Our Famers Market

Our Farmers market moved last fall to our new site in downtown Friday Harbor,
WA. Brickworks, and we've been there all this last season.  Last weekend was our last weekly outdoor market and we will once again move to the high school for the winter market. (Okay, actually there is a bit of  glitch as someone else has reserved the high school dining hall for Nov. 3 so we will be back at Brickworks for that one market.  Hope it isn't too cold).  The renovation of the old Brickworks building has begun and fund raising to get it finished is ongoing. We so hope we can get it finished so we can use it next winter.  Meanwhile one of the Market's neighbors, Wes Shaw,  took this time lapse series of photos of one of the September markets.  Thought you might enjoy seeing it.

Rain at Last

When the weather finally decided to change it did so with a vengeance.  After nothing but a few spits of rain since the end of July it is now POURING.  It's about time.  A week ago I was saying that all this sunshine was  beginning to get to me.  It had  begun to feel spooky.  It was so still and clear and sunny.  Not right for October in the Pacific Northwest.  Well, no longer.  The ground is so dry that it can't soak up all this rain so we have puddles everywhere.  But the dust is settled and I can see all the plants relaxing.  Everything had begun to look weary and dusty and dry.  Well, here's to Fall and holing up inside by the fire knitting, weaving, reading, cuddling the cats.  I have to admit that I like this time of year. And speaking of the cats they keep going from one door to another hoping that summer will be behind one of them.  And when it isn't, looking pathetically at me to DO SOMETHING.

Squash Season

 It is October and although we've had a few frosts that haven't hurt anything it was time to get the squash in.  The plants are starting to die down and any night now we could get a serious frost that would damage the fruits.

 This is one of my favorite garden activities.  I love searching through the squash vines and finding that incredible bounty.  We took in 3 wheelbarrow loads of various squashes.  Above are golden acorn and delicatas,

 here are more delicatas and green acorns

 and here the maxima type of squashes, Sweet Mamas and Sunshine.

 We put them into the hoophouse to cure for a week or two.

 There wasn't enough room there for the pumpkins so those went into the greenhouse until we haul them over to Market.

 There wasn't room in either place for the Long Pie pumpkins so those will have to wait a day or two until we shift things around in the hoophouse.  The weather report looks like it will be safe to do that for a couple of more days.

The aftermath.  No matter how carefully we searched for squashes we know we will come back as the plants continue to die and find a few more.  It's like hunting for eggs in a hay loft.  Oh, the bounty of the garden.  No danger of going hungry this winter.