Burried Under Canning and Freezing Produce

 "Grandma, you were gone so very long. Can I come and stay with you?" How can one resist such a cute plea and so yesterday and last night we had the grand kids while I tried to put some more things away from my trip to my folks, change beds, can green and yellow beans, etc. etc.

As I stared at the pile of green beans which are a week or two younger than the green bean plants, I came to the conclusion that though I at first thought my grandpa's beans didn't produce very well over here, it was just that they are slow revving up in production. They've really taken off and so far have out produced the green beans. Usually the green beans have a few heavy pickings and then they pretty well petered out with the coming cold weather. In comparison, Grandpa's Kinghorn Wax beans have given me numerous large pickings. "Way to go Grandpa!"

As I picked corn today to freeze it, I discovered that many of the plants did not have ears on them at all. Since corn is wind pollinated I'm not sure what's up with that. We have PLENTY of wind around here. I think I'll plant my old variety next year, wish I could remember the name of it, and then the rest of the seed of this Alaska corn the following year to give it a fair chance. If it doesn't do well, it is definitely off the seed list for future gardens. I did get just a little short of what I usually freeze each year but we barely had any corn on the cob. 

Tomorrow it will be time to pick beans again, can some tomato soup, which I'll give you my recipe for, and put a couple coats of paint on the inside of my little chicken coop. I promise I'll show you pictures when I'm done.

As for Gracie, she is doing well and the interesting thing is the ranch we got her from is having the same problem in a few of their steers. Hnmm... wonder if that is where her's originated?

Now for my sisters who were wondering what the new siding looked like on our house, here is a photo.

The red door really makes it pop.

See, this is what the door looked liked before. Next summer we're going to pull off the cement steps, tear out the sidewalk, and build a nice porch with iron railings that have a garland of pine needles and pine cones running along the top railing.

A bunch of the grass will disappear under rock as we landscape. It will eliminate much of the watering and add curb appeal. I'm trying to convince my hubby to combine red shale and some gray river rock in an artistic way. He is a bit resistant but then he didn't like the idea of a red door either until it was painted and he could see the before and after photos.

It's getting late and I think I'll just spin a little wool for a little while before heading off to bed. Have a nice sleep.