Pumpkins and other Miscellaney from the Farm

This morning we are 'testing' the furnace.....it is working.  The living room was 68° so we decided to turn off the AC on the system.

I do love this time of year.  The only thing that would make it perfect is for it to rain!  Still nothing predicted.  I may have to till the garden in a cloud of dust.

Speaking of the garden, I keep finding snacked on and rotting pumpkins so a few days ago I decided to harvest a few.  I found some that looked the perfect color and some that should have been left on the vine.  At least, I got all I could possibly need for the winter.



I let them ripen for a few days and then decided to process one, not the best colored one:



I  scrubbed it good and diced it into chunks; tossed into my turkey roaster with some water and cooked until tender.  I ran it through the Victorio strainer using the pumpkin cone.  Bits of softened skin came through so I decided to scoop the flesh off before straining.  I used to just process in the Cuisinart.  From this medium sized one, I got slightly over 4 lbs. of  pumpkin.  I thought it was a little coarse.  Maybe because of the early harvesting ?   Anyway,  I made a pie and it was very tasty, not as fine textures as 'store bought' but certainly very good.



I stored  the others in the milk parlor and they will last all winter into spring.

The vine is still growing with no let up in sight.  I have no idea what will ripen if anything by frost which is just around the corner (l0/20).

The same is true of the sweet potatoes....tremendous vines....sometimes not a good sign; all vines and no potatoes.

I am happy to report that DH finally got around to hauling off all my chain saw piles....now we need to rake the dead leaves left behind.  I ventured up the side of the cellar once again and chopping down an elm sapling.  I will treat the stump with diesel this morning.

There is nothing left in the garden but drying bean pods for seeds; still producing peppers and the aforementioned sweet potatoes and the odd clump of garlic seedling here and there.

DH saw this in the road when he went to get  the mail,

 

I am thinking juvenile rat snake?

I did not dispatch it.

We are seeing lots of garden spiders in webs.  I don't mind them unless I drive into one when mowing which I did.

Got company coming Monday.  Sis and BIL who haven't been down in two years.  They will just stay a couple of days....got to get back to the mini horses.

A New Day

The sun is shining ....  for now.... at least.  We have already had a half inch rain.

The boys are still here (in bed) so I have a quiet moment to maybe catch up the blog.  I let the boys do their thing which is stay up around a bonfire half the night and sleep in....works for me.

I have their breakfast already made.  Gravy using left over smothered pork chops from a dinner over biscuits which I will cook whenever....maybe eggs on the side.  They are drinking us out of milk.  We had to make  a run to the market for 'store' milk yesterday evening.  DH milked this morning so we now have 4.5 gallons cooling!  The Jersey is outdoing herself.

OK.  I have only been outside once to work since the girls came  down on Friday evening.  I took advantage of yesterday mornings sun to begin pruning the Korean Boxwoods by the back porch.  This is the first time I have pruned them.  I guess all the rains have  pushed them into overdrive.  They were encroaching on the doorway.  The tops  still need to be leveled off.



I also got the garden fence border trimmed.

This is taken on the east side of the smokehouse as I walk to the fence around the garden. Clematis Nelly Moser surrounded by seedling poppies.



I am seeing seedling poppies every where, even in  the grass.  This is just to the  left or west of the garden walk-through gate.


I wish the captions stayed with the pictures but they don't.  This is clematis Harlow Carr, lilies yet to open, and salvia transylvanica.


and further down the fence:



Clematis Huldine, with lots of self-seeded Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate growing at the base, and persicaria polymorpha is back.  I thought It had  died out but I have two clumps back this year.

I will save the rest for another day.....took 29 pictures!

Just a hint:  Our neighbor boy (16)  came down and asked for work.....he is now trimming the front ditches.......doing a super job so far.  If he has staying power, I will have him do the entire yard.

First picture:  This is the east ditch that was 2-feet deep in cheat grass and other weeds.  I didn't take a before pic; I wish I had.



More to come

Jewel's Baby

It was really cold here this morning at 4 AM, 10°.  I think we  will be at normal temperatures for the rest of the week which is 40's and  20's.

I milked yesterday morning, both cows.  Getting  them both started up the ramp was the hardest part.  Once on the ramp they moved up into the barn easily.  We  had so much excitement getting them  up to the ramp that Jewel didn't give quite as much.  It is not good to excite a dairy cow before milking......you pay.

I did go out afterward and got a couple of pictures of the baby.  The color isn't as  good  with the Panasonic as it  is with the Canon.  The baby has slightly more red in her coat.  I think she will end up being black.



Our granddaughter and her  friend got in about 7 pm last night.  I had a pot of hamburger soup waiting.  I wasn't supposed to do dessert because her friend is dieting....but I had made  a new  recipe for a large sour cream coffee cake early in the  day.  So be it.   The dark  is a layer of streusel filling  around the middle of the cake. 



This was a recipe  from Martha Stewart.com called Sara's Classic Sour Cream Coffee Cake. 

This is errand day.  I need  to grocery shop (lots of fruit and veggies! no fat), pick up a library book  and get a license for the trailer.  DH and I may leave before the girls get up.