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| Gina, Myself, Katie, & Stephanie |
It sure was nice to have “The Girls” from North Carolina
down last weekend to celebrate my birthday. I think I miss them even more now
that I got to see their faces, laugh and talk in person, share some time
together…just not enough time! I can’t wait to have them back down here for
another, maybe longer visit really soon. I got a bunch of great phone calls
from my mom, sister, family, friends, and neighbors. My wonderful neighbors
here made me a delicious cake with caramel and pecans that has been immensely
enjoyed by everybody (when I let them have some)! The whole church even sung
happy birthday to me in church two Sundays in a row!
Our week hit a tough patch when on Wednesday morning we
experienced our first tragedy here on the farm. Our dog George
(full name Georgia) was hit by a car and killed instantly after the kids had
left for school. Luckily he did not suffer. Chris carried the dog back up to
the house and buried him in a backyard grave, complete with a cross by the time
the sun rose over the eastern skyline. His pal, companion, and (we think)
mother, Carolina has been sad and lethargic all week. She looked for him to
come up the driveway for two days, she sniffs for him, cries for him, it’s
obviously grief. The whole household here is shaken and missing dear George. He
was an instant part of the farm family and like Carolina, seemed to belong
here. “We didn’t know you long, but we loved you much dear George. Rest in
peace, buddy.”
We’ve really seen autumn this week as leaves
are finally beginning to change – the wild muscadines vines have bright yellow
leaves against the still green oaks, the magnolia trees have bright red berries
and some orange mottled leaves, some of the maples are turning yellow, and way
in the tips of the tallest oaks I may see some reds. The weather is still
bright, sunny, and dry but our daytime
high temperatures have taken a little nose dive from an average of 82°F to an
average of 76°F, Saturday’s high barely even hit 60° and our low Sunday morning
was a frosty 36°.
Two mornings of 30 degrees took out our cucumber
and squash plants as we did not take precautions since it was so late in their
growing season anyway. The remainder of our garden is doing well and will do
fine in these chilly temperatures. If the forecast seems likely for a 28°
plunge I will need to protect our beets, carrots, and lettuces by covering the
rows with light airy fabric (groovy 1970s large bedsheets actually!) And if it
dares to drop below 25/26°F then we have to take extra precaution for the
onions and radishes. For the garlic, 21° is my magic number at which to add
extra insulation to those root crops.
Chief farmhand Chris is setting up poles to hold the row covers near the
plants without touching them and we will mulch in the garden to keep our fall
investment growing. Hopefully. (Remember you can see the latest garden pics here.)If all this cool weather has you in the mood for some good autumn food, here is a few links you will like!
- Rustic Farm Bread
- Brown Sugar Chili
- Ramsey Farms Hot Apple Cider! (this one will be "live" later this week)
This week was Homecoming week and our county
school system’s 100th anniversary. The kids had fun dressing up for
each day’s theme. Hat day, decade day (1960s), character day, red shirt day,
camo day, I can’t remember them all as both schools had something different
every day. The week culminated to a homecoming parade and the big football game
Friday!
We did hit the parade then headed home for dinner and
trick-or-treating! We were with a group of 15-20 kids in three pick-ups. Our
fearless leader, my neighbor Ms. Patty had a pre-arranged list of house to
visit and with homes sometimes a few miles from one another and country
driveways that meander like a wild river for a half-mile. It was an awesome fun
night – most of the houses were decorated in a fun Halloween theme and several
of the houses gave out gift bags that may be like what you’d get at The
Oscar’s! It was a fun way to do Halloween in a place with no neighborhoods and
the kids had more candy and treats than I bet they’ve ever gotten.
“If there is to be any peace or reason, we have to create it in our own
hearts and homes.”
~From A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L’Engle
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