Hello September: you make my head spin!

Howdy Folks!
I've not forgotten about you, I've just been trying to keep track of everything lately and keep my head on straight while geting through Sep.'s busy days! So, here I am at last to fill you in on the farm news! 



 Fall is in the air, in the literal sense, with falling leaves and the smell of applesauce on the outdoor cook stove, and in the fugitive sense, with our first frost occurring last night, to crisp up the apples and redden the leaves.


 My head is still spinning after yesterday's harvest haul, and already the kids are hard at it today. Everything just pours in so fast, if you're not careful in this house, you could be quickly buried under bushels, baskets and buckets of the garden produce! Your fate could be that of our poor kitchen table...
Yesterday, we chopped, boiled down, ground, jarred and canned 6 and a half gallons of applesauce, we harvested, snapped and blanched almost 5 gallons of green beans, we blanched, cut and bagged 10 doz ear of corn (not from our farm, regrettably), we harvested, washed and crock pickled 15 gallons of cukes, we harvested and stored away another heaping bushelful of zucchini, we dug 6 gallons of potatoes and we picked a few gallons of blackberries, eating some and freezing the rest. Today, we have another batch of applesauce on the burner right now, beets in the oven for pickling, another big bag of carrots in the root cellar, and more potatoes and blackberries to be harvested. On top of that, with our first frost last night, we may need to bring in all the melons, pumpkins and tomatoes to inspect them for damage and use 'em up.
 See? Doesn't it make your head spin too? I knew I wasn't the only one. ;)


Busy as our bees all over my forgetmeknots...


A walk in the back pasture... to just stare and meditate, taking our example from the cows, is a welcomed, regularly experienced, escape.


See, I think the kids walking out in the gardens and fields, harvesting, picking berries and apples and interacting with the animals, are picking up all the peaceful, relaxing vibes that they need. Whereas, I've been (on top of the harvest chores), working headlong in and on our online store, gearing up for the holidays and trying to conform to the Govt. CSPIA regulations, reading tons of looney websites on it and planning for the opening of a second shop before the end of the month. Big plans! :) So, that has my head spinning pretty good before I even get to helping with all the processing jobs!   I get my relaxation from knitting and crafting on the porch in the evenings. I so enjoy creating cute things with my hands! That's why I have so many hopes about our crafts one day supporting us... That feels totally right to me, I would LOVE for that dream to come true. :)  I just finished up and added this new Nativity set to our shop.

I've been really enjoying adding a lot of new listings to our shop lately. The boys and I have been busy!

We also enjoyed a fun busy week of music, preforming on Sunday at the Busking Stage in the Porcupine Mountain Music Fest, on Tue. at the nursing home and on Sat, busking on the street corning during the annual Maxwell street days. All of them were tons of fun, but thoroughly exhausted us of our overplayed list of songs, so we are currently beginning learning a new list of songs, which is both fun and tiring, but I'm really looking forward to it. :) Hey, if you have any song suggestions for us to cover, let us know! We like old 60s, modern country and some bluegrass...

Anyway, signing off, here's a few 'boy-type' pictures for you...I Spy...


Stretching for the jump:


The bat that Johnny found hanging on the barn wall...

He told Lizzy: "See? That's what happens when a blind bat tries to fly around at night, not very smart: they run into something and die!" LOL Of course we had to then explain that bats can see at night, and that, in fact, this bat was alive: 


That spooked Johnny out pretty good when he discovered it was indeed alive. I bet he was hoping it was also deaf after the insulting things he said about it! :)

That's all until I have a moment to chat with you again! :) Thanks for stopping by!