That's a Wrap!

The growing season is a short on for me with it beginning later than most here and ending earlier. All except the greens are done in the field. The flowers are dried. The seeds are being harvested. The hens are on egg-laying hiatus. And I am away for a few days!
I'll be missing the last market in Libby so I can take advantage of my parents hanging around to make sure the hens and all the kitties have plenty of food and face time. I'll be along the Oregon Coast reviving my love of fancy nature photography (its getting too easy/boring using a tiny phone camera when I have some big fancy ones laying around), breathing in ocean air, and taking the time to reset and think about what me and the farm have accomplished over the past four years and what we want to accomplish in the next four.

I'll be back next week to harvest those salad greens and take them to the Amish Farm to Market Store. I'll be taking salad greens there for as long as they'll keep growing this fall/winter and microgreens there all winter long!

I also plan to have a full booth setup at the Fall Bounty Market in Troy on October 15th. I'll have whatever produce is available as well as all the forever flower bouquets, everlasting wreaths, and all the little goodies that I can think of to make with the flowers that got cut and hung to dry this summer.

Thanks so much to everyone who supported the farmers markets, your local growers, makers, and producers (and me!) this season!
We do it for the love of growing and the love of community but we couldn't do it without your love and support as well!

With the Autumnal colors moving in it's time to begin putting the farm into it's winter slumber/readiness

The Serviceberries go the most vibrant gold for only a few days before the leaves fall or are stripped off by the winds

It's been a long time since I was able to walk around the edges of the field and forest but I try to at least at the change of seasons so I can see some favorite trees/shrubs and say goodnight to the smaller plants that will retreat into their roots as they are buried under the winter snows

The hens are still scraggly as they replace their entire body of feathers and I'm sure they hope that the ground freeze will come early so I am forced to set up their huts for winter complete with heat lamps

One of the tasks when I get back is to begin sorting and winnowing all the seeds that I've saved so far. There will be more to bring in too as many of the later plants don't mind the cold nights

And this time the rafters are full of herbs instead of cut flowers! The Savory, Sage, Basil, and Mint all get hung up in the warm dry house. The smaller things like Chamomile flowers and thyme sprigs get spread out on trays.