Fall Fun

The pantry is filling with the produce of summer. The plants produced lots of tomatoes after all and they are still ripening. I love being in the kitchen putting up the produce knowing that we will appreciate it this winter.

This includes marinara sauce, spicy ketchup, apple rosemary syrup, strawberry peach jam,peach jam and blushing plum pear jam.

The basket on the left holds black cherry tomatoes which have a rich and complex flavor and as you can see they are black! You must try them, they are sweet and delicious. I grew all heirlooms again this year and there is no better taste anywhere.

The pullets are laying and every day we get more. I now have 15 hens and I'm getting between three and five a day. The basket above is two days worth. Soon they will all be laying. They are such a nice bunch of hens, calm and friendly.

When Mark was selling off our hens we got last year to cull our flock, even the babies that Mark raised from eggs were sold except for one that the buyer thought might be a rooster. One day Buddy brought an egg and laid it at my feet in the lawn. It was a guinea egg so he obviously found their nest. Mark placed the egg under the setting hen with the black copper Marans eggs and a guinea was hatched too. After everything was sold, we ended up with the one I mentioned above and the guinea and now they are best friends. They have since been integrated into The Dot House and they are getting along with the other 15 pullets there. I love the amount of chickens I have now - just enough to get to know them and the work is manageable.

The sedums are so lovely in the fall with their deepening pink color. One of my fall treasures that were a gift a few years ago from my friend, Connie B. I love them and so do the bumblebees!

Happy Fall,
Delores