Beans, Squash, Peppers and What Not

The title sums it up. Life has been busy here at “Keepsake Acres”. That’s the unofficial name I’ve given our homestead. Last week we began picking green beans and I have frozen 13 quarts, not to mention we’ve given away several pounds and eaten several pounds. The Summer Squash and Zucchini are prolific so I am looking for new ways to prepare these veggies. We have eaten them sautéed, deep fried and in casseroles and spaghetti sauce to name just a few ways. Today I made a gallon of squash pickles!

The tomatoes aren’t ripe yet, but the peppers are abundant. Some plants have well over 20 peppers on them. I picked a basket full of Hungarian and Jalapenos this morning, as well as a few more green peppers. Come on tomaters, I want to make salsa!

With everything coming on we will be setting up a roadside stand soon in hopes to relieve ourselves of some of the excess produce. I’ve submitted a listing at localharvest.org.

As a result of that add I was contacted by a fellow named Brian Yarvin from New Jersey. Brian is an author, educator and photographer. His current project is a book on tomatoes.

He is interested in coming to our place among others, and speaking with us and photographing our tomatoes. If this transpires, we may be included in his book…or at least pictures of our tomatoes may be! It should prove interesting and fun. His website is http://www.brianyarvin.com. I’ll keep ya updated.

Here’s a photo of one of two young deer that (along with their mamma) seem to be ever so curious about our garden. They’ve managed to nibble the romaine as well as my sunflowers. So far and fortunately that’s all they’ve attempted to snack on. The string fence and whirly gigs (CD’s and ribbons) seem to help deter them.

And here’s a picture I took early one morning last week when I was up as the sun rose. This is the meadow across from the house. I thought the scene was lovely with the fog lifting in the breaking light.

Tomorrow we’ll be going to see the outdoor drama Tecumseh! in Chillicothe, Ohio. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I’m really looking forward to seeing this historical reenactment. For a brief history of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh, visit http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=373.