Will had a big field of very nice hay down and raked but it was getting on into the afternoon. He had to hurry to beat the rain, which was heading our way. We’re glad to have rain at this point, as it’s been so very dry lately. But not with that much hay down! Luckily, the equipment behaved, and he was able to get it all baled. (Even though the cutter on the baler won’t cut so he has to climb out of the tractor and cut the twines by hand after each bale is finished wrapping!) No wonder he comes home tired, huh?

All these bales will feed our cows and other livestock all winter with spare leftover. Just in case…

While he’s haying, I’m trying to pick and get the first of our hundreds of tomatoes seeded out. We’ve found that by picking those very first tomatoes and saving their seeds, we’re gradually getting earlier and earlier crops from the same varieties. In our short-season climate, that’s a huge bonus. Gee, then, after seeding them, we get to eat the rest in various recipes. I can’t can them yet, as there aren’t that many, nor do I have freezer space to freeze them for later. So, darned, we have to just eat them. Tonight, it’s pepper steak, with fresh tomato sauce and green peppers and onions from the garden. Poor us!

Our first tomatoes are ripe and I’m busy seeding them out. (And eating them!)

As we’re now getting nice, periodic rain, our gardens are looking better. The squash vines are taking off like crazy, as are the pumpkins in the North Garden. We sell them to our friends at The Watering Can, in Cook, Minnesota, and we were all hoping for another nice crop. But, with the drought, after the torrential rains, the vines just sat there, and we weren’t hopeful. Now, we’re looking better, especially if we get a later fall. We’re hoping and praying about that!

The rain has even made our plants around the house more beautiful.

— Jackie

22 COMMENTS

  1. What a beautiful home! You and your family have created a real treasure. Thank you for sharing your ups and downs and in-betweens. We all like to learn from each other.

  2. Ladies and gentlemen: Keep prepping. You must be wise in this time. For Noah, being warned of God, moved by faith, prepared an ark. Ben Franklin says, Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

  4. It sure has been a crazy year for weather and the gardens. I too find canning to be such a joy and I love looking at the fruits (and vegetables) of my efforts. My problem is that the stash of canned jars just look so appealing that I hate to open and use them ….which defeats the point of canning.

    Jackie, I have your Cowboy Candy recipe but would you mind sharing your Gaucho Relish and Vaquero Relish recipes? You have mentioned these three recipes many times and I would love to make them. Not sure of the details on them though — ingredients, proportions of ingredients to syrup, processing, etc. It would be much appreciated.

  5. Jackie,
    Your picture looks like a perfect American home should be. Beautiful flowers, sturdy log home, weedless flower beds, and your Red, White and Blue standing proudly over it all. With all your chores, I know you had to make time to take care of all that but yet you and Will do it all. Blessings to you both. Thanks for that wonderful picture.

  6. I’m glad Will got the hay done before the rain hit. That would be exhausting getting in and out of the tractor to cut the twine for every bale. I bet he was thrilled to have a delicious pepper steak meal. It sounds absolutely amazing. We have had some nice rain which was really needed. It acts like an early fall. The maple trees are starting to show a little color here and there and the walnut trees are beginning to get yellow leaves. It seems very early. My garden is winding down. I seem to have a good crop of butternut squash finishing. The cucumbers are done and the beans are drying for hull beans. Tomatoes have been a lost battle with possums this year. Your house and flowers are just beautiful! sending prayers for a blessed week.

    • Here in far north California, our streak of hundredsF finally broke; it had started in May which is unusual here. Matter-of-fact, the weatherman said that the high temperatures had begun here a month early. . .so now with the temps broken, and this is usually our hottest month, but in the eighties/nineties now. I’m thinking, fall? An early fall? The violence of summer weather, and the heat of summer weather actually reflect the fierce battle in the heavenlies, reflected in our nation’s weather. It’s a spiritual thing. And the “fall” has begun early, and reflects in the happenings of our nation’s government in D. C. It’s going to be intense and has already begun.

