First Frost!
First Frost! After an unusually warm October, Mother Nature finally gifted us with a good, hard, frost. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to bother the chickens too much: They are continuing to produce a bounty (maybe not quite as bountiful) of fresh eggs for our breakfasts and baking. The hawk netting is making them feel a bit safer and more comfortable after a rough summer of predator pressure. Soon we will be moving them to their winter quarters, hanging out with Big Mama, Oreo, and Ginger over by the solar array towards the hop yard. Feel free to [...]
Closing Up the Garden
End Of the Garden Season It's that time of year, where the last bits and pieces of the garden are giving up. I've just about finished tidying everything up - next week I'm going to plant garlic for next year. Garlic seems to grow really well in my garden, and I went off to the Bethlehem Garlic Festival and bought entirely too much seed garlic (probably two full beds worth): I also finished harvesting all of the squash and pumpkins. I tried out a new system of growing the vines directly over grass (from little, boxed-in seedlings) and that worked [...]
Fall Foliage
Fall Foliage Predictions Once again, the glorious colors of the fall will be coming to us soon! The Washington Post released a Fall Foliage tracker that predicts when the peak of the season will be arriving, based on temperatures, rainfall, and how the summer has gone. For those of you without a subscription, they expect Litchfield County to be approaching peak around September 27th, and that the best of the colors will be past us by October 11th. Our little valley microclimate tends to be a little bit cooler than the surroundings, so don’t be surprised if those [...]