20 pounds more of mixed tomatoes, plus all of the crookneck, acorn, pattipan and hubbard squashes. Oh and our apple trees have done well this year--so we went out and bought an apple picker.  G is keen on trying to make cider, I would just be happy with applesauce on my pancakes in the middle of February.

Tomatoes, walking onions, volunteer radishes, shelling beans, sweetgrass, comfrey, sage, horseradish root, catnip, calendula flowers, sunflowers, raspberries, plantain, savory (in cider vinegar), stinging nettle (in potato vodka).

The greenhouse is pumping out arugula, mustard, basil, kale, cilantro and tomatoes.

The sheep are having a great time in their new rotations, and still have the benefit of the huge ash tree and white pine to retreat to.

  The days are still getting hot--into the mid twenties, and the nights down to 8 C.

 We've had another flush of mosquitoes, so when the wind dies down the animals are tormented again.

One of G's recent creations: 

Lucky me! I think he's made about four or five different types of pickle this summer as the veggies rolled in.

The salsa fresca that he made this week was amazing but brutal--those jalapenos had my eyelids sweating.

We have many more pepper types to harvest--as long as the frost stays away.  I know G is really looking forward to making tobasco sauce from real tobasco peppers.

One of my few flower successes from a wildflower mix.

Hello? Crookneck squash soup? Is that you?

Salsa in a basket

Amish paste tomatoes--a surprise for us--they did amazingly well and taste great enough for slicing

I sense some spicy fall soups ahead.