Good morning, everyone. Well, it's September, and the morning temperature is below 70 degrees, so maybe Fall is around the corner. Walmart is already pushing Christmas on us; we noticed last week an aisle of Christmas items for sale. I get so angry when the retailers determine the season for us. Last year I had words with a Walmart employee when I asked in September why there were no more canning supplies and was told, as if any idiot should know, that canning season was over!

We had more rain this past week. I'm actually losing some of my perennials to high humidity and too much water which seems wierd for this time of year. The tomatoes are covered with blight. I'm not sure they'll even make it to the first frost. Of course, finding several dozen hornworms chomping on them didn't help. I wondered why I hadn't seen many this year--maybe because I hadn't looked carefully! Usually I love to feed them to the chickens, but we don't have chickens this year, so I haven't been eager to squash those monsters myself.

But all is not lost in the garden. The sweet autumn clematis on the garden fence is in full bloom and gorgeous. It really brightens things up. And with cooler weather, there are a bunch of garden chores that can be tackled--like moving the piles of pulled weeds that dot the garden into some semblance of a compost pile and planting out the cool season transplants that are growing under lights in the basement (cabbage, broccoli, etc.). Fall really gets me energized. I just hope the ticks get the message to disappear. I'm sooooo tired of them; when you have tweezers in all rooms of the house, you know it's a bad tick season!

Hope everyone has a good week.

-- Katherine in KY (KyKatherine@Yahoo.com), September 02, 2001

Answers

Hi folks

-- Bobco (bobco@kans.com), September 02, 2001.

Hi folks we got 3/4 in of rain this week hoora not much but when we hadent had eny for months it beat nothing. my garden is done for not planting a fall garden still trying to get my new kitchen built on. its post and beam const so for we got the post up. i dont know what to do about the cont. when hes here he impresses me with his skills but he just dont show. now i find out hes loaded and just does little piddlin jobs like mine. been in ark. for a week riding riding his mule so i guess ill buy a mule so i can keep up with him.LOL Bob se,ks.

-- Bobco (bobco@kans.com), September 02, 2001.

Katherine, I know what you mean about retailers pushing the holidays upon up WAY to early. I have worked in retail for many years out of necessity. I long for the day when I don't have to work for the corporate bigwigs who think they know whats best for the general public. Makes one think they don't believe that we are smart enough to think for ourselves. By the time the particular holiday or season actually rolls around I am sick of seeing all the advertisements and paraphenalia associated with the time of year. Makes me sad that I cannot just naturally enjoy the seasons as was intended. I was looking for a summer outfit about a month ago and was disheartend to find sweaters and winter coats and such, no more summer.Where I work, we don't have Christmas displayed yet, but will have by October. I think to my self, what happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving. I don't think it will change anytime too soon.I think all we can do is try not to rush along with the retailers, and enjoy the seasons as they come. Just my 2 cents.

-- Kim in IN (kwcountrygirl@aol.com), September 02, 2001.

Here in Upstate NY, we woke up to 41 degrees this morning! By 8:30 it was only up to 50. Noticed on the way to church that a lot of the trees have started turning. Evidentially, the birds at the feeders read the Farmer's Alamnac prediction for this winter because they are really making little pigs of themselves and fattening up. Hopefully, I'll get a bunch of ripe tomatoes soon so that I can make salsa. Probably less than 1/5 of them have ripened so far. I have a new crop of lettuce going that I'm going to cover with an old window as a makeshift coldframe. Dug one bed of potatoes yesterday and found out that they are affected by Vericillium Wilt just like the tomatoes were. The bed must be too close to the butternut trees. They didn't wilt, just very small size and amount. Oh well, we'll know better next year. Hope everyone has a productive week!

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), September 02, 2001.

It has rained for three straight days with no end in sight. IT has been a great growing season for us here in our new climate. I suppose that all future "normal" years will seem sluggish given how the garden has produced this year.

