First frost

I am thoroughly enjoying what is kind of a rare Saturday morning for me of late.  I am off work from the clinic, I have nothing planned, Mike is selling at the farmers market and I am at home alone.  It was glorious sleeping in until sunrise and not having to get up and stumble around in the dark.  It's kind of funny, but as I laid in bed enjoying the sunlight coming in through the window, I could hear the sounds of guns going off.  It got me thinking that if I were in the city I would probably be having some kind of anxiety attack hearing that.  But here on the farm, I know today is the opening day of goose and duck seasons and so the gunshots were registering in my brain as normal background noise.  We had a good hard frost last night.  The garden made its way through two light frosts earlier in the week, but I do believe that the more tender plants like the peppers and eggplant will be done now.  With temps hovering right around 30 degrees all night, the cold tolerant plants such as cabbage and Swiss Chard and broccoli should be just fine.

The beagles are out in the pasture between the house an the high tunnel and even with the windows closed and the furnace running, I can hear faint sounds of baying.  This past week, my neighbor moved his dairy cows to his pasture that is directly adjacent to our pasture.  The cows grazing, the morning sun, the grown up pasture behind the barn and the fall colors all are joining in this morning to near perfection.

Last week, I sent Mike on a mission to buy some of the season's last raspberries from one of our fellow vendors at the farmers market.  My supply of jam was a little on the light side and because of the drought this summer, I did not get around to making my usual batch or two of strawberry jam.  And so, I am glad I now have some raspberry jam to add to the canning shelf.  Speaking of the canning shelf, mine is looking quite colorful this year.  I love to can and wish I had more time for it, but whatever little bit gets done will surely be enjoyed all winter long.  Add to that the fruits and veggies that are frozen instead of canned (corn, broccoli, blueberries) and the two of us should be all set.

And so today is going to become of day of doing some outside work around the barns and yard to get ready for winter.  October 13th.  First frost.  Yep, the official end of the growing season, but there is plenty of work to be done.  Life is good today.