Squirrel's Nests and Bumper Crops

O Wise One hates this time of year sometimes. He says I go into squirrel mode and  don't stop until my nest is full. He is afraid if he stops for too long that I will put him in a jar. I don't think so because he would be tougher than a old boot : )

Anyway we are still here and canning away. Got those grapes juiced and the grape juice in jars.

Isn't the color pretty? It tastes good too. Fresh grape juice tastes totally different from that you buy. Maybe because it is different varieties. But it is good though.

Pulled the onions and sliced and froze them. I love to put these in bags. All you have to do is break off what you need and throw it in a pot. So convenient. You can buy these now in the stores like this and also an onion pepper mix. I just do my own. I started my own onions this year from seed and think I will do so from now on. The onions that I started did so much better that the sets I bought. Both the green onions and the bulb onions. 

I also snapped and put in jars another cooking of green beans and pulled the plants up. I had put up 4 cookings off them and have another batch planted for some this fall. Also have another 2 trays of red beans in the freezer to be put in bags and pulled up those plants too. In that space that held onions and the beans I am going to plant turnips and maybe some late corn. Two trays of okra blanched and frozen and ready to go in bags also. My Cajun Cowhorn okra is producing out of this world. Also have two more trays of blackberries frozen waiting to be bagged. It has been a bumper crop year for blackberries. 

My job for today is bagging all this up that is in the freezer and canning corn.

It has not been a bumper corn crop this year. But still a decent first harvest. The poor corn has blown over three times in rain storms and withstood hundred degree temperatures so I am happy to get what is there. Many people in the area are getting disgusted and plowing their gardens under. I'm too stubborn for that....

I still have tomatoes in the garden but none ripe yet. This year has not been a good year for tomatoes. The weather just has not been favorable for blossom set until late in the season. The summer started off cool and extremely wet and the blossoms just did not set until the temperatures warmed up. Now that the heat has arrived there are lots of green tomatoes but they will just be later ripening. 

It has also been a terrible year for cucumbers and squash too. At first the seeds rotted in the ground and I finally managed to get some up but blossom setting has been slow.  Luckily I put up plenty of relish last year because we had a bumper crop. I continue to plant new ones in hopes for later fruit. I do miss my fresh cucumbers.  Last year was a good year for squash too and luckily I also have squash still in the freezer. Maybe next year will be better.

Lots of sweet potato vines so hoping for a bumper crop of potatoes as well. The apples are still hanging thick on the trees also so hopefully there will be plenty of applesauce and apple pie filling this year. And we continue to eat on the fresh plums and give them to everyone that comes through. The neighbors little grandson has discovered them and now makes regular trips over.

Heat Index for today is 110 degrees so I am thankful to have inside work to do today. I am just not able to stand up to that kind of heat for long.

So me and the puppies will be in the air condition canning corn. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter