Okay, it was Friday the 13th … He had taken a big round bale out to the cows in the North pasture and had come back though the pipe gate, parked the tractor on the top of the hill by the barn, and went down to close the gate. He even had his earphones on, listening to rock while he worked. Something (I think God!) told him to look back at the tractor. Here it was, rolling down the hill about 20 mph, it seemed! Just in time, he jumped out of the way while it went crashing through the gate, breaking off a 10×10-inch gate post and some plank fencing. Holy cow, we were both shaken badly. (Yeah, he accused me of increasing his life insurance to $5,000,000.) He went down and fixed the gate by driving the tractor over it to flatten out the bend, fixed the post and fence and came home for an ice cream. Whew, we don’t need that type of excitement!

Canning is in full swing. Yesterday, I did 12 pints of salsa/tomato sauce, 24 half-pints of cowboy candy, 8 pints of vaquero relish with pineapple (we’ll see how that tastes) and five pints of extra cowboy candy syrup. We’ve got tons of Sugar Rush Peach hot peppers in the hoop house and lots of others, both hot and sweet so I’ll be making tons of various pepper recipes. There are lots more tomatoes out on the porch, waiting for me to seed and can up. Now if I were just triplets! Oh well, I’ll get it done. I’m hoping to get to can some sweet corn on Wednesday, as it’s almost mature enough.

This is the first batch I did yesterday. I was still canning at 10 o’clock!

David and Delilah came over on Saturday to pick their pumpkins. Our friends from The Watering Can greenhouse in Cook, Minnesota, were coming on Sunday to pick their truckload of pumpkins so I wanted to make sure the grandkids got their pick first. Delilah ran into the North Garden and squealed “Pumpkins! Pumpkins!” and ran toward the pumpkin rows excitedly. She picked out their pumpkins and Dad cut them for her. We took a ride on the golf cart to their house and unloaded her haul. It was lots of fun.

Delilah picked out the best pumpkins of the whole patch to take home.

Then, on Sunday, Mark and Dianne, and her mom, plus Justin, Gina, and their little girl came over and we went down to pick pumpkins in earnest. They got a truckload and there are still more pumpkins that need a little more maturity. I just wanted everyone to get their pumpkins before the darned cows decided to break in and get theirs. (They don’t leave any!) Everyone loves pumpkins. Me included!

We all had fun picking pumpkins on Sunday. Here’s the crew from The Watering Can greenhouse in Cook, Minnesota.
Gina and her daughter resting up after picking pumpkins. We always love this event at our homestead!

— Jackie

39 COMMENTS

  2. Oh my word, that was close! Will, so glad you are alright and you followed your intuition. God didn’t have your name written on the page that day.
    Canning…wooftaa…I had to buy more jars at Fleet Farm. I’m actually getting tired of canning (and that’s a first for me) but if it’s provided, I will preserve it. It seems everyone I talk to feels an uneasiness about what the future holds, from weather to politics to foreign threats. There is a peace in having food security, at least, and I’m so thankful to be able to do this. We are dry here in Iowa, but rain is forecast soon.
    Thank you for all the lessons and recipes and knowledge you’ve provided!

    • You’re welcome!! It’s terribly dry here too. We get a stray sprinkle, but it doesn’t even wet the ground. It seems like I have to buy more jars every year. But, hey, that’s okay. It just means I’m getting more food in the pantry every year. We love that. It does bring peace. If you’ve ever been hungry or wondered what you would feed your children, as I have, you really appreciate having a great plenty laid away.

  3. Good Heavens! There is never a dull moment on your homestead. So glad Will is OK. That kind of stuff is what gives a person profound respect for how dangerous things can become in just a split second. Your canned jars look so lovely and sure will taste good this winter. The pumpkins picking looks like it was a fun day. Your grandchildren sure are lucky to have you to grow their pumpkins. I’m thinking they look forward to this every year. Sending prayers for a blessed week.

    • Thanks again Marilyn! I love all the smiles pumpkins bring everyone. Even me. Yep, common-place things can sure turn ugly in a heartbeat. We’re plenty grateful that Will escaped harm.

  5. Glad Will is okay. Farming is a dangerous profession. Tractors, corn pickers, corn dust!, grain silos to name but a few hazards.
    Rock music isn’t all bad.
    Looks like you had a good pumpkin crop. The homeowner grower near me had part of his patch flood earlier this summer. They had more than I expected out for sale but I don’t see many (if any) left to be harvested. I don’t think they depend on income, at least I hope they don’t.
    Still dry here. Wildlife is drinking at least 3 gallons of water between 8 am and 6 pm. I’ve been refilling after dinner as of late. Need to check the expected frost date (we almost hit 90 yesterday and will be mid/high 80s thru Friday) so we can get the garlic area tilled. Paste tomatoes are in overdrive. I freeze them whole and Sunday picking almost filled a gallon freezer bag. Slicers aren’t quite as prolific but I think we can have BLTs a couple more times.

