Monday, September 30, 2019

Scrambling to the end of September

It's been an eventful end to the month of September. With full-on fall weather arriving early this year, we've been scrambling to get a few essential things done. There was the last of the firewood to pick up from Rick's client and get undercover:
(Yes, our woodshed is in serious need of rebuilding/replacing.)

The middle and upper pastures desperately needed mowing:

(It looks so much better without the long, scraggly, dead stalks! The sheep will be able to go back out and eat green, green grass again. 😍)

There's been produce to pick/purchase and prepare:
I picked one last big bowl of tomatoes-traded-for-eggs and made two more batches of condensed tomato soup, picked more garden produce at home, and picked up a locally grown 11# cabbage for a nice price. Needless to say, cabbage has been featuring in many of our meals since then. 😉


And Brian has had two more soccer games, one of them in Salem (above) and one almost three hours away in Redmond. The drive up the Cascades for the second one was stunning, with blue skies overhead and red Vine Maples glowing like wildfire under the conifers. Not being able to stop for pictures was so hard, but I had three players in my car that needed to get to the game on time. The best I could do was hand my iPhone to  Brian so he could snap one through the windshield:

Last Friday Rick brought home two heaping boxes of apples from his mother's trees; for some reason hers produced this year when ours didn't. I was planning to turn them into sauce and pie filling on Sunday, but a messy, ongoing washing machine crisis sucked up all my time and energy.

Saturday night we lit the first fire in our insert; the temps have gotten downright brisk! I kept it going through this morning; the dogs seemed to enjoy it. Of course, laying around is what both of them do most of the time anymore anyway. I have to coax them to go outside, and coax them to eat. 😔

When petting Jackson I stumbled upon what felt like a crusty scab on his neck just about his chest. That's where his fur is the thickest, so it took some work to get at it and finally remove both the crusty scab and what caused it.
Ugh; one of those NASTY foxtail awns had imbedded itself in my poor dog! I feel so bad that Jackson was dealing with that along with the discomfort and decreased mobility from his arthritis. Glad I found and removed it, so the festering hole in his neck could heal up!

This is pretty long already, so I'll try to do a colorful post tomorrow to welcome October.

Sayonara September, from . . .

5 comments:

Retired Knitter said...

Pretty much that is what old dogs do ... sleep. True for people too! :)

I am pleased to see the end of September - I am a fall, winter and spring person. Summer and I are NOT friends!

Tim B. Inman said...

I'm with 'Retired Knitter' - Summer and I are NOT friends, either. It was 90 and humid here yesterday. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 58. Iowa!

Do you make homemade sauerkraut with your cabbages? It is delicious. One of my favorites. Easy to do and so good. Thanks for the posts.

Florida Farm Girl said...

Been a busy time for you, for sure. All the canning and preserving is hard work but oh, so satisfying when you see the results. Glad you found the ouchie on Jackson's neck and got it taken care of. Wish fall would get here. I'm tired of this summer heat.

Jeanne said...

I enjoy reading your blogs! Thanks for sharing your life story!
Sorry about Jackson's owie! Poor baby!

Michelle said...

A LOT of my blogpals are not fans of summer; apparently we are 'birds of a feather'! Can't complain much about this summer, though; it was mostly very polite. But I'm sure loving our early fall, and wish I could share it those of you still suffering in the heat.

Tim, I have made sauerkraut before, but I'm the only one in the family who is a big fan (half-German that I am) so this one is getting eaten fresh and in recipes.

FFG, a pantry full of home-canned goodness is definitely one of the great satisfactions of life – the only 'fast food' worth eating!

Yay; you could comment here Jeanne! (And thank-you!)