We had rain overnight which continued most of this morning. Happily it cleared up this afternoon, and we even had some sunshine. It was late afternoon before things dried out enough in the garden for me to venture out there. I currently have a list here on my desk of 15 things (no foolin') I need to do in the garden. Even though I ended up with gardening shoes caked with mud (I was suddenly much taller), I did get the pea vines pulled out and the cattle panel supports taken down.
Tomorrow and the next three days are supposed to be sunny (wa-HOO!) so I'm eager to get a lot done in the way of more harvesting and clean-up in that time.
I was able to get only 27 servings of green beans off the plants this year before they succumbed to mold. (Just too, too much rain and not near enough sun.) Last year I put up 43 servings which is closer to what I aim for. But I have more than enough yellow beans put by so, fear not, there will be no bean shortage in our house this winter.
Our blueberry bushes are prolific this year, and we already have more squirreled away in the freezer than we've ever had before. We've given some away and are eating lots fresh along with the ones I've used in baking. For some reason, I've just craved blueberry anything (!) as a baked goodie this season. Our daughter isn't terribly fond of blueberries (where did we go wrong in raising her?) and when I offered her a slice of blueberry pie for about the fourth time this season, she asked if I couldn't please make some other kind of pie.
As we speak, I have a pan of Blueberry Buckle in the oven. It smells heavenly and I just know my better half will insist on having it for breakfast tomorrow morning. 'Sokay, that makes an easy breakfast meal for me!
I dehydrated a really big batch of parsley (it was almost too much to do at once between the washing and de-stemming before even getting it in the dehydrator -- took me three and a half hours by actual count) late yesterday. It wasn't quite finished last night so I had to give it another hour or so today before packing it in jars.
Now it's tucked away on the pantry shelf. With luck, this last batch added to the previous amounts dried will be enough until next spring.
Well, let's hope that we get our three days of sunshine and those of you needing moisture so badly get three days of rain. If only it would/could work out that way . . .
18 comments:
I'm sitting here (at 3 a.m.!) listening to a huge storm rolling in--they're calling for torrential rains and even FLOODS. At this point, I don't care because most everything is already harvested and squirreled away.
I sure hope you get that sunshine. I know you'll have that list knocked off quickly. Sorry about the beans, but like you said--it's enough.
Enjoy the day, dear Mama Pea
I hate to say it (as I know I will jinx myself) but we sure could use some of your rain. Mother nature is doing nothing more than an occasional spit around here. It's dry. I wonder why yellow beans always out-produce the green. Same here. I am just about ready to yank the cucumbers. Actually, I am just about ready to curl into a ball and hibernate until winter...kidding. Hope you get all three days (and maybe a little more) of your sunshine so you can catch-up! Rabbits found a way into my herb garden and mowed down my parsley. Damn rodents.
We need rain, and we are told we'll get some today. Right now the sun is shining and no sign of rain. Hm...
it could have been worse -- you could have had that nasty nasty hail ....
2014 has been just too bizarre!
enjoy the sun ...
Sue - We don't have the strong sunshine this morning I was hoping for but there is a nice breeze which I hope is drying things out rather than bringing in more rain! Must, must, must get blueberries picked today whether the bushes remain wet or not.
Susan - Hmm, Brunswick Stew for dinner soon? (Or is it squirrel rather than rabbit in that? I can never remember.) I'm actually afraid to hunt for cucumbers, both slicing and lemon, in their respective beds because I know there are going to be so many over-sized ones in there. Still too much to do . . . but the days (or nights!) never drag by, do they?
Kristina - We either need to trade weather or gardens so we both get what we/they need!
Marie - Oh, I know! Yesterday morning they were forecasting possible severe storms with hail for us and I was thinking of what it would do to everything left in the garden that is just maturing! We were lucky . . . nothing so violent hit here. Hope you weren't affected.
Glad you are getting a bumper crop of blueberries. Think the last time I saw rain was in March, 45 days over 100 degrees and still counting, should have a few sprinkles next month.
RAIN??? Oh, how I long for the fragrance of it. It is all around us but never over us. The Paradox "hole" is alive and well. The leaves on the trees are starting to turn yellow (not from an early Fall). We can't get enough water on stuff. The lawn has stress/burn spots. The garden is getting most of the allotted irrigation water. It breaks my heart to see such dryness. The weather "experts" are saying we could get rain streaming up from hurricane Norbert to the four corners area. Bring it on... Despite the drought, beans are prolific and the second crop of corn is coming on. The pumpkins are hugh (Conn. Field) and the basil, peppers, yellow squash, and eggplant are filling the fridge drawers. And, for the first time in 21 years of gardening, we're actually going to harvest more than a dozen sugar baby watermelons. YEAH!! There are blessings even in drought!! Enjoy your sunshine Mama and Papa Pea. P.S. We've already seen snow on the San Juans (Telluride) and have nightly lows in the forties. Misty in Paradox.
Sorry to hear the weather is just not cooperating with your work plans. I guess the universe is trying to tell you to do more inside work? Or maybe you need to do more quilting in that wonderful quilting room you have? But then I'm thinking you probably have enough canning and preserving to keep you busy inside the house. Hopefully the weather will clear and give you enough time to get all your outside work done before real winter hits.
Our rain is coming is spits and spurts. A few weeks ago, in one weekend we got eight inches...then nothing for weeks again. Now they are predicting rain on and off for the next week. The garden will appreciate the boost that's for sure.
Can't say I blame your daughter, blueberries aren't my favorite either :P
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Be thankful it's not snow! I read on another northern MN blog that someone was predicting an 1 1/2 in. of the four letter word starting with an s in the Grand Marais area in a few days--let's hope they're wrong. JoAnn
Tombstone Livestock - I just don't understand how you continue to function in your area when it is so hot and so, so dry. Don't you have trouble with wells going dry? And how can you possibly water a garden enough for the plants to grow and produce?
Misty - Isn't it amazing that so much CAN grow in a drought? But I know you two really work at it, so it doesn't come without commitment and hard labor.
We were forecast to go down around 40° last night but it never got close to that. Thankfully!
Sparkless - Yes, I could use the rainy days for canning/preserving inside as there's still plenty of it to do. But finding a time when the garden isn't drenched to go out and harvest the produce has even been a challenge. Today was a wonderfully sunny, breezy day so we spent the day out of doors. Just finished a quick dinner but are going back out to get a couple more things done.
Stephanie - Eight inches in one weekend??! Nobody wants to see that!
You don't care much for blueberries either? Well, you'll not be getting that fresh blueberry pie I was going to over night to you! ;o)
JoAnn - Well, that's just the thing . . . we had such a heavy snow season last winter, now all this rain this summer . . . we're all afraid the moisture is just going to continue and we'll be inundated with snow again this coming winter! Hubby and I ARE snow lovers but when you have to plow and shovel every day (or twice a day) it gets to be a bit much. :o/
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