Who likes apples??

 September 27, 2026

 A number of apple lovers showed up when we took a trailer load of dead fall apples and dumped it in front of a camera along the trails.

Lots and lots of deer.

 

The camera had close to 2000 pictures. As you click through them, the deer heads appear to be on swivels, constantly looking around, alert to any sound or movement. The same individuals came back over and over.

A family of raccoons appeared often.

They are sure fat and healthy looking.

A Fisher showed up and checked out the pile,

and then it's small relative, an American Martin.

He's hard to spot, the dark lump in the lower left quadrant.

Foxy checked out the pile a couple of times. We have watched him eating apples under the trees in the yard.

We were expecting to see a bear, but so far, no luck. As of yesterday, that pile of apples is pretty much decimated, and someone not knowing the spot could well walk through without noticing any residuals              

The leaves on the trees around the clearing are really starting to show their true colours. Most of September here has been without rain, and things are very dry. The nights are cool, but days are sunny and warm. In the garden, I'm keeping up the watering on the fall greens and the carrot patch. The broccoli patch has been producing side shoots almost constantly until just recently, when they are getting  small and scarce, so the chore of pulling/digging those monster stems out is nearing the top of the list before the deer discover them, as the plants have been un-caged for a while.  
The large rutabaga harvested a week or so ago, 

was perfectly sound throughout when cut open.

Onions and garlic are cleaned and stored, a few potatoes dug, but most will safely stay in the ground until the root cellar cools down. The processing and canning is slowing, the shelves are as full as we need them to be. I have a couple of boxes of tomatoes ripening, and when they are ready, that will probably be the last filling of the canner this fall. 

The chimney was cleaned yesterday, the wood boxes are full, and we are very thankful for our good fortune.  

 

Squirrelling it away....

 September 20, 2026

 Yes, that is frost coating the grass Saturday morning. 

A quick check of the weather forecast Friday night before bed, had me going out with headlight and covers for the cherry tomato trellis and the half unharvested pepper patch. The frost didn't do a lot of damage, as there wasn't much cold sensitive stuff remaining in the gardens. The basil is very unhappy, some of the marigolds are singed and blackened a bit, but the zinnias appear unscathed. I'll leave it all for the pollinators that are still around.  

The rest of the peppers got harvested Saturday, overfilling my very largest, big metal bowl.

Earlier in the week, the rest of the squash was picked as the powdery mildew was marching on relentlessly. 

Maybe, just maybe, this will be the last pail of apples I'll process this fall. It has been an amazing year for apples, bumper crops on all our good trees.

After spending this morning in the kitchen processing peppers for dehydrating and freezing, it was pleasant to sit in the warm afternoon sun at the picnic table, and clean the garlic for storage.

The Jerusalem artichokes are one of the last things to bloom, and they are a bright spot against the cedars over beyond the garden shed.

Behind them along the stone fence, the Winterberry bushes are loaded with food for the birds. They look so Christmassy!
 

My asters planted here and there are finally blooming.  

I'm looking very much forward to taking a break from squirrelling away the harvest, and having more time for other pursuits!

 Farewell summer.

 

September 1, 2026

How can this be possible??

Mornings are cool, foggy and very dew-wet, and morning forays to check on the gardens require rubber boots. On sunny days, it is noticeably later before the shadows of the trees along the eastern side of the clearing recede to allow sunlight to shine on the field garden, and it is dark by 9PM. The leaves on some trees appear to be a paler shade of green, and here and there are hints of colour other than green. 

There has been no shortage of rain for the last couple of weeks, some storms rolling up, blotting out the sunshine and making a surprise attack on otherwise sunny days. 

Blight is starting to show up on the tomato plants, but so far, surprisingly, no sign of powdery mildew elsewhere. The gardens are looking a bit tired, but are still producing so much food. The last patch of beans was ripped out yesterday, and buckwheat planted in it's place. The previously planted buckwheat in the garlic patch is going gangbusters.

Another bowl of green peppers to process, and lots more are sizing up, a bumper crop this summer.

