Harvest

This is why I have been . . . well, pretty much absent lately. (This and the tailgate, which is, thank heaven, half over!)
Since I took these pictures last week, that empty space is half full . . . we may not have any money this winter, but we won't starve! And at the price of feed (which has doubled since last year) we are about to begin butchering some unproductive chickens, I think, so we'll have canned chicken. (A friend of John's has offered him two dozen laying hens that he just doesn't have time to care for, and I really hate to turn down free chickens; I'm thinking we could butcher some of our older ones and replace them with these.)

And there's still the fall garden: we have fall greens, broccoli, cabbage seeds planted. Now if it will only rain! The summer harvest wasn't so good because everything was so, so dry. (I mean, when was the last time you heard of winter squash not doing anything? Not one lone squash! I hope someone at the tailgate has some soon.)

Comments

[Kai]

I can't even BEGIN to tell you how beautiful your bounty is! The baskets of potatoes, apples, and onions just make me feel HAPPY! And the canned things are jars of gorgeous, edible jewels decorating your shelves, Anita! The only BAD thing is, I can't tell what's in the little jars in Can Room 3 OR in the jars (jelly?) of the last photo! Remind me if ever I visit you & John to remain 100% productive 'cause I do NOT want to end up butchered and canned! YIKES! Bwahahahaha! Good idea about taking the new laying hens & - uh - making dinner material of the others! Who gets the dubious honor of doing the 'deed?' I've had to kill chickens for my grandmother to fry but I HATED doing it! She insisted tho', saying it was part of life. Remember - we want to see the Fall garden when it is harvested!

[Judy Merrill-Smith]

Hi Anita -- I haven't visited your blog in a while, so I am amazed at how busy you are! I can't believe you don't have any squash, either -- how can you have so many tomatoes but no squash?!? Well, such are the vagaries of gardening, I guess.

[Meadowlark]

Wow. That's a harvest! I am a bit envious, but all things in their time. My time just isn't quite yet apparently.

(And mustard is really easy and fun. A good gift for the holidays with homemade pretzels, too)

[Meadowlark]

PS... would you can the chicken whole? I've always wondered, because I know that there is a whole chicken available canned at grocery stores, but didn't know if anybody that home canned every did that.

[risabee]

Whoa! GOOD STUFF, m'dear. Clearly you have NOT been watching a lot of television.

risa b