The Sandhill Cranes have been gathering in their masses for the autumn, but it doesn’t feel like it’s autumn. We’ve had temperatures in the low 90’s last week, dipped a little this weekend, and might have some much-needed rain come tonight or tomorrow and cooler temps for a couple days. Then again, it’s so windy, hot, and dry, that any potential rain may dry up before it gets to us. To tempt fate, I’m watering the garden today.

We had a banner year in raspberries, freezing gallons of them, giving away more to the neighbors, and I even dehydrated some to see how they turned out (crunchy and puffy). Ultimately, I like freezing them best. Besides smoothies and oatmeal, I’ve made a few no-bake cheesecake pies with a thick raspberry topping which have been well-received by everyone.

We’ve both dealt with several rounds of poison ivy rash this summer, as the vines are everywhere. Pulling weeds with long sleeves and pants as well as double-gloves did not stop cross-contamination still getting us despite best efforts.

Randy has been busy with our pond and perfecting a skimmer to help move leaves and copious duckweed from the surface. The pond has attracted a lot of birds and our yard has been all but overrun with Mourning Doves. Thankfully, we don’t mind them. We also have several resident turtles, entire armies of frogs, and gartersnakes galore. Along with our prairie restoration work in the yard, we’ve been finding a lot of insects and arachnids we’ve never seen before, but are native to our area. It seems our 20 years of work is paying off by increasing biodiversity.

I’ve been on the lookout for sheep to add to the flock, Shetland, Icelandic, or – what I really want – Navajo-Churro, but most of what is available this time of year are wethers with big price tags. Flock additions may need to wait until the spring. I did, however, scratch my sheep itch by going to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival last month. I purchased several skeins of yarn from various breeds and in natural colors, enjoyed the barn of breeds – seeing several in person which I’ve only seen in books, and overall, did my best to not get too overwhelmed by the crowds of folks in the sale barns.

Back to the garden news, sadly, our wine grapes, Muskats and Frontenac Gris, continue to flag and produce poorly, the former more than the latter. The doves, however, love nesting in the grape arbor and the leaves are a feast for some caterpillars of the larger moth varieties. While we may not get much for wine grapes, the wildlife is happy.

Meanwhile, time marches on and projects continue. I’m working the border on another baby blanket which will go up for sale in the Etsy store, and another round of grape jelly was made today as our Concord and Niagara grapes had another fantastic year.

Thanks for stopping by.
-Sarah