The beans have finally peetered out. The red peppers and tomatoes being made into salsa. The volunteer peas at the compost have really geared up as the non volunteer ones have pooped out.

Waiting for the Polk weeds to have purple berries so I can experiment with natural deworming of the chickens. No eggs yet. Cottonmouth spotted next to our child in the creek we swim in.UGGH!

Anybody as excited as I am to be going to the TN state fair next weekend? Can't wait to see all the critters and crafts. Heard Herman's Hermits would be there (and Peter Noone and Paul Revere and the Raiders). "I'm Henery the eighth I am...."

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), September 02, 2001.

The first feelings of Fall are in the air here, too. And it sure feels good! Days are warm and nights are cool, getting colder by the week. I'm ready for snow - and for the produce to STOP.

We are renting here and don't have a garden so we've been going to a nearby farmer's market every Saturday and buying veggies in bulk to can. I was doing all right until tomatoes. We have a kind and gentle neighbor lady that really needed some help fast. She and her husband were building a home and right after the foundation and floor joists went in, he decided he didn't want to be married any longer and while she was gone in town, he loaded up his things and moved out on her. They had been having problems but she thought they were working on them and his leaving, without any word or warning at all, really hit her hard. She decided to go on with the home building, but to cut the size of the house in half. It's a two story, two room tiny home, only 12' x 16' - measured on the outside. We helped her finish up moving in today.

My kind and gentle DH pitched in with some others to get a floor in, walls up and a roof over her head before winter hits. So, I was tomatoing all alone. The first 3 bushels went lickety split. The next 4 bushels were harder. The final 4 bushels nearly killed me. I ended up giving a bushel to a neighbor. If he hadn't taken them, they would have ended up on the compost heap and I would have had NO guilt feelings! I think I'm canned right out now. I don't have a final count now but we have canned about 36 dozen jars of various veggies. Enuff already!

Housekeeping was an unknown activity during the canning rush. We did enough to keep from endangering health and safety but that's about it. Now, I'm trying to catch up on all the stuff I've been ignoring for months.

Really looking forward to late Fall and Winter. I've got an entire fleece waiting to be washed and combed and then spun on my new spinning wheel. Have several interesting and exciting projects waiting for the yarn to be spun. I love spinning!

I wish you all a peaceful and happy week.

-- Carol - in Virginia (carollm@rockbridge.net), September 02, 2001.

Beautiful day here today with a hint of Autumn in the breeze. yesterday we had a big ol' rain. The pig pen was a swamp when I went out this morning so I threw in 2 bales of hay to kinda soak things up a bit...not that it helps. The feeders had about 2 or 3 inches of rain sitting in them this morning. We picked some blueberries (highbush) at the local winery today for jam. Its the first day in nearly a month that we've felt good. Battling pneumonia. Made grape jelly today too but the cheatin' kind..bottled juice rather than from scratch. Will probably do the blues tonight or in the morning...they are sooo good though. :oP Want to head for the Valley (Annapolis Valley)soon to get carrots and apples for the afore mentioned pigs...that'll sweeten them eh? Only 5 chickens left to catch and slaughter. Tomatoes are starting to ripen so i guess I will soon get to make sauce and freeze some tomatoes. Avoiding malls like a plague since I heard about the christmas stuff coming out. Why can't they see past their bottom line that they are ruining a beautiful time of year? Why rush tomorrow? It gets here soon enough. I used to LOVE Christmas and Halloween. Department stores wear Christmas out before it gets here and Halloween isn't as much fun now that I'm a grown up. Now I'M the one who has to come up with costumes and treats..drag! :o)

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), September 02, 2001.

Chilly day here in northern Pa. Spent the day harvesting, packing sweet corn in freezer. Canning and freezing is the order of the day. Starting to see some changing of the leaves, and am not ready for it yet. Can't say much about the merchants pushing Christmas, haven't seen the inside of a store in months! Enjoying seeing the local wildlife flourishing, wife saw a black bear Friday! Life is good off the sidewalks!

-- woodsbilly (coleenl@penn.com), September 02, 2001.