The red guys are starting to turn...

Cherry tomatoes continue to provide lots of snacks,

and we have been enjoying a thick slice of juicy beefsteak tomato in our toasted tomato sandwiches for lunch, a treat we look forward to every summer.

The paste tomatoes are finally starting to colour up, and are picked as soon as the colour change becomes noticeable, then are boxed to continue ripening in the back porch, away from critter paws and teeth! 

The last two jars of last summer's harvest came in from storage, and soon there will be enough to start processing this year's.

The pumpkins hanging on the fence are starting to colour.

It has been hard to count them amongst the greenery, but now that they are colouring, it looks like there are 9.

Apple season is pretty well upon us, as apples have begun falling from the apple tree beside the driveway. 

Apple sauce is on the immediate to-do list, as well as apple pie filling, and lots of frozen slices for winter treats. 

With all the moisture of late, the woods are full of mushrooms. A couple more distinctive shapes and colours caught my attention,

but alas, I missed the flush of Black Trumpets...finding only their shrivelled remains. Peak mushroom foraging time always coincides with peak garden produce processing time!



  

Kicking it up a notch...

 August 22, 2026

 Compost making, that is. 

The 'Bush Buggy' got pressed into service for mixing freshly cut grass and dry leaves saved from last fall. The mixture got forked into the compost bin, watered, and now is cooking like crazy.

I am upping my compost making, as I'd like to try an experiment and convert a couple of the raised beds to 'no dig' next summer, and that requires a good layer of compost to get started. 

The buckwheat planted where the garlic was removed, is doing very well.

Cucumbers are still going strong, tomatoes are ripening and the last planting of beans is being picked and processed for storage.

I did a little foraging for choke cherries this week, 

and found that bears had beaten me to most of them, evidenced by pushed down vegetation and broken branches on the shrubs. I did manage to pick enough to make about 4 cups of jelly, and froze the juice for future processing.

There are a few ripening blackberries here and there,

but to seriously go after them, one must don heavy duty pants, long sleeved shirts, and wear at least one leather glove on the non-picking hand! 

Our apple trees are loaded with fruit, and the apples' cheeks are getting rosy. 

After the rain events we've had this summer, the bush is riddled with fungi. 

Big ones...

Small ones....

Colourful ones...

 Just very cute ones...

 Differently shaped ones...

and deadly ones...

Almost had to build an ark.....

August 3, 2026 

A weekend of pretty near continuous rain, at times practically a monsoon....170mm in the gauge. The grey overcast skies slowly cleared this morning, and now the sun is out in a blue, blue sky, with big fluffy white clouds.  

The 'monsoon' was too much for one of our old apple trees, and a big, apple laden branch broke, so sad. I had been thinning apples as far up as I could reach with a step ladder, but it is an impossible job. Here is the trailer load of fruit that fell with the branch.

In other news.... the igniter in my stove called it quits, and to replace it would cost more than half the price of a new stove, so new stove it is! This one has electric ignition, (vs battery ignition in the old stove), plus it has a glass door!! and a light!! Small luxuries, like fresh, sun-dried sheets on the bed, some of life's best things.

Someone has been getting naked in my garden...

A garter snake has left his old garment in the garlic patch, found when I cleared out the rocks holding the mulch down, and dug the bulbs. 

 

 Peter Piper could easily pick more than a peck of peppers in my pepper patch. Green bell, 

 and sweet red.

 The celery is a beautiful green forest.

Pumpkins are growing on the fencing with some Scarlet Runner beans, and I've been slinging the fruit up in pieces of old T-shirts for support, although they seem sturdy enough without. They are small sugar pumpkins, so they won't get too big. 

Cucumbers are really starting to take off, and despite rigorous pruning, I am beginning to be inundated. Note to self: plant fewer vines next summer! 

In the tomato department, the cherries are ripening slowly, 

and there are lots of beefsteak and paste guys growing.

This year I have tried to refrain from taking off the suckers, just pruning out some of the lower leaves for air flow, to see what, if any difference it makes for fruit production. The jury is out.