Cleaning out the Garden

  Dancing with Daphne puppy
Mark looks like he is dancing, too  

  Filling up the water dish  

Beans in hands

Mark says we'll look back on these pictures and say: 'were we ever this young...'  

Found these again after had already been through it... going to leave this plant for a bit longer  

Putting beans in the pocket of the skirt

You're throwing sticks, now?

Esme saying: 'Look at me!' beyond the fence

Red Marigolds

Plowing up the garden with an audience

The Cub Cadet was still a good investment, it just took a little bit of fighting

 and it started up and went right to work.

Yellow Marigolds

I have not been able to identify this.. but it is prolific I love the slight rose tint to the beans when they are dried... there are a lot more drying on strings and I hope to replant them next year as well.  

Yesterday's haul.. there was more today but not as spectacular of a spread.   I took Esme out to the park yesterday after a short session collecting in the garden. It was such a nice warm day, and I took some knitting to bide the time. Esme had a great time with the children, and showed great social skills. Her language is improving here and there - I am surprised by many things lately. She told a toy it's mom was 'not even home yet, she is at the store' when it was crying during one of her pretends.. 'not even' was something I had never heard before. She also told the Simpsons children figures to get into her truck because they were all going to Alaska (like in the movie), she pronounced Alaska very slowly and deliberately - and then proceeded to tell them about the snow and needing coats and hats and building a house there.

I've been out in the garden today winding up fences and wires, pulling stakes and poles up and also cornstalks and sunflower stalks. I found one good ear of corn from the last bed of sweet corn we planted, and one from the last field corn. I replaced a tiny bit of the sunflower seed that had been demolished in our drying room by a mouse. I put it in a canning jar with a lid this time, even though Mark is sure that was the only one.

 I am headed back out to the garden in a bit to do some more work... Mark thinks we could till an area for winter crops this week or so, and then scrape the west field down and put vetch over it. Ambitious.. we will see.