  7. your home and flowers are beautiful. thought it was an ad for a flower shop, alas it is your own work.both of you are so hard working it makes me tired to try to follow you around and I am a country girl.. Although an older one. have enjoyed your writings for many years. Should have told you so before now. Many thanks for sharing your life with us.

  8. I have received much needed rain. Even in my Zone 5 a I double crop-ie beans after peas, carrots after onions, etc. This rain should boost the late planted crops along. For those farming corn and soybeans the commodity markets are in the tank. At current prices there will only be losses. Sad to see so much time, money and effort for little to no return. The cattle market is great and hay still in demand. Make all the hay you can.

    • Yep, we always do. But it’s a balancing act sometimes as to which is most important at the time! The pasture’s good, the hay’s great, the gardens, so-so. I think we’ll be seeing lots of price increases as the crazy weather all over has affected crops nationwide.

  9. We missed frost by one degree a couple days ago here in Copper Basin Alaska but it is headed for 75 today for a high. Our garden in Scoharie county N.Y. had frost 12 months a year two years during the ten years we gardened there but not necessarily killing frosts! Your flowers are outstanding!

    • Whew, I’ll bet you were sweating bullets!! We’ve had forty degrees, but nothing worse. So far! In Montana, we had a foot of snow on the Fourth of July one year so I relate. I hope you’re doing better every day.

    • Howard I lived in Herkimer County up until a few yrs ago when we moved to western NC.
      I remember times of cold summers. Right now I miss the soil, went from beautiful soil to clay.
      I’m trying raised beds but am still adjusting to the planting zone, timing of planting, multiple plantings etc. I’ve had some hits and failures and will keep plugging along. Couldn’t imagine the obstacles that you must face living in Alaska.

    • Thank you. Real logs, not siding, however : ) Son, David, was a big help stacking logs among other things. He was just 14 then too.

  11. We love our flowers and the pollinators they bring on. We have every kind of bee plus moths and hummingbirds. Love them all!!! Plus the beauty of the flowers.

  12. There is couple who grow pumpkins each year and sell for Halloween. We got a downpour back in July and part of their patch looked like a goner (they did stagger planting). But not too many plants lost when all said and done (aka weather started behaving – we got double our normal July rainfall).
    The surviving slicing tomatoes are ripening – not as large as the ones, ahem, *someone* took one bite out of then tried more despite the first one not tasting good. First time ever this has happened, we’ll be better prepared next year. But a local farm sells local grown tomatoes which are almost as good. We don’t begrudge what they charge (which is far less than hot house tomatoes at the nearby grocery store, never mind the better product).
    Our weather now seems to happen a month earlier than it used to. All the greenery is starting to wind down – not fast but not as full. We’ve had more September days than August days this year. July was like August, heat, humidity, and rain. Not sure what to expect for this winter nor what next growing season brings. We’ll plant garlic next month – I get my order in early now after almost getting burned during 2021. I see some varieties are sold out but during 2021, it was hard to find seed of any sort come July. Where I order the variety we like costs less than 1/2 of what one of the “corporate seed” companies charge. And we get a much better harvest. It pays to shop outside of the corporate world.
    And there is nothing better than eating fresh from the garden.

    • Interesting of your weather being a month ahead. We had a cooler than normal July here (N. Central TX) with some days being more like May days. However, the dog days of summer have set in (triple digit).

    • We’re somewhere in between, weather-wise. Some of our crops are earlier than normal where others were set back due to the torrential rains we got early on. I noticed a few of our onions tipping over this morning. That’s early for us and the bulbs aren’t as large as usual. But then, they’re not planted in the best soil in the garden either.
      I’ve noticed many bigger seed companies have cut down on the number of seeds per pack and also increased their prices. Kind of like the grocery stores! Right now, sweet corn in our local store is 79 cents an ear. Nope, I won’t pay that! We’ll just eat our canned sweet corn, which is just about as good.

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