Hi All!!! The weather here in Indiana has been real nice lately, too. Am looking forward to Fall and cooler temps, although this summer has been alot easier as far as weather compared to down South. We're still working on getting the 10 1/2 acres I mention last week. Am going to talk to the mortgage co. tomorrow and see what we can work out. Wish us luck! I feel like a caged bird, living in town, and don't know how much longer I can hold out. Just not cut out for this kind of life. If any of you all live in north central Indiana and happen to see a crazy lady running through the corn fields, it's me!!! hee hee (really, I'm not that bad yet, just close).

Put up some tomato juice this week. Finally got enough for a few batches. Am going to try different heirloom tomatoes for cooler temps, next year. Anyone have any favorites? Gotta get my seed books out this winter and do some research. Gardening is always such an adventure, huh?

Katherine, I haven't been to too many stores lately, but I can just imagine how much Christmas stuff they're starting to get out. Over the years, me & Dave have made a point to have a very simple Christmas. I enjoy the season more, not having to run around a find the "perfect" gift for someone I don't have a clue what they'd want, anyhow.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

-- Annie (mistletoe@kconline.com), September 03, 2001.

Not that you would notice, but I am still around. I have been soooo busy, I check in here each day to see what's up but don't have allot of time. My new web business is keeping me hoppin, and the farm.

Our 4 calves are huge, doing wonderfull. Ginger the cow is great too. She is still milking allot of milk. We havn't gotten her bred yet, this next time for sure we will. We are going to the auction tommorrow to sell off some Alpine bucks and pick up (hopefully) some calves. Cross your fingers.

I have thousands of ripe tomatoes every day. People are comming and getting all they want. We are eating sooo many too. Strawberries are back in and need picking real bad. Tomorrow. (the strawberries are mine!) Our foot of rain rotted the cantalopes and watermelons, squishy gone. We are still getting tons of rain, then sunny hot, tons of rain, sunny hot. Windows and doors still open, but the ceiling fan goes off in the mornings, it's a bit chilly on me.

There's allot I want to get done before it gets colder. We have to run the ducts in the house for the outdoor woodstove (we moved it), finish some buildings, knock a door in the wall to my new kennel in the back yard, pick all my flower seeds. We have to band 2 calves and 2 goat babies still, waiting a bit. I would like a couple more doe milkers, everyone is taking my goats milk!

I've been mowing so much too. Our grass is growing like crazy still, the pastures need more animals to eat it down. I have to ride a mow in the morning again. Twice a week would not be too often. I need 100 sheep. Anyone have 100 sheep they could give me?

Anyway, I'll try not to be such a stranger around here. And Cindy in NY, please tell us you were kidding about the leaves changing allready! This Cindy loves hot weather. Indian summers. Annie, come down here and get some tomatoes please. Thanks you kids for starting the Chat threads. No Christmas or Thanksgiving yet, it's still summer!

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 07, 2001.

Well, hey there Cindy, been wondering where in the heck you've been. Sounds like you have been really busy. Hey, at least it keeps you out of trouble, huh!? :) I wish I had a bunch of sheep to send ya, in exchange for the tomatoes. This coming winter I'm going to be majorly short on them for cooking. We're progressing well on getting the 10 1/2 acres, we got our hearts set on. I've been like an old dog with a bone. Very determined, to say the least! Dave thinks I'm obsessed, and I reckon he's right! hee hee Good to see ya postin, we've missed ya!

-- Annie (mistletoe@kconline.com), September 08, 2001.

Hey Annie,

Would love to trade tomatoes for sheep! I traded tomatoes for a clutch for my ride-a-mower, and one girl is going to bring me candy the next time she comes. I need candy, and donuts, I'm so skinny I need the sugar to keep me going around here. Love donuts, and drumsticks (ice cream). Steve suprises me with a drumstick in a little plain paper bag once in a while. It dosen't take much to please me! You keep working on the 10 1/2 acres!

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 08, 2001.