Thursday in the Gardens ~ Autumn Is Here !

 It doesn't look like Autumn around Cedar Pond yet.Our grapes are still producing fruit.

 The grape vines and rugosa have grown so large and strong they're bending the arbor and fence as they weave in and out of the lattice and pickets. It was hard picking the grapes that grew in the tangles and the birds are enjoying the fruit in the shady hiding places the vines provide.

 Rugosa blossoms are so sweetly fragrant and the rose hips are orangey ripe on many of the rugosa bushes. I have to remember to take a picture of them soon, they're beautiful this time of the year and quite large considering the small flowers they come from.

 My husband's veggie garden is about ready to be put to bed. We picked the last of the beans and ate them for dinner last night. The cucumbers are done , the lettuces are in their last days and bolting. We are getting a lot of yellow squashes and some zucchini, carrots and a few stray strawberries too. The onions and garlic are already harvested and we have a few months supply for fall and winter cooking.

 My husband has been painting our house . It's taking some time but one advantage to a hot and dry summer is there have been plenty of good days to paint.

It's breeding season in the sheep pens and my new ram Jonas is a happy boy. He and the ewes are so much fun to watch as they spy the large cottonwood leaves falling from the trees and race each other to get to the leaves first. There's no need to rake leaves anywhere the sheep can get to them. I am looking forward to some lovely lambs this coming spring.

The leaves have only now begun to change color, but many of the trees that are usually mostly red and yellow this time of the year have not changed color . Our Japanese Maples haven't changed color yet either. It is only the first week of Autumn though, and I am excited my favorite season has begun. Still pretty warm during the day but we're having crisp evenings and mornings perfect for sipping hot mugs of coffee on the porch . Happy , happy, autumn !

It's A Grape Day For A Birthday~ Thursday in the Garden

 Today is my birthday and what a grape day it was ! Yes, GRAPE . We have so many grapes ripening the birds are hovering overhead and in the bushes waiting to eat the grapes my husband grows and tends, so grapes needed to be picked posthaste. Ripening fruit is no respecter of days and my birthday needed to be spent preserving the harvest. No sacrifice at all, I love to stay home on a rainy day like today and do something useful anyway.

 Some of our gardens are thriving abundantly because of the record breaking high temperatures we had this summer. Our grapes grew especially well. This grape arbor grows the red grapes that make the very best juice. The grapes growing here do have seeds and when I open a jar of canned red grapes I pour the juice through a strainer. I eat the grapes and seeds left in the strainer though. I always did like fruit seeds. I eat the seeds of apples, watermelons , oranges, tangerines... and no, contrary to what all my elders told me, I have no watermelons sprouting in my tummy.

 These grapes make the most beautiful claret colored grape juice. If you've never tasted home canned grape juice you've missed a treat. I have never cared for commercial grape juice and pass it up for water when it is offered. My home canned grape juice is surprisingly delicious and now my preferred juice.Unfortunately I only can a limited supply and share it with friends and family on special occasions leaving no extra for sipping whenever I want some good juice. Maybe this makes it even more deliciously special knowing it is a scarce commodity for us.

 This grape arbor over benches grows green seedless grapes. They are very sweet and abundant. My husband once made wine from these grapes and the wine tasted and bubbled like champagne, oh so delicious , but very labor intensive. I made canned grape juice from them this year. Everyone in the family can drink this and they love it.

 The birds were beginning to gather round and launch an all-out feast on these delectable little grapes this week so we picked almost all of them. I have canned 21 quarts of the green grapes. The grapes, after the juice is strained out, will be wonderful in fruit salads or home made fruit cocktail.

I spent today , my birthday, canning grapes. 21 quarts canned and most likely 21 more quarts to can and put away in the pantry. I think we'll do fine for grape juice in the next year. The grape juice is usually ready to drink around Christmas and is so pretty in our Christmas goblets.



While the canner was bubbling away for the required 20 minutes processing I took time to sip a cup of coffee loaded with real cream and read the newest edition of Cottage Journal my favorite magazine. Today was a grape day , a happy day , a rainy day ( YAY ! ). Knowing the fruit of our labor is literally growing in our gardens and after many hours of intensive work produces a beverage that beats the taste of store-bought grape juice makes it even more a GRAPE day . Have a grape day today my friends. Take time to enjoy your gardens and the fruit of your labor. If you're abundantly blessed you're even able to sip a bit of that hard work done in love.

 

Summer Garden & the Grapes Are Running Amok !

 The grape vines are taking over Cedar Pond. In the orchard, in the front porch gardens,even the front porch itself they are running amok ! It is a good thing my sheep love to eat grapevines because my husband & I have a steady supply of snacks for them. There is no need to wonder where to cast all the prunings and weedings we do around here. With poultry , sheep, and a goat, the excess grape vines, blackberry vines, and edible weeds are quickly eaten and turned into fertilizer for next year's gardens.

 Look ! Our male kiwi is finally climbing the arbor towards the female kiwi. She is shy and taking her time growing towards him. We thought she was dead, but no...she tentatively cast a tendril upward and towards him and maybe next spring they'll meet and touch. Who knows, they may produce fruit for us sooner than expected, but not this year. 

 My hydrangea is blooming too. The blue flowers are among my favorites in my garden, but if I let my watch down the grapes will strangle her. It is good to have pruning shears in my hands when I check her out. Those grapes are kind of sneaky, the way they weave in and out of the flowers and bushes around here.

 My granddaughter's bicycle sports a hanging geranium,a gift from my sister.

 The honeybees love these flowers planted near my dovecote. I do too.

And then, there is Hawk, who simply wants to be near me, no matter where I am, but especially in the garden where he will find the most comfortable spot to supervise my work. Summer gardening around here means taming the grape & blackberry vines, training the kiwi, harvesting from the vegetable garden anything the wild rabbits have left us after their nightly feasts, and remembering this season passes quickly,so enjoy and be thankful for all  it brings. ( mosquitos too ? ) Now I am hoping the little birds will leave us some of the grapes from the grape vines run amok. Grape juice and grape jelly from our own grapes would be a very nice treat for a winter's breakfast. Happy gardening to you !