OK . . . so, farm life got a little "hairy" since my last post. But, more about "hairy" later. I apologize for the gap in communication. Here's my excuse. It was so much fun keeping our busy roadside stand supplied with fresh produce, furnishing a couple of local businesses with corn and produce daily, attending two Farmer's Markets a week, and experiencing our first venture into CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that I hardly knew where to start . . . so . . . I didn't! :-)
July 22 through September 25. These are the dates for our sweet corn season for 2011. That's 66 days . . . I counted. Thought you might like to see a picture of the crates that were put together for the people who signed up for the CSA. There were 35 of them. The orders were put together in the barn, then loaded into a van, and then transported to the customer. The tenth and final delivery was Sunday. Weather challenged us in many ways this year. We've had 42.71 inches of rain . . . that's 12 inches above normal. Each storm seemed to be an old-fashioned "gully washer," and deep trenches were left in the fields. Some areas never dried all summer. (I wish there was a way to send some of this moisture to the farmers in Texas.) Anyway, it was not the best year for our onion or tomato crops . . . but, we are grateful for the harvest we were blessed with and are thankful for our many regular customers. Until next year, thank you!
While the Produce Division is still picking a few peppers and lots of pumpkins, I've been experimenting with drying flowers. If kept out of direct sunlight and moisture, they should last at least a year. "Winter Flowers" I call 'em! I pick them, remove the leaves, wire the ones with weak stems, and hang them upside down on the hay wagon rails to dry.
Strawflowers . . .
Statice . . .
Gomphrena . . .
Ruby Parfait Celosia . . .
all join the pumpkins to make the barn quite colorful these days.
Speaking of color, this is the first year I've grown Dahlias, and right now they are blooming like crazy. The variety of shapes, sizes and colors has me hooked on them! They grow from tubers (a small potato-like stem with eyes) that were planted in May. After the first frost, the tubers will need to be dug and stored inside for the winter, but they are certainly worth the effort, don't you think? These are just a sample of some of the dahlias I picked quickly one day to give to some friends.
Now, about "hairy." Sometime during the summer, a female cat and her three teenage "kittens" were anonymously dropped off at the farm. We were able to adopt out two of the kittens almost immediately . . . they were very social and delightfully playful. But, Momma and the third kitten stayed and were absorbed into farm life . . . fed and played with.
It wasn't long before we noticed Momma's belly was swelling . . . and swelling . . . and swelling! Wouldn't you know it . . . on September 1st she delivered six little fur balls in the barn. She quickly moved them one by one into their new home - down inside a stack of three tires where they are safe, warm and protected. I think she's the smartest cat I've ever known. So, the Cat Count has quickly risen to 8!
To Be Continued . . . .
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