Repelling vampires on Halloween....

On a blustry, 39 degree Halloween day I planted garlic. It seemed fitting.


I have wanted to do this for several years, but never quite around to it. Here in Maine, garlic must be planted in late October. The weather at this time of year is not really all that condusive to digging in the dirt. This year I planned ahead. I bought the bulbs from a lovely woman at the Common Ground Fair. 3 different varieties, German White, Russian Red and another, the name of which escapes me. She included specific planting instructions with each purchase.

I bundled up and hoed a long row in my garden. My hands were frozen. Off to the hardware store where I picked up thermal garden gloves and a bale of straw. Once home I dug my row a little deeper. Next I delved into the bottom of the composter for dark, rich, fragrant compost to feed and nurture my precious garlic bulbs.

All year the kitchen waste, some garden clippings, some fall leaves and the occasional bucket of manure from my horse go into the compost bin. I water it from time to time, and give it a weekly stir. When I need it I have beautiful dirt full of happy worms. It never ceases to amaze me that potato peels, coffee grounds and egg shells can make such lovely soil!

Here is one of the garlic bulbs nestled into compost. I then topped the row with soil, followed by a layer of partially decomposed wood shavings from the hen house. I then blanketed the row with deep straw to keep it cozy in the icy winter. It is my hope that today's efforts will be rewarded with pungent, flavorful bulbs of garlic next summer. That would be sweet!

When Pug's relax....

I mean REALLY relax...
After a busy day napping, with the occassional snack to keep her strength up, Blossum rests. Hard!

Gifts from the sky...

Today was a shroud of mist sliced by heavy rain. After work I did some yard chores, enjoying the lowering light and the antics of poultry and other pets. And then it happened. A decaying branch from the towering fir tree at the edge of the yard rocketed through the air with an audible whistle and landed at my feet.

Two feet long, the branch was covered with an intricate patchwork of lichens, in hazy shades of gray and blue-green. Mimicking delicate ferns and flowers, they clung tightly to the aged bark.

Standing in the damp autumn evening I examined my gift from the sky... and found it lovely.

Hard frost...

The thermometer outside the front door read 27 F. this morning. There was frost spangling the grass and coating the handles of the garden tools. It decorated the milk weed nicely.

It was cozy in the chicken coop, though... 40 F!

Both the domestic and wild animals were happy when I dished out breakfast of sunflower seeds, grain, cracked corn and some nuts. I love to watch them enjoy a good meal, especially on a cold and frosty morning.

My dog is a "bat a**...."

The local veterinary hospital is having a contest... make a pumpkin look like your dog and bring them in for a photo. I took a bit of a creative spin and here is what I came up with. My dog? She's a "bat a**!"

Raising lambs...

The lambs were curious about the dogs. Pushing them about with their heads... fearless.

The lambs came to live here in early spring. I brought them from a dark, crowded barn. All summer they munched on grass and branches and lamb chow. There was running and leaping and frolicking. They napped in the sun and napped in the shade and climbed on the deck, (which we didn't love. There was a lot of pooping involved! ) They broke into the hen house and stole food. They got in the rabbit pen and stole food. They ate bird seed and bird bread. They tried to get in the human house via the pet door, but luckily they never succeeded. They got in the garage every chance they got, and were nosier than any living creatures needed to be. They ate and rested and ate and grew and grew and today I took them to go to "freezer camp."

My friend Marion came over with her stock trailer, and we got the lambs put in with very little difficulty. I was worried that they would be scared. They didn't look scared, though. They looked nosy as they investigated the new digs.

Marion and I drove them to Jason's butcher shop in Albion, Maine. I was worried that the ride and the smell of the place would make them scared. They didn't look scared though. They nosily hopped off the trailer and went into the building there, with stalls and shavings. I was afraid they would be afraid, but they weren't.

I am left with a nicely groomed lawn, the memory of happy lambs growing, and the knowledge that these animals lived a good life and didn't die afraid. I have friends who are horrified that I raised sheep for food. In the past I never could have done it... but as a human I have the opportunity to change. As I have learned (see the movie Food, Inc. and/or read the book THE OMNIVORES DILEMMA) that the life animals raised commercially for human consumption in this country is not a happy one. I know the animals I raised were happy and safe and unafraid. Just curious till the end...

Hurry, hurry!

Fall is hard upon New England, and time is a'wasting! I had much to do indoors today, but the weather was fine and the yard needed work. So I mowed the front, put 3 flower gardens to bed for the winter, as well as the vegetable and herb gardens. I put a new (used, gift from my friend Cheryl) bird feeder up outside the kitchen window. I started a new compost pile, filled the wood crib up with fire wood, hauled mulch until my wheelbarrow tire sprung a leak. I picked up yard clutter and fed the sheep lots of plants pulled from the garden. I harvested all the sunflowers and fed them to the chickens, (they had a party!) and ran a few errands, too. It was a long and busy day but I feel good about my accomplishments. There is so much more to do, but tomorrow is another day....