September

We are half way through September and summer had finally arrived.  August was dry with only a trace of rain, but lots of morning fog keeping the days cool and in the low 70's.  The last week of August and the first 10 days of September we sunny and in the upper 70's to low 80's, but we are back to clouds and 60's.  I'm hopeful that we will still have ripe fruit, corn and beans.

Bees on our Sunflowers

We have 20 ducks as I have been unable to sell our excess ones.  This weekend I am going to move all of the males except our one breeder into a separate pend where I will give them free choice grain to get them ready to butcher in another six weeks.  Two of our goats have been bred and the two I am milking are still producing two gallons a day.  I've been making lots of cheese and we are sharing our excess milk with four other families.

Junior, our young Rhode Island Red Rooster

Our Boer buck is gentle but wants to play.  At over 200 lbs it can be scary.  I bought a close in livestock prod to carry with me when I'm cleaning his barn.  It's a hand held small unit with two brass probes - you push a button and stick the probe into his ribs.  It gives him a shock, enough to make him run off but not scream.  After three jolts all I had to do was press the button and he would run off - it gives off a light sound when activated and he has associated the sound with the jolt.

One of our Buckwheat beds in full bloom

This years corn might still ripen

One of our compost containers that we have been using this year.  The compost is 1 1/2 years old

 Our vegetable garden has done well with all of the cool season crops doing excellent.  After we dug all of the potatoes I turned the bed, added four inches of compost and then covered the bed with another four inches of bedding/manure from the goat barn.  That bed is now ready to set for the winter.  Come spring I'll turn it under.  The runner pole beans are getting large and if winter holds until November we'll have a good crop.  Some of the corn ears are getting really big so just maybe...  We have most of our winter crops in the ground with some of the faster growing ones still in flats.  They will go in this weekend.  I am still picking sugar snap peas and have at least one more picking before that crop is finished.  I have never had peas later than the first week of August.  What a strange weather year we have had.

Sugar Snap Peas in early September

Sugar Snap Peas are still producing well

Our Akane apples are one of my favorites, usually ripping early August.  They are large, sweet with a little tart taste.  They have turned red now and are about a week from being ready.  Blackberries are beginning to ripen (the wild blackberry is a noxious weed in our state but my favorite noxious weed!).  We have picked about four gallons for the freezer so far.  If the rains hold off we still may get another couple of gallons.  Once it rains the berries become so full of water you can't pick them. 

Akane apples are almost ready

Honey bees are active but no excess honey for us this year