Status: Firewood

First Hod of the Officially Full Fall!

We got back from the Common Ground Country Fair on Sunday so late that I never made it to the garden. I hustled down last night in face of the pending rain to grab all the tomatoes I could. There was so much I could have done out there but it started to rain in earnest.

















Its kind of sad knowing that the garden is on it's last legs. A frost could it at any time and frankly I am so luck it hasn't happened already. My husk cherries and basil are definitely showing that some colder temps took a nip at them over the weekend. We are planning on 5 solid says of rain through Sunday so I guess its time to button up the firewood project under some tarps until next weekend. 5 to 8 inches are expected!!!! Stay dry everyone!

Hods, Hodfuls, and more of both.

Our garden has achieved that point where it requires a daily trip to bring HOD-FULLS of produce back to the house. I can't even keep track of the pictures I take because, of course, I take one every time. Even while I was away in NYC, I pleaded with SP to commit to following my lead and getting down there regularly. It worked and he did. Most of my hod pictures have been posted on Instagram but since I haven't posted more than one or two to this blog, here goes almost a month of hod-fulls.

sorry... this one's crooked or is it sideways? That's SP picking beans.

this is definitely one of the first hod-fulls of the season.

This one was right after Greyfox.

Equinox Hodfull

Happy Autumn everyone!

The perks of living in a coastal state

I love living the way life should be in Maine. We are so fortunate to have so many options in our huge yet poor state. Did you know that Maine is the only state in the union that ONLY borders one other state? We live in the foothills of the White Mountains surrounded by pristine lakes yet a short drive and we are on the coast. Since SP travels for work quite often, we never know where he may end up which is beneficial for our rural living. Take for example, my recent post about the clams , we luck out all the time. One would think that that would happen at best once a month, but no, good ole' SP has had a lucky month. 

Last weekend we got a special delivery from a neighbor who also had a trip to the coast.

Can you say heaven? SP has lucked out and so have several friends of ours who like lobster (I barely if ever eat it. I know, I know, that is shameful for a native New Englander, but psh,  I have food issues that involve texture and I only like the knuckles.

Speaking of knuckles... check out the size of that claw!

It's larger than Baby's 9 year old  hand!!

I have been away for a few days at a funeral in New York City, so I am certain they have been entirely consumed. Sunday morning, just before I left Shane made lobster omelettes for everyone that was  at the house. I heard that the same folks and then more came back for a Lobster roll lunch on Monday. Need less to say, we have had a wonderful month of eating locally from the garden and such. Its a huge benefit living less than 50 miles from the coast. We are doing a great job! I love this life!

Fermenting Pickles

I blame Alton Brown. I blame Good Eats.
I will thank Shane for having the bravery to start this endeavor!

Saving Tomatillos

I put these into the freezer last night in hopes of salsas to come.























I really hope that the tomatillos stay purple when I finally make them into salsa!

Added a pile to the piles of firewood

My pile!



















See it over there to the left? I did that myself!

Here's Shane lifting the last piece (my back said enough!)

 

And progress on the other two piles. 

The big picture. 

The little engine that could. 

Perks of Being a Forester

SP travels around southern Maine for his job. Sometimes he is deep in the woods, other times he is walking with home owners, frequently he is insect bitten and in wetlands, but when he is really lucky he is on the coast.

This happened on Friday when he needed to schedule a site visit on the coast. It was also 9/11 which is his deceased Dad's birthday.




















I asked Shane what he wanted to do for his Dad's birthday. He didn't know, but as Friday came around he figured out what he wanted to do.

He wanted to dog for clams, so digging for clams is what he did.
SP was a happy man.
I like SP happy.

Fullest hod of the year

At the end of the day...

You find you have more firewood.

The pile on the left is dry and the pile on the right is still green. Scout the antique dog is 12, but the tractor is far older. 

Hello Scout. She's a good old dog! 

Firewood Season has opened

We are finally in firewood season. 

This was this morning, before a few repairs were done to the old tractor. 

Thank you for all your hard work SP!

Potatoes