Weekend Work ~ Pumpkin, Potatoes and Pears

The previous rain left things very wet outside, so the inside got the attention it needed all day Friday.

I roasted 1 larger pie pumpkin for making a batch of pumpkin butter. I put 2 cups in the fridge, and the rest went into the freezer.

I roasted 6 more pumpkins for pumpkin puree, and have one very tiny one went to the porch for fall decor.  The puree will be used for pumpkin pancakes/waffles, pumpkin muffins and bread, pumpkin hummus, pumpkin steel cut oats, pumpkin-sage macaroni, pumpkin pie . . .just anything.

I roasted more whiskey-bacon pumpkin seeds as well.  They are so good.  I updated over on the recipe post.  I doubled the amount of pumpkin seeds.

(Saturday sunrise, just before we enjoyed our breakfast on the porch)

Saturday the weather warmed back up, so I high-tailed it to the tomato patch and starting yanking those pesky stakes and tomato plants (which surprisingly, some were still green and alive).

 What we started with. No kidding.  See the red tomatoes on the ground?  The chickens got a treat.  Foxtail as tall as the stakes....

Me singing to the old McDonald's song:

Foxtail up my nose,
Rotten tomatoes between my toes,
And don't forget that pokey thistle,
It's will make you want to whistle (ha ha, NOT!).

. . .in progress, as we took a break.  We had to dig around the stakes, and then get them out with the spade shovel.  Even though it was still a bit wet out there, I broke two trying to pull them out by hand.

Those are my feet, hanging off the truck tailgate, as we took a break to sip ice water.  When we had the entire tomato patch (2nd garden area) pulled, we had to hose off the mud.

 One more section successfully pulled for winter.  Oh what a good feeling that was.  I was so happy to have Hubby's help too.  There is much more to pull.  Hubby was all for leaving it until spring, but I had to remind him why we must not get lazy.  The rotten plants will attract animals, bugs, cause problems with bugs, etc. And the weeds absolutely must go before the snow flies, to avoid any more weed seeds from setting.

As for the potato and pear part of this post?  Well, it won't be happening.  It's raining this morning.

There is nothing more "fueling" for me than my first morning cup of java.  See those two pumpkins?  That's today's "to-do" on this fine rainy day.  The very last two to roast.

The potatoes sitting behind them?  They will be part of our humdinger breakfast this morning.

I had plans to dig up more potatoes and walk out to the "upper 40" fruit tree area, and pick pears.  If the rain stops early, I may still pick them, but it'll have to dry up a bit before I can dig potatoes.

Breakfast is typically, and traditionally more loaded on the weekends, especially Sundays (or before a big work day).  I saved some freshly made pumpkin puree for pumpkin waffles, adding homemade sausage patties, and home grown potatoes sliced and fried with onion.  Mmm.  Mmm. Good.  The only thing missing will be homemade bread of some sort (slacking in that department).  

 The weekend, so far, has not gone by without some porch time and handiwork time.  I took time for some R & R, and sipped herbal teas.  The weekend did not go by without a motorcycle ride or two either.  The rain today is a bit of a happy moment, although thwarts the removal of the garden.  It forces me to take a day off and rest up and stay healthy, so I am looking at it with a positive attitude.

First thing on my agenda, before tackling a delicious breakfast, is brew a quart of nettle tea.  It'll steep for 4 hours or more, and then Hubby and I will be sipping it (hopefully on the porch).  We'll be "refueled" for getting back at it on Monday.