Harvest Blessings!

 

Happy Autumn!

Our first killing frosts have arrived. Not just a little nip in the air but a blackening of just about everything that was in full leaf just yesterday. The air has taken on a chill that holds all the promise of a full winter to come. The focus has been on harvest. Slaughtering turkeys to fill the freezer, harvesting apples and pears, plums and pumpkins. We brought in baskets of green tomatoes, summer squash and seeds galore from everything grown in the garden this growing season.

All of the potted plants are nestled inside. The dining room table is a thing of the past. For the next 9 months, all of the potted plants will overtake the kitchen and live inside next to the wood stove. Next our focus will be on wood to keep us warm over the long winter. Soon will come the dust of ash, the smell of wood smoke and a long winter of chili, turkey and dumplins and stews. Along with it comes a comfort and warmth very different from the long summer months of being outdoors every waking minute, soaking up the summer sunshine and the busy-ness that comes with living on 29 acres and caring for animals.

Snow is not my favorite but I know that it will mean snuggling up to the fire and a nice break from the rush of throwing the doors open wide and throwing myself head-long into the outdoors and all that entails every morning. It will be a time to contemplate what worked this year and what didn't. It will be a time to exchange seeds with friends and plan next year's adventures.

As always, I long for summer to continue on forever. But I do have to admit that this year I am looking forward to the stillness that winter brings. A moment to reflect, to enjoy the quiet.

As always, many blessings of the season. Happy Gardening to those of you who still have the weather for it. I am beginning to put away tools, drag out the sweaters and think about recipes for pumpkin muffins!

Peace and Happy Autumn!

Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens

Yippee, we have eggs!

Last night I dreamed of chickens,
there were chickens everywhere,
they were standing on my stomach,
they were nesting in my hair,
they were pecking at my pillow,
they were hopping on my head,
they were ruffling up their feathers
as they raced about my bed.

They were on the chairs and tables,
they were on the chandeliers,
they were roosting in the corners,
they were clucking in my ears,
there were chickens, chickens, chickens
for as far as I could see...
when I woke today, I noticed
there were eggs on top of me.

This wonderful, silly poem I found by
Jack Prelutsky, pretty much sums up my life at this point.

They're everywhere and each one more endearing than the next,
all wanting attention!

I have always enjoyed chickens and their crazy antics.
Each one has such a distinct personality.

Between the chickens and the turkeys,
it's pretty much poultry all the time!

I hope you enjoy their goofy faces as much as I do!

Peace and

Happy Gardening~

Sweet Summer

   Sweet, Sweet Summer

Like a child emerging from a cold Northern Summer's lake,
lovingly being wrapped in a warm towel

Campfires that blaze and burn with the lights
of memories past and times that will be

Summer brings the youthfulness of a naked star lit
Goddess dancing upon a moon lit beach

Summer is the beginning of a newly emerging renaissance,
one that dissipates quite quickly

Children are freed to the Sunshine and laughter that is heard in abundance,
like a tickling of the soul

Nature matures into a fine looking creation
that covers lovers hidden in her grassy knolls

The raptureless times spent out doing nothing,
engaged in the Summer's lazy afternoons

 The trickle of sweat that runs coolly down the spine
and those goose bump chills,
that day's first refreshment

The unnatural way water seemingly tastes
more refreshing than in Autumn,
Winter,
or Spring

Oh - Sweet Summer -

Sweet, sweet, Summer -

What a wonderful thing!

Peace, as Always,

And Happy Gardening!

The Sunflowers

The Sunflowers

 

Come with me into the field of sunflowers.

 

Their faces are burnished disks, their dry spines
creak like ship masts,

 

Their green leaves, so heavy and many,
fill all day with the sticky sugars of the sun.

 

Come with me to visit the sunflowers,
They are shy but want to be friends;

 

They have wonderful stories of when they were young -
The important weather, the wandering crows.

 

 

 

Don't be afraid to ask them questions!
Their bright faces, which follow the sun,

 

Will listen, and all those rows of seeds -
Each one a new life!

 

Hope for a deeper acquaintance;
Each of them, though it stands in a crowd of many,

 

 Like a separate universe,
Is lonely, 

 

The long work of turning their lives
into a celebration is not easy.

 

Come and let us talk with those modest faces,
The simple garments of leaves,

 The coarse roots in the earth
So uprightly burning.

A love poem by Mary Oliver

Peace,
Blessings
And as always,
Happy Gardening!