    • Yep, there are a lot of ways to get hurt on a farm. We are always watchful and very careful. I lost a good friend when his tractor flipped over, crushing him. And our fire chief in Gladstone, NM had his haybine crash down on him while he was working on it, killing him.
      It’s dry here too. We just don’t get any decent rain, only a few drops here and there. Our tomatoes are driving us crazy!! I’m seeding and canning them every single day and there are still crates on the porch, calling my name, plus lots out in the garden yet. I’m giving them away to neighbors and friends, but holy cow are they blessing us!

  6. Will has a guardian angel sent to watch over him! The Lord is watching over him for sure! But you are blessed with all the friends and family you have. We had a rough summer. My husband had sepsis after a kidney stone procedure and was hospitalized for 5 days. Then sent home on oxygen and extra medicine for me to care for. The nas he got well I got sick. I developed hepatitis c of all things! Considering we don’t do drugs, very monogamous for our 20 years of marriage this was a big shock!. The doctors finally decided it was due to blood products I got in surgery in 2007. Seems the screening was not as good then for such things. Still struggling to get well with this mess. I’m praying for a better year next year. I’d love to have a “Jackie” year with huge gardens! 😆

    • Wow, have you had your troubles. I’ll put you on our prayer list. I’m hoping next year will bring you peace and health. AND a big, beautiful garden!!

  7. Heavenly Days! I’m so glad Will is okay, scary reminder that life can turn on a dime.

    Glad everything is back to normal.

  8. I’m happy Will turned and avoided catastrophe. Farming comes in I think second to mining or logging for injuries. I tipped over a cab tractor ? 3-4 years ago hauling large round bales and barely escaped serious injury. One can never be too careful. Harvest for me is in full swing. I’m thankful for Will’s good fortune.

    • Me too! I’ve seen some friends get hurt and killed farming. That big equipment can be scary at times. I haven’t tipped over a tractor yet but I have had them up on one back tire, the other three feet in the air. Close but no cigar.
      We’re going nuts, getting in harvest now with corn, dry beans, peppers and melons. Don’t even ask me about root crops yet. It’s too dry to dig them. It’s even hard to pull onions! We need rain for a couple of days to soften the ground.

  9. That tractor story made my chest a little tight. I’m retired from healthcare and have seen the damage done by farm machinery. I think about it every time we run the PTO auger. So, very glad Will escaped.
    Beautiful family BYW!

    • I almost had a heart attack when Will told me what had happened! Yep, we’re both so very careful. But it only takes one tiny mistake, like not putting the tractor in gear when it was parked, to get you killed. Power takeoffs give me the willies. I’ve heard those horror stories.

  10. Oh, the Lord was watching over Will. I do keep you guys and your extended members in my prayers. We have to take care of each other in that way, and watch the Lord work. He needs our cooperation as well. Regards from far north California

    • Thank you, Elizabeth! We rely on Him every single day. And you’re right, we also need to do our part. I hate it when folks just sit around on their butts and expect God to take care of their needs. When we do our part, He blesses us.

      • Amen Jackie! We all need Him. Too often many ignore Him or as you said’sit on their butts! Expecting Him to do something. Thanking Him daily for His guidance is so important. So THANKFUL Will is still here! He was definitely watching over Will. Friday 13 🤦🏻‍♀️I thought I’d escaped any trouble. Canning has seemed to overtake our lives lately. Pantry shelves are full! Praise The Lord

  12. What a frightening event! Thank you Guardian Angel for watching over him!! Cowboy candy is too “jalapeno” for me! I’m a bit sensitive to the peppers.

  13. Thank you Jesus for nudging Will in order to protect him. You are so good!
    What beautiful pumpkins and so ripe already! The Watering Can is one of my favorite spring spots here in the northland.
    Nice job on the canning and thanks for inspiring us :^)
    Nancy

    • Amen to that! We grew a variety of hybrid pumpkins called Neon, just for the Watering Can, as they start out orange and only take about 85 days to mature. We’ve still got other varieties out there, Howden and Big Max, but they’ll need another two weeks to reach maturity. Here’s hoping frost stays away.

  14. What memories you’ve made. I love it.

    I have looked and looked for your recipe for cowboy candy. Am I overlooking it? I have your canning and growing book and a smaller self reliance book.

  15. Oh My; how scary! So happy everyone is OK. Those pumpkins look beautiful especially since you are a short season gardener. Good luck for all during this harvest season.

    • We were both pretty shaken up, for sure! Whew! We love pumpkins and the smiles and excitement little ones have when picking them.

      We’re both pretty busy, bringing in the harvest and me, canning it up. Will’s helping by shelling out various varieties of dry beans, along with getting our hay bales hauled home.

    • That it was! I love the look of those jars on the pantry shelves. Right now, there are just boxes and boxes of filled jars sitting in the basement, waiting for me to come down and sort them on the pantry shelves. The knees don’t like stairs yet. But they’re improving slowly.

    • Me too! It’s been a crazy year but we’re so happy our gardens are producing so well, despite it. We both love harvest time.

  18. Wow, there was a farmer killed here in western Pa. A couple years ago, he got off the tractor to close a gate and his tractor ran over him. Friday the the 13 th will be Wills lucky day now. Very glad to hear that he is okay.

    • That was so very close! The tractor was really rolling, seeing the damage it did to the fence and gate. I doubt he could have survived if it ran over him. Thank you, God!!

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