Fall

Well, fall is really and truly here. I've closed down the booth at Roche Harbor, Labor Day is over and the market will start slowing down. Things are ripening in the garden. We may not get much from our outdoor tomatoes, but the ones in the hoophouse are in full production. And the fall brassicas are looking good. They don't mind rain and cool weather. Above is a Calibos cabbage plant. It's the only pointed red cabbage we know of. Only one seed company carries it so Joel is growing his own seed. When one of our favorites becomes scarce we know the time has come to do that.

End of Summer

Things are starting to calm down a bit here. The family are all gone (though I miss everyone of them!), the Fair is over and the weather has warmed up a bit. Enough to ripen the first melon and the tomatoes in the hoophouse.
The Sungolds are dripping with fruit. We are still worried about winter squash and the outdoor tomatoes and the basil has turned brown from a cold night a couple of days ago,
but the flowers are beautiful. These are annual gaillardias in the cutting garden.

Crazy, Wonderful Summer

It's been a crazy, fun summer. All three of our daughters and all 4 granddaughters have been here off and on. We had a big wedding at the farm and next week is the San Juan County Fair. We did take time off to go with one daughter and friend to camp overnight at Patos Island north of here which is a State Park with a really neat lighthouse. I will have lot of pictures and will try and get them up next week. Life always calms down after Fair Week.

Upcoming Generations

The above photo shows why I haven't been blogging much lately. I have all three daughters and 4 granddaughters here. It's been a long, long time since I had little tiny clothes on the clothesline. We are all having a wonderful time but I'm not spending much of it online. I'll be back later in the season.

Carnations

I have the most beautiful carnations this year. I've finally figured out that growing them as biennials works better here than trying to get them to flower in one season. This way I get great flowers and really nice long stems. And they smell so good.

Warm Weather at Last

The weather has finally turned hot and sunny after a long cold and wet spring and early summer. The warm weather vegetables are so pleased. You can almost see the basil and squash and pumpkins growing. Joel got the last of the hoophouse tomatoes tied up today and we had a few little Sungold cherry tomatoes in our salad tonight. It won't be long before there are lots of the

New Chickens

We have been raising 6 little baby chicks that were a Father's Day present from our daughter, Jennie. Today they went out into their pen outside. They are fully feathered and the weather has warmed up. Hope they stay warm tonight. They had a great audience for their move. The girls loved watching them run and fly up and down the pen. They've never had this much room as they have been living in a large animal carrier in the house.