Pioneer Woman at Heart

  The early morning weather here has been downright chilly.  One morning it was 42 degrees.  Flower beds have been weeded.  The herb garden is next in line, but I do need to figure out what to do with all the rosemary plants I planted in the actual vegetable garden.  I have not mastered keeping them alive all winter indoors.  They will not survive the winter if left outside. Did any of my blog writing followers locate a better "blog" platform online?  Just curious if anyone is moving from blogger. 

  I was not too excited for the Labor Day weekend.  First, we were invited to a cook out event (not my favorite, as there is very little healthy food), and two, my husband made several plans, where I was hoping for some finishing touches on projects and some good ol' R & R. We decided to visit a produce stand to pick up zuchinni (ours produced very little with the drought), another dozen ears of sweet corn (frozen on the cob this time), some plums, cucumbers, and local honey. First dig - about 5#.  I wasn't even going to plant the potatoes this year, but threw them in the ground willy-nilly.  We were both shocked, because I did not water them heavily during our drought.   One haul of hot peppers, and the jalapenos are hot this time around.  Hot banana peppers had zero heat.  I bought the plants from a different place, and I really think they were not labeled correctly (sad for us). We have enjoyed fresh salsa, as the tomatoes provided.  T...

  I went out to pick a spaghetti squash for this week, and ended up bringing in 3 of them, and look what I found!  I do have acorn squash on the vines.  They were just hidden.  I saw that one apple tree was completely gone (except one), so I brought in a few from the other tree and sliced it for a taste.  Delicious, and ready to pick. Our homemade apple picker, ha ha!  I think it's time to buy some real tools for this job.  We planted the two apple trees in May of 2012. We planted granny apple trees later, but they did not make it.  I guess we never thought to replant.  Maybe next spring.  I have not weighed the apples yet. 

  Our apple trees have apples this year.  However, we need to get the tree baffles made very soon or the raccoons will strip the trees. We are having some fantastic weather lately.  I got more weeding done and more crafting time carved into my days. I have been working on crocheted water balloons.  I have located these colors so far.  They are eco-friendly and re-useable and washable.  No mess to pick up on a hot outdoor fun day.   Finally!  We haven't had these bad boys since 2019.  2020 was a wash out due to a very dry season.  Of course these are up much later than usual, but we are